Updates + Accolades / School of Public Health Addresses Pressing Health Needs

The O’Donnell School of Public Health (OSPH) strives to address the nation’s and the world’s most pressing public health problems through creative cross-disciplinary research and a focus on effecting change.

Approved by the UT System Board of Regents, endorsed by the Texas Legislature, and supported by a transformative $100 million gift from the O’Donnell Foundation, the OSPH is the fourth school to be created in the UT Southwestern Medical Center, and the first in the past half-century. It ties together the foundational research expertise and experience of UT Southwestern’s Medical School, School of Health Professions, and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

OSPH welcomed its inaugural class of M.D./M.P.H. and Master of Public Health students in 2023 and will launch doctoral degree programs in 2024.

“Our programs address some of society’s most challenging problems, which affect communities in North Texas and beyond,” says internationally recognized epidemiologist Saad B. Omer, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Ph.D., Professor and founding Dean of the O’Donnell School of Public Health. “Our ultimate goal is to influence public health policy and clinical practice.”

Saad B. Omer, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Ph.D., is the founding Dean of the O’Donnell School of Public Health. He is an internationally recognized epidemiologist and policy adviser whose work has positively impacted communities around the world. His research has been cited in global and country-specific public health policy, practices, and legislation.