The Division of Population Health Sciences (DPHS) includes the Institute for Circumpolar
Health Studies, the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, an undergraduate minor in Public Health, and the Master of Public Health program. Advancing health sciences through the educational opportunities of academic
training, research, and community service to improve the well-being of the diverse
peoples of Alaska and the circumpolar north.
Population health sits at the intersection of medicine and public health spanning
the social sciences. Population health explores the social factors that influence
health using an evidence based approach and community engagement to reduce disparities,
measure health needs and implement effective health innovations.
Academic Programs
Set up a successful career in health education and health promotion, public and community
health, disease prevention, rehabilitation, or health care delivery.
UAA Associate Professor of Environmental Health Micah Hahn is leading a research project around climate change, health, wildfire smoke and environmental justice in Alaska that recently received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to results from research led by Micah Hahn, an environmental epidemiologist here at UAA, Alaskans' health starts suffering when temperatures climb to 70 degrees, and that local and state officials should consider policies to respond to heat-related health problems that are expected to increase as the climate continues to warm.
Micah Hahn, assistant professor of Environmental Health with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies of the UAA Div. of Population Health Sciences, has recently co-authored numerous papers focused on wildfire smoke, evolving perceptions, modeling geographic uncertainty, implications of inadequate water storage, and more.
Ruby Fried, assistant professor of Health Science, and Micah Hahn, assistant professor of Environmental Health, of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Sciences within the Div. of Population Health Sciences, have co-authored an article, titled “COVID-19 in Remote Alaska Communities: A Longitudinal View of a Novel Pandemic.” This statewide, longitudinal study on remote communities provides a perspective based on the lived experience of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living in remote Arctic communities, and an opportunity for evidence- and strengths-based responses to the many impacts of COVID-19.