UC San Diego Launches Bold New Doctoral Degree in Public Health

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• Tyler DeLong- [email protected]

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• Tyler DeLong- [email protected]

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"The public health program has been growing rapidly with an explosive undergraduate program. But now UC San Diego is well-positioned to offer a second and complementary doctoral training program that is truly modern, truly 21st century, that will serve us well now and for generations to come," said Cheryl A.M. Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., founding dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and the inaugural Hood Family Endowed Dean's Chair in Public Health. "We have an opportunity to be the first in the nation to establish an innovative doctoral degree in public health that provides training in health services research and implementation science that is grounded in the social determinants of health and community-engaged research," she added.

Bridging the Current Gaps

Traditional research in health care systems and public health interventions often fall short of addressing pressing health challenges in a timely manner. While research can help design effective interventions, there is a significant gap in their implementation in real-world settings.

"The United States is considered to have one of the best health care systems in the world, but many Americans are not able to access quality health care, and the needs of some Americans are especially great by virtue of their social and economic circumstances as well as their genetic heritage," said Lawrence Palinkas, Ph.D., professor and the program director for the Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health. "It takes an average of 17 years to identify a public health problem, design a solution and finally implement it."

Health services research works to close that gap. As a multidisciplinary field, it studies the organization, delivery and financing of health care systems, identifies public health needs, and develops and evaluates solutions.

Establishing a New PhD

In 2021, the school solicited suggestions from faculty on the focus of a new doctoral degree program. A proposal for a concentration in health services research and implementation science, initially developed by professors Todd Gilmer, Ph.D., Borsika Rabin, Ph.D., Pharm.D., M.P.H., and Erik Groessl, Ph.D., was considered the most developed and was given priority.

Establishing this additional doctoral program and graduating an inaugural cohort is a requirement for accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health - ensuring the school meets rigorous, nationally recognized standards for quality, including those for practice, research and service, and guaranteeing graduates received a high-quality, comprehensive education in the public health profession.

In 2022, Palinkas, an expert in mental health services research and implementation science, returned to UC San Diego after 18 years to help establish the new degree. From its earliest stages, he guided the program's design and development, ensuring it connected with and leveraged existing resources across the school.

Forty-two faculty from the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences agreed to participate in student training and mentorship.

Formal approval for the program was obtained from the UC San Diego Academic Senate in November 2023 and the University of California Office of the President in May 2024. Applications were solicited later that year, and a cohort of six students were accepted for admission in March 2025.

By pooling resources and expertise across Health Sciences, this transdisciplinary program aims to collectively engage in creating new scientific approaches to addressing the most pressing health care needs of our time and working in partnership with communities to deliver those approaches, while leveraging existing resources already available to students, faculty, academics and staff.

Classroom to Community - Training for Impact

"Many effective interventions have been developed to address major public health challenges, but too often there's a gap when it comes to putting them into practice," said Kimberly Brouwer, Ph.D., associate dean for education and student affairs. "What excites me about the new doctoral program is its focus on preparing public health leaders to bridge that gap - equipping students with skills to determine how to sustainably implement proven interventions within health care and public health systems."

In the first two years, students complete a series of required and elective courses, including advanced methods in health services research and implementation science, health economics and health policy.

New courses include Introduction to Community-Engaged Health Research, Advanced Methods in Health Services Research, and Advanced Methods in Implementation Science.

Advanced Methods in Health Services Research introduces students to artificial intelligence methods, including large language models and machine learning, for identifying service needs and designing and evaluating policies and practices. Advanced Methods in Implementation Sciencecovers research designs for randomized controlled trials of health services programs, policies, and practices, as well as strategies for implementing and sustaining them.

This initial community-engaged health research series is followed by two quarters of a community-engaged research practicum, providing students hands-on learning outside the classroom and further honing their research interests and expertise.

Practicums train students to partner with community-based organizations to address public health challenges while working within existing systems to collect and analyze data. They also provide organizations with access to student expertise to conduct needs assessments, evaluate program effectiveness and inform evidence-based decision-making.

Students may also participate in public health practice units focused on topics such as primary care and prevention or child, youth and family health equity, bringing together faculty, students, community-based organizations and government agencies to identify and address public health priorities.

As graduate student researchers, students will gain additional hands-on research experience under faculty mentorship. Plans are currently in development to place students as graduate student researchers within UC San Diego Health or as pre-dissertation fellows within federally supported T32 training programs - National Institutes of Health institutional grants that fund predoctoral and postdoctoral research training and career development in biomedical, behavioral and clinical research.

Faculty teaching in the program are cross-departmental, including instructors who currently teach at the graduate level to doctoral students - Yuyan Shi, Ph.D., professor, Sara McMenamin, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor, Jingjing Zou, Ph.D., associate professor, Sonia Jain, Ph.D., M.Sc., professor, and Pooyan Kazemian, Ph.D., M.S., assistant professor.

Also joining to help support students on their academic journey is Jenny Espiritu, MA, Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health program coordinator, who joined the school during the 2024-2025 academic year and has already begun helping students in the program succeed.

The Trailblazing Cohort

They are not just students. They are pioneers. The founding cohort of Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health's new Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health program brings together six bold thinkers ready to tackle some of the most pressing health challenges of our time. With diverse backgrounds and shared purpose, they represent the future of public health.

Learn more about the inaugural cohort, including full biographies and a Q&A series, in the article on UC San Diego Today.

Topics covered:

• Public Health
• Education
• Student Life

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