Public health researchers investigate and analyze how the distribution of disease varies by age, gender, race, behavior and lifestyle choices, occupational and environmental exposures, genetic determinants, pre- or co-existing conditions, medical interventions, health laws and other factors that influence health at the individual and community level. This makes the Braun School's research agenda inherently multi- and cross-disciplinary, as is evidenced in the broad range of research topics addressed by our faculty members in the areas of infectious and chronic disease, environmental and occupational health, health promotion, health policy, systems and services, etc.
To understand disease processes and outcomes, and to determine causal factors, we ask questions such as: "What sequences of states and processes influence who becomes, and remains sick, and who does not?" and "What can be done to prevent or delay onset of illness, shorten its duration, and reduce the burden of disease from affected cases, their families, and society in general?" By identifying populations and individuals at risk, we can motivate people to adopt risk-reducing behaviors and policy-makers to adopt health-promoting policies at the institutional, community, and national levels.
Our researchers are also engaged in the field of public health services and systems research that aims to produce the evidence needed to address critical issues about how best to organize, finance, and deliver effective health and public health services and develop strategies for allocating health resources.
By doing so, we can reduce social and economic disparities in health outcomes and access to preventive, curative and rehabilitative services.
In keeping with Nikola Tesla's statement that "Science is but a perversion of itself unless it has as its ultimate goal the betterment of humanity", public health researchers (even those engaged in understanding biological mechanisms of disease), often engage with policy makers and health planners and provide the evidence-base for policy planning and evaluation.
One of the major strengths of public health research is its multidisciplinary approach and integration of traditional and innovative scientific methods and tools. The research foci at the Braun School span a broad spectrum of disciplines from the molecular/genetic level to the macro-social level, and from chronic (but preventable) conditions including obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease to communicable diseases and mental health and addictions, and employ a wide range of research tools including epidemiology and biostatistics, genomics, behavioral science methods, all linked with laboratory and clinical medicine, and with wider fields including environment, nutrition, sociology and economic sciences.
Our research is supported by grants from Israeli and international funding agencies including the NIH, EU, MERC, BSF, ISF, and others. Braun researchers have collaborations with numerous research and clinical institutions in Israel including in the Palestinian Authority, and across the globe such as with the National University of Singapore; University of Washington, Seattle; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; NYU and Columbia University in New York; Karolinska Institute, Sweden; University of New South Wales, Australia; University of Basel, Switzerland; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
