New student-led public health publication looks for an edge

A new publication based at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) aims to tackle tough, timely questions facing the public health community and provide a platform for debate, according to its editor and founder, newly minted HSPH graduate Andrew Boozary.

The Harvard Public Health Review (HPHR) was launched on May 25 “in the spirit of the Harvard Law Review and the Harvard Kennedy School Review,” said Boozary, S.M. ’14. The new online publication is intended “as a vehicle to help readers navigate the complex world of public health, while placing a serious premium on evidence,” he said.

Helming HPHR are 10 HSPH students and an advisory board of prominent HSPH faculty members, including Dean Julio Frenk. Boozary and his HPHR colleagues plan to solicit articles from students from the School, across Harvard, and eventually other universities; from faculty at Harvard and other academic institutions; and from public health leaders, policy experts, politicians, and thought leaders.

“Imagine if the New England Journal of Medicine and Vox.com had a baby—that’s our vision for HPHR,” Boozary said. HPHR articles will have features similar to those of traditional journal articles—they’ll be evidence-based and footnoted—but they’ll also have a decidedly modern feel. “We’re looking for commentaries and points of view, but with evidence to inform the arguments or angles,” said Boozary.