CELEBRATING50 YEARSOF POPFAM
Half a Century of Global Change—Rooted in Communities, Driven by Science, Building Leaders
RESEARCH
INNOVATION
EDUCATION
This year marks a significant milestone—50 years of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health (PopFam) at Columbia University.
For half a century, PopFam has been at the forefront of advancing equity, championing human rights, and pursuing justice through public health—from the neighborhoods of New York City to communities around the world.
This anniversary is not just a celebration—it’s a launchpad. We’re unveiling new initiatives to shape the future of science, service, and global impact: alumni and student stories, dynamic events, bold ideas, and the PopFam Future Changemaker Scholarship. In the months ahead, we’ll honor the people, partnerships, and ideas that shaped PopFam—and share the bold vision guiding us toward a more just and healthy future for the 10.3 billion people who will share this planet.
I invite you to explore the stories of our extraordinary alumni and partners—and to see how PopFam faculty and staff have worked hand in hand with communities around the world to reimagine what’s possible in global health and to help transform systems and lives.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
POPFAM FUTURE CHANGEMAKER SCHOLARSHIP
To celebrate 50 years of building bold and impactful leaders, we are proud to launch the PopFam Future Changemaker Scholarship.
Through the Chair’s Initiative, we will award scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 with a total of $50,000 per academic year. These awards will support exceptional PopFam students who demonstrate a deep commitment to underserved communities, strong academic performance, meaningful experience, and financial need.
We invite you—our alumni, partners, and friends—to help us grow this effort by sponsoring a scholarship or supporting future cohorts. Together, we can broaden our impact and invest in the next generation of public health leaders—in New York City, across the U.S., and around the world.
Please contribute to the next generation of changemakers.
PopFam Chairs 1975 to Present
Thoai Ngo, PhD, MHS
Dr. Ngo is an internationally recognized scientist and global health leader, advancing research and innovation at the intersections of public health, population dynamics, and sustainable development. As Chair of PopFam, he is charting a bold new vision for population health—responding to urgent global challenges including AI, climate change, conflict, misinformation, and demographic shifts. Under his leadership, PopFam is reimagining public health leadership for the next 50 years through impactful research, global partnerships, and transformative education and training.
Patrick Kachur, PhD, MHS
A renowned global health leader, Dr. Kachur’s work bridges experimental and observational epidemiology with health systems research. His contributions have shaped the effectiveness and equity of malaria and child health interventions, driving evidence-based policy and programs.
Terry McGovern, JD
A leading human rights lawyer and advocate, Ms. McGovern has been at the forefront of advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender justice, and environmental health. Her leadership strengthened PopFam’s focus on health equity and amplified its global voice in policy and advocacy.
CONVERSATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, PopFam has launched PopTalks - a bold new conversation series hosted by Dr. Thoai Ngo, PopFam Chair. PopTalks brings together leading experts and community voices to spark dialogue around the transformative forces shaping population health and well-being—including climate change, artificial intelligence, demographic shifts, and political conflict.
We’ll also be hosting special events throughout the year to mark this milestone. Stay tuned—there’s more to come.