Dr Brian Hall, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Macau (UM) Faculty of Social Sciences, has been appointed research associate at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society. Dr Hall completed two fellowships in global health at Johns Hopkins, and is engaged in ongoing collaborations with faculty there. His appointment as research associate at its Bloomberg School of Public Health is expected to strengthen UM’s research capacity in public health.

 

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the world’s first and largest school of its kind and has been consistently ranked as the top school of public health in the United States. The Department of Health, Behavior and Society addresses health problems around the world, including sexually transmitted disease, alcohol and drug use, and mental health among populations most at risk for these conditions. This appointment will enable Dr Hall to implement international research projects to investigate the effects of adversity and address the public health and mental health needs of at-risk communities in Asia. 

 

Earlier, Dr Hall presented an epidemiological study conducted in collaboration with colleagues from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Sun Yat-sen University School of Public Health, as well as some students from UM. The study was focused on the prevalence of traumatic life events, alcohol use disorder, depression, and community social support among rural-to-urban migrants in mainland China.