It took something special to coax Bernadette Boden-Albala out of New York, where she’d lived since birth and worked in almost every school of public health in the state, including Columbia, Mount Sinai and NYU. But Orange County, and UCI in particular, offered a mixture of personal and professional riches she couldn’t refuse, including diversity, sunny weather and the stellar faculty. She is the director and founding dean of the new UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health.
We talked with Boden-Albala about what makes the new school unique, why students flock to its door and what she likes to do in her free time.
What distinguishes UCI from other elite schools in California?
Being a new school, we’re nimble and fluid, addressing problems of the future instead of the past. Older schools have embedded infrastructure that makes change difficult. I’m in awe of our faculty and the work they’re doing in our local and global communities. Our faculty are solving problems in ways other great schools can’t.
“Being a new school, we’re nimble and fluid, addressing problems of the future instead of the past.”
Bernadette Boden-Albala
Did the pandemic impact things?
A funny story. During COVID, my mom, who is in her 90s and lives on Long Island, called me and said, “Now I know what you do! Because of COVID, I see the importance of the work you do.” The pandemic shined a light on public health – from community engagement and partnership to the importance of communication around a new disease. We were learning as we went along. Different racial and ethnic groups had very different trajectories. That signaled that our health care system was fragile and there were real infrastructure issues.
What’s your ideal way to spend free time?
I am a nitrox advanced certified diver. The perfect day for me is swimming in gin-clear water, exploring interesting communities and meeting new people.
The number of first-generation students in your program is striking. Does UCI consciously recruit those students?
It’s the opposite. We have an if-you-build-it-they-will-come mentality. UCI has one of the largest undergraduate public health programs, and we believe in health equity. Students coming from underserved communities are excited by that. They’re drawn to our passionate faculty. They can return to their communities and make huge impacts in the health and well-being of those populations.
What’s next?
We want to build on a good thing, expanding our footprint around nutritional health and food insecurity, providing affordable and accessible programs for students, combining undergrad and graduate degrees, decreasing time and cost. And we want to use informatics and big data to enhance health equity in a variety of ways – healthy lifestyles, infectious disease preparedness, environmental and occupational health.
What would your dream dinner party look like?
I’d love to meet Marie Curie, who really influenced me. As a two-time winner of the Nobel Prize, she was such a role model for women in science. Amelia Earhart, another explorer pushing the paradigm. I’d like to get her to the table and learn about her life and final flight. My third guest would be Anthony Bourdain. I’m a New Yorker and a foodie. He was an explorer and allowed people to think about the world and global exploration through food.
