- Nov 3, 2025
- by Marisa LaFalce
- Community Engagement, Holistic Human Health, Social Impact + Justice, Student Life
Visiting Scholar Jennie Joseph shares human-centered approach to maternal health
On a brisk Thursday morning, 65 first-year students sat in rapt attention in NS 1600 Introduction to Public Health as Jennie Joseph challenged conventional thinking with a powerful concept: materno-toxic zones. She described these as environments so harmful to pregnant or new mothers that they threaten the safety of the mother and/or her children.
“Think about a problem that you or your loved ones had with the health system and why,” urged Joseph, founder and
- Sep 5, 2025
- Oct 12, 2023
- by Emily Groff
- Holistic Human Health, Social Impact + Justice
Visiting Scholar Ruth Browne honors alumna’s collaboration to improve lives
We have to work together to drive change. That was the central message that Ruth C. Browne, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House New York (RMH-NY), shared as Cornell Human Ecology’s inaugural Flemmie Kittrell Visiting Scholar.
Browne is an innovator in the field of urban health and education who focuses on building consensus and engaging stakeholder communities. During her visit, Oct. 4-6, she met with students, faculty and staff; visited classes; delivered a public
- Mar 20 ,2026
- by Karen Steffy
- Human Centered Design
- Human Ecology Building T01
Understanding the chemical principles underpinning the fundamental features of life beyond biochemistry within the origins of life context
Investigating prebiotic chemistry and the fundamental features of life like metabolism, information, self-reproduction, natural selection and computation, is significant within the origins of life research. In this context, one of the key elements constitutes the synthesis of chemistry-based natural-life-mimicking artificial or synthetic living systems, starting from a homogeneous aqueous blend of a few strictly non-biochemical compounds, using a technique called polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). In one of the studies, gradient sequence-controlled polymers were generated through PET-RAFT-PISA
- Feb 3, 2026
How to stop being a ‘desk shrimp’ and improve your desk posture
Alan Hedge, professor emeritus in the human-centered design department at Cornell University, provides expert advice on desk posture and the health effects of poor ergonomics.