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Department of Social and Behavioral Health News

Housed in the UNLV School of Public Health, the Department of Social and Behavioral Health consists of faculty who engage in research and develop and evaluate community-based programs that promote health and disease prevention. Our students learn to identify high-risk behaviors or trends in specific populations, as well as propose solutions that aim to improve overall public health in communities.

Current Social and Behavioral Health News

Fall colors 2025
Campus News |

Some of the biggest news headlines featuring UNLV faculty and students.

First day of classes.
Campus News |

The top news stories starring university students and staff.

June campus horizon shot
Campus News |

The top headlines featuring UNLV’s staff and students.

Spring flowers
Campus News |

The students and faculty of UNLV are springing into headlines around the country.

Tim Grigsby sitting on a UNLV bench in the Academic Mall
People |

After an unexpected start in public health, this professor of social and behavioral health is uncovering the complexities of substance misuse and childhood trauma.

A UNLV student studies with the Strip in the distance.
Campus News |

Headlines and highlights featuring the students and faculty of UNLV.

Social and Behavioral Health In The News

India Currents

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is characterized by mood variations with a change in season, especially during the winter months, with reduced daylight.

KLAS-TV: 8 News Now

Fast food chains are seemingly racing to reach a growing demand of customers using GLP-1s, or weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Dr. Manoj Sharma, professor at the Department of Social and Behavioral Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said food chains are expanding their menus to include items packed with protein and low in portion size.

Indica News

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or variation of mood with change in season, especially during months with reduced daylight, is a well-recognized condition that adversely affects the mental health and well-being of many people. It was first described in 1984 and is now classified as a distinct disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), and related to major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.

Indica News

Artificial sweeteners, also called nonnutritive sweeteners or non-sugar sweeteners, are created from chemicals in the lab. The first such chemical, saccharin, was accidentally invented by a Russian postdoctoral researcher, Constantin Fahlberg, working with his Professor, Ira Remsen, in 1879, when he noticed a sweet taste on his hand while refining coal tar derivatives. It was later commercialized by him as a sugar substitute. Today, besides saccharin, other approved artificial sweeteners include aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame-K, and advantame.

Indica News

Distracted driving is doing another activity while driving, such as texting, talking on a cell phone, eating, thinking about something, and other disruptive activities. Since many people are on the road during the Holiday Season, this behavior becomes even more important from a public health perspective.

IndiaCurrents

The causation and risk factors of gambling disorder are complex, with both genetic and environmental factors playing a role.

Social and Behavioral Health Experts

An expert on lactation, breastfeeding, and maternal and child health and nutrition.
An expert on drug misuse and addiction.
An expert on health behavior and coping with stress.
An expert on health disparities and LGBTQ aging adults with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Recent Social and Behavioral Health Accomplishments

Asma Awan (Social and Behavioral Health), Robert S Levrant (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), and Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health) have recently published a study titled, "Prologue to the Multi-Theory Model (MTM) of Health Behavior Change: A Phenomenological Case Study to Determine Vaping Cessation Strategies Among Young Adults," in…
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) published the article, “Global burden of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioid use in 204 countries, 1990-2023: A Global Burden of Disease Study,” as a senior collaborator in the journal, Nature Medicine (Impact factor 50.0). Drug use disorders (DUDs) are among the rising global…
Sharmistha Roy (Social and Behavioral Health), Ashis Kumar Biswas (Epidemiology and Biostatistics), and Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) published an article titled, “Norovirus: Emerging challenges and clinical conundrums,” in the journal Advances in Medicine, Psychology and Public Health. The manuscript underscores…
Tim Grigsby (Social and Behavioral Health) recently co-authored a paper titled, "Do local geographic characteristics moderate the association between familial incarceration and adolescent depression and anxiety?," in BMC Psychology along with researchers from California State University, Northridge and University of Southern California.
Asma Awan, Md. Sohail Akhter, Sharmistha Roy, and Manoj Sharma (all Social and Behavioral Health) published a paper titled, "School-based interventions for mental health promotion: A systematic review of evidence-based practices at the global level,” in the American Journal of Health Studies. This systematic review synthesized evidence from 24…
Asma Awan, Md. Sohail Akhter, Sharmistha Roy, and Manoj Sharma (all Social and Behavioral Health) published a paper titled, "School-based interventions for mental health promotion: A systematic review of evidence-based practices at the global level,” in the American Journal of Health Studies. This systematic review synthesized evidence from 24…