Research in Action: Banyan at APHA 2025
Four days. Twelve thousand public health professionals. One throughline: the urgent, overdue case for investing in prevention. The 2025 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo brought the field together in Washington, DC, to reckon honestly with a sobering reality: life expectancies in the United States have been declining, and prevention, not just treatment, is how we change that trajectory.
Four Banyan staff members had abstracts accepted and presented original research across a range of public health topics.
Banyan presenters and sessions:
Bria Berry, MPH, Research & Evaluation Specialist
Water Recreation and Harmful Algal Blooms: Risk Perceptions and Effective Communication
Patricia de Souza, PhD, Instructional Designer
Leveraging Digital Education to Bridge Knowledge Gaps in Tick-Borne Disease: Case Studies on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Alpha-Gal Syndrome
Victor Oliva, MPH, Communications Specialist
Digital Training to Improve TBI Support for IPV Survivors in Shelters
Sharanya Thummalapally, MPH, Senior Research & Evaluation Specialist
Exploring Gaps in Foodborne and Waterborne Illness Awareness and Reporting Among Healthcare Providers
The breadth of topics, from harmful algal blooms to tick-borne disease to traumatic brain injury support for survivors of intimate partner violence, reflects something true about Banyan: our work spans the full landscape of public health, and we bring the same rigor and care to all of it. APHA is one of the places we come to share that work, stay sharp, and stay connected to the field we're proud to serve.
