UTHealth Houston partners with city of Houston to establish new academic health department
UTHealth Houston announced today a partnership with the city of Houston to establish a new academic health department that will strengthen the region’s public health workforce, expand hands-on training opportunities, and deepen collaboration between academic experts and city health leaders.
Through this formal partnership, students, faculty, and researchers with the university will work alongside the Houston Health Department to support evidence-based programs, applied research, and real-world public health practice. The academic health department model is designed to bridge classroom learning and research expertise with community needs, ensuring that current and future public health professionals have the resources to address the city’s most pressing health challenges.
“Partnerships like this help us turn discovery into real impact for the people of Houston,” said Melina R. Kibbe, MD, UTHealth Houston president and Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair. “When we bring our researchers, students, trainees, and faculty together with city leaders who share our commitment to healthcare innovation and access, we open the door to new ideas, stronger training opportunities, and solutions that reach communities faster. That’s the kind of collaboration that truly drives change.”
The collaboration will create opportunities for student field placements, joint training initiatives, and shared research projects focused on improving health outcomes across Houston. It will also support the city’s long-term goals of enhancing preparedness, reducing health disparities, and advancing innovative public health solutions.
“This partnership brings together the strengths of UTHealth Houston and a major metropolitan health department,” said Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, dean of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, M. David Low Chair in Public Health, and Kozmetsky Family Chair in Human Genetics. “By aligning our efforts, we can better serve Houston’s community and build a stronger, more resilient public health workforce.”
While several academic health departments exist nationwide, none are engaged in a collaborative agreement of this scope and structure.
“This union really brings together the strength of UTHealth Houston’s seven schools, which is a leading academic institution, with the real-world experience of a major metropolitan health department,” said Theresa Tran, MD, director of the Houston Health Department, and Local Health Authority. “At its core, this partnership is about turning knowledge into action. By connecting with UTHealth Houston, with their faculty, their researchers, their students, their staff, and our public health professionals together will work to create new opportunities to advance evidence-based programs and the future well-being of every community that we all have the privilege to serve.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the city was proud to collaborate on the initiative.
“Our health department has long believed that meaningful partnerships drive measurable impact,” Whitmire said. “Working alongside UTHealth Houston and the City of Houston allows us to prepare the next generation of leaders while delivering real-time solutions to the complex health challenges facing our communities.”
The School of Public Health also holds academic health partnerships with the Texas Department of State Health Services, Dallas County Health and Human Services, Fort Bend County Health and Human Services, and the city of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.