The highest standards of academic achievement lie at the core of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health’s mission of excellence for public health impact. UT Southwestern expanded into public health with the school’s launch in August 2023, and the institution’s investments are already influencing public health trajectories.

On Thursday, Oct. 16, as part of the President’s Lecture Series, Saad B. Omer, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Ph.D., founding Dean of the O’Donnell School of Public Health, will discuss his philosophy of academic excellence and its early impact on the school. His presentation, “Leveraging UT Southwestern’s Academic Excellence for Public Health Impact,” will begin at 4 p.m. in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium.

Dr. Omer is an internationally recognized epidemiologist and policy adviser who came to UT Southwestern in 2023 with ambitious goals to shape the future of public health in our region and worldwide. His approach was influenced by early exposure to both scientific methodology and stark health disparities, creating a blend of rigorous inquiry and a public health mission. His quest for knowledge in a rapidly changing world has led to formative experiences throughout his education, medical training, and professional career that were pivotal moments in his personal journey as a scientist.

“One of the greatest lessons I learned in terms of the scientific method was from my ninth grade chemistry teacher, who explained that the value of research is found in the question, not necessarily the answer,” he said. “If your question is intriguing and valid but your hypothesis doesn’t pan out, it is still solid research, and the progress of science will continue in other directions. This initial experience taught me about the beauty of science and that it will follow wherever your curiosity takes you.”

Later, while attending Aga Khan University Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan, Dr. Omer immersed himself in the world of public health through medical school electives. He volunteered with faculty members, performing fieldwork for their research. Dr. Omer became involved in a variety of projects, from counseling and testing inmates for HIV in a central prison in Karachi, the country’s largest city, to studying mental health among women with infertility. He described one study on the impact of public health interventions in reducing infant mortality as life-changing.

“I worked in a rural community where they witnessed dramatic reductions in infant mortality (from 120 per 1,000 to 80-90 per 1,000) through basic public health interventions,” he said. “It was amazing to see the reduction, but it was also a wake-up call to see that even a small amount of effort can literally move the trajectory of life for children and their parents.”

After graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.) degree, Dr. Omer moved to Baltimore to set up a data system for large clinical trials at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He subsequently entered the Master of Public Health program at Johns Hopkins, earning a master’s degree in one year and a Ph.D. in less than three and a half years, all while continuing his research. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022.

Throughout his career, he has worked with populations around the world, conducting studies in the United States, Guatemala, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Australia. His research portfolio includes epidemiology of respiratory viruses such as influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), vaccine trials, immunization coverage, and public health preparedness strategies to effectively respond to large emerging and reemerging infectious disease outbreaks. His work has been cited in global and country-specific public health policy, practices, and legislation and has informed clinical practice and health legislation in several countries.

Dr. Omer’s global efforts have given him insight into the disproportionate impact that small changes in income can have on the lives of the poor. “There are a thousand ways of being poor, both domestically and internationally. The differential of a few dollars a day in wages is very substantive at the lower level of wages and access to resources compared to those with higher levels of income,” he said.

He witnessed the value of mentorship during his years at Johns Hopkins, where he formed relationships with renowned faculty who taught real-life lessons and inspired him to set significant career goals for himself. Mentors have been crucial in helping him navigate new phases of his education and career that required developing new knowledge or skills. Now Dr. Omer is passionate about extending his impact to the next generation of public health leaders by daring them to dream big.

“When I meet students at the beginning of their journey, I tell them that my research group is about creating leaders, and that they should be ready to become Batman, not Robin!” he said. “Over the years, I have mentored more than 125 people – faculty, students of all levels, clinicians, nonclinicians, and academics seeking advanced expertise in public health. It has been gratifying to see some of my own mentees assuming prominent leadership roles in public health and medicine and changing the health of communities around the world.”

Additionally, Dr. Omer has learned that, despite addressing serious problems, public health is a hopeful vocation that shines a light on the interconnectedness of people and the commonalities uniting them. He is grateful for the investments of UT Southwestern and its community supporters, which have already started to strengthen the health of communities in North Texas and nationally.

“There is no shortage of meaning in public health because it is the art of the possible,” he said. “It’s about seeing the glass as 20% full rather than 80% empty. Public health is about filling that glass.”