December 16, 2025
Stronger Together
Pitt Public Health and the Allegheny County Health Department created an academic public health department that expands collaboration in teaching, research, service and community health practice.
TOPICS: Innovation & Commercialization | Partnerships
Designs on Aging-Ready
By Strategic Communications
A formal partnership between the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and the School of Public Health, announced in April, created an academic public health department, aligning Pitt’s academic strength with ACHD’s frontline community service.
Part of the partnership is the appointment of ACHD Director Iulia Vann as adjunct associate professor of health policy and management at Pitt Public Health.
“A partnership like this brings public health out of the textbook. We can combine all of the academic strengths that Pitt Public Health has and all of the valuable insights from the lived realities and the public health infrastructure that the Allegheny County Health Department has to offer and create a loop of innovation, data and direct service,” said Vann.
Benefits of such a partnership are also evident in many of the joint activities that already take place among Pitt Public Health students, faculty, staff and ACHD.
“We all know how powerful we can be when we come together as a team to make a difference—especially in this moment of accelerated complexity,” said Vann.
Pitt Public Health students currently can participate in field placements with ACHD mentors through the Pittsburgh Summer Institute and the Bridging the Gap summer program. In 2024, for example, students completed projects on mosquito-borne disease control, wastewater epidemiological surveillance, rabies prevention and lead exposure risk assessments.
An expanded and formalized Pitt Public Health-ACHD partnership will contribute to increased collaboration on curriculum, policy development, regional disaster preparedness, data integration and advanced training for public health professionals, noted Vann.
“Pitt can help us sharpen our public health response, help create evidence-based practices,” she said. “It can also help train the next generation of public health professionals. One of the core competencies of local health departments is ensuring a knowledgeable, sound, and strong public health workforce. Well, that starts in the academic realm.”