OHSU-PSU School of Public Health At the 2026 IAPHS Conference
The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health made a strong impact at the 2026 Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (IAPHS) Annual Conference held right here in Portland. From hosting collaborative community events to presenting groundbreaking research, our faculty, staff, and students exemplified our school’s commitment to health justice, community engagement, and scholarship.
Building Community Partnerships and Advancing Population Health in Portland
We were fortunate to host the Health and Power Organizing Project (HPOP) retreat in Vanport on September 28-29, bringing some of the top social scientists and researchers from across the nation, under our roof!
We kicked off the conference week on Tuesday, September 29 with an informal networking happy hour at Tope. Co-hosted by SPH and HPOP, the event brought together faculty, students, alumni, and friends for appetizers, conversation, and relationship-building.
Health Justice, Poetry, and Resistance Take Center Stage
On Thursday, October 1, SPH co-hosted Stats & Stanzas: Poetry for People’s Health alongside HPOP at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront. Rooted in the belief that “poetry is not a luxury—poems are data and poetry is evidence,” this evening brought together stats and stanzas to center health justice, healing, resistance, and radical imagination. The event was co-hosted by Brianna Renae alongside SPH Associate Professor and poet Dr. Ryan J. Petteway. It featured powerful readings from poets Jae Nichelle, Sima Bou Jawde, and Natalie Bradford.
OHSU-PSU Public Health Alum Earns National Recognition at IAPHS 2026
Congratulations to
Advancing Health Equity Through Research, Education, and Community Engagement
Our faculty and research scholars, current students, alumni, partners led and participated in key sessions throughout the conference, showcasing our innovative methodological and place-based public health research:
- Resisting Regression(s): Reading & Writing Poetry As Method / Against Erasure in the Struggle Towards Health Justice – Presenters: Ryan Petteway and Jae Nichelle.
- Beyond the Master’s Tools: Social Justice Methodology for Population Health Research – Presenters: Rebekah Cross, Kene Orakwue, Charlene McGee, Sima Bou Jawde, and Anita Minh.
- Toxic Tactics at the Waterfront: Population Health and Environmental Impacts of Crowd Control at Portland’s ICE Facility – Presenters: Deborah Karasek, Sarah Andrea, Erika Moseson, Paul Tratnyek, Sarah-Truclinh Tran, Taishona Carpenter, and Brendon Haggerty.
- Is Our House a Master’s Tool?: Or, One School of Public Health’s Work to Grow an Antiracist Foundation for Future Students & Scholars – Presenters: Lynne Messer, Ryan Petteway, Loida Erhard, Charlene McGee, Frankie Greene, and Tomas Zurita.
- Confounded: Structural Racism and Public Health’s Imaginary Friends – Presenters: Ryan Petteway, Rebekah Cross, Shannon Whittaker, and Marie-Fatima Hyacinthe.
Together, these achievements demonstrate how the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health continues to champion impactful scholarship, nurture student success, and deepen community partnerships across our region and beyond.