Professor Seema Kakade presented “The Role of Environmental Law in Public Health” at the University of Maryland School of Medicine on October 8 as the 2026 Delta Omega Honorary Society annual lecturer. The audience included several students, staff, and faculty in public health, medicine, epidemiology, and nursing.
Professor Kakade’s remarks provided historical context for the role of environmental law in public health as well as case studies on current issues. Prior to the lecture, Professor Kakade conducted a small group session with masters’ level public health students.
Two of Professor Kakade’s students from the law school presented their current work at the small group session. Nicole Zehner presented on fire safety regulations associated with clean energy projects. Janice Nam presented on legislation to address toxic algal blooms. Both the small group session and the annual lecture allowed for engagement between law and health science disciplines. The hope is that such engagement leads to greater collaborative efforts towards the achievement of societal environmental health goals.