Tulane Press

A collaboration between the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and YEP Design Works, led to creation of the Check It website www.gocheckit.net, which is specifically designed for young black men to promote sexual health and screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Check It partners with local barbershops, colleges/universities and other non-clinical venues to reach 15-24 year old African American men who have sex with women, are new to testing and do not have symptoms. Treatment for men who test positive and their sexual partners is provided by the project, which is funded by the National Institutes for Health (NIH).

Tulane researchers conduct 4-year study, "Safe Schools NOLA," on trauma-informed approaches across 5 schools in New Orleans. These approaches include training for teachers to recognize signs of trauma, finding ways to make children feel safe, teaching coping skills and eliminating harsh discipline policies. The Institute for Women and Ethnic Studies, a key community partner for many Tulane researchers, surveyed New Orleans youth over the past several years to learn how deep the mental health issues are stemming from untreated trauma.

March for Our Lives – a student-led organization responding to the Parkland mass shooting – held a panel at Tulane as New Orleans was the group's last stop on the Southern leg of its Road to Change tour, which brought together survivors of the Parkland shooting and local activists and organizers to discuss topics including school-based gun violence prevention strategies and how to push politically for more restrictions on guns. Being conscious of their location, the panelists also turned to the issue of violence in urban environments, especially that which affects young people.

Scholarly rigor, energy, determination and commitment typified this week's presentation by "Project IX" students, many of whom were sexual assault survivors themselves. But there was also a palpable sense of joy in the room as the students discussed their ideas. This unexpected joy seemed to spring from a collective knowledge that the scourge of sexual assault will neither define nor overwhelm us, but will be the catalyst for our transformation through education, justice and true community.

Thomas LaVeist, a national expert on issues related to equity and health, has been named dean of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He will also hold the position of Presidential Chair in Health Equity, making him the first to hold one of Tulane’s newly endowed presidential chairs, created to support the recruitment of exceptional, internationally recognized scholars whose work transcends and bridges traditional academic disciplines.