SMAART Lab Updates

Jan 10, 2026 – A community needs assessment was conducted in Pipalkoti village, located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India. Pipalkoti is a hilly village situated at an elevation of approximately 1,259 meters above sea level. The Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Pipalkoti serves as the main healthcare facility for nine surrounding villages, many of which face significant geographic inaccessibility due to difficult terrain.

These geographic challenges have a direct impact on the social, economic, and health needs of the local population, affecting access to healthcare services, livelihoods, education, and essential resources. The assessment aimed to understand community priorities, gaps in service delivery, and opportunities for sustainable interventions.

Dean Ashish Joshi, University of Memphis School of Public Health, with team of Researchers from Foundation of Healthcare Technologies Society visited the village to implement Public health in Action approach using SMAART model to develop integrated community ecosystems that support healthcare access, digital connectivity, capacity building, and local development, tailored to the unique needs of remote hill communities. This will bring schools, health centers, district administration, police administration and community organizations all together to help create an ecosystem that could meet the social, economic and health needs of the community.

“This will also be a unique opportunity for public health students to understand how to engage community needs assessment in geographically inaccessible settings and the role of systems thinking, human centered design and data driven evidence based decision making.”, says Dean Ashish Joshi, University of Memphis School of Public Health.

He plans to develop SMAART Hubs in Pipalkoti and neighboring villages that could help in the design, development and implementation of public health solutions to address current and new public health challenges of the 21st century.

January 10, 2026 – Dr. Ashish Joshi, Dean of the University of Memphis School of Public Health, team of Researchers and Community Outreach Coordinator from Foundation of Healthcare Technologies Society visiting Pipalkoti village with local officials and people.

January 2-3, 2026 – As part of an innovative educational initiative, Dr. Ashish Joshi Dean and Distinguished university professor of the university of Memphis school of public health met with Shri Karthikeyan S., CEO, Kolhapur, and Smt. Meena Shendkar, District Education Officer (DEO), to discuss the introduction of a pilot program aimed at bringing the public health model of education to high schools in Kolhapur. This initiative will be implemented through the “Public Health in Action” approach.

During his visit, Dr. Joshi engaged with several schools, including Dadasaheb Magdum High School, Main Rajaram High School, and Parshuram Vidyalaya and Junior College, Gaganbawda. He interacted with hundreds of students across these institutions, introducing them to the concept of public health and highlighting its relevance in everyday life and community well-being.

In addition, Dr. Joshi met with nearly 30–35 teachers from various schools, facilitating discussions on the proposed Public Health Club initiative. These interactions focused on implementation strategies, expected outcomes, and the collective impact that schools and educators can achieve through this model.

Dr. Joshi also visited Mahavir Mahavidyalaya, Kolhapur, where he engaged with faculty members on the importance of research in public health and explored ways to actively involve students in public health research projects. This innovative pilot has the potential to significantly contribute to advancing public health research, policy, and practice.

For the upcoming academic year, 50 schools across diverse geographic settings in Kolhapur have been identified to participate in this pilot program.

We are excited to assist in the roll out this initiative and look forward to empowering students and educators to become active contributors to public health action and leadership.

January 2-3, 2026 – Dr. Ashish Joshi, Dean of the University of Memphis School of Public Health met with Shri Karthikeyan S., CEO, Kolhapur, and Smt. Meena Shendkar, District Education Officer (DEO), 30+ teachers and hundreds of students during his visit to many high schools in Kolhapur, MP.

World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2025 Panel Discussion 63

April 26, 2025 – Dean Joshi was the moderator for the session “Public Health Diplomacy: An Emerging Public Health Competency Towards Consensus Building, Negotiations, and Multilateral Partnerships” at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in New Delhi, India.

The session focused on the complex and interconnected challenges facing public health today, many of which require policy-driven solutions that tackle the broader social and environmental determinants of health. Diplomacy—the art and practice of negotiation—enables nations to implement foreign policy, safeguard their interests, and foster cooperative relationships. Schools and programs of public health are responsible for educating and training the future public health workforce. In the context of global health, there is an urgent call to confront pressing threats by fostering enhanced collaboration, coordination, and communication across diverse sectors and stakeholders.

By strengthening health diplomacy at both informal and multistakeholder levels, we can create pathways to improved health outcomes and promote well-being for all. Public Health graduates must develop competencies in Health Diplomacy to confront present and future challenges. This session explored the critical role of public health diplomacy and highlighted the importance of equipping public health students with the competencies -skills, and expertise- needed to navigate the evolving field effectively.

Key policy implications from the session included the need to develop public health diplomacy as a field within public health as well as the need to develop public health diplomacy skills and expertise within public health students.

April 26, 2025 – Day 02: Public Health Diplomacy Session at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2025

December 23, 2024 – “It was truly an amazing opportunity to present at IIM Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India titled ‘How social, economic and health disparities can be addressed towards advancing health equity and good health and well-being using the SMAART model’.

I would like to thank Dr Jaiswal Professor of Marketing IIM, Ahmedabad for this invitation and exploring the opportunities of possible collaboration around the area of healthcare innovations.”, Dr. Ashish Joshi says.

At IIM Ahmedabad, Gujarat India, December 23, 2024

December 18, 2024 – “It was an amazing opportunity to engage with MPH students of the Symbiosis University and deliver talk on ‘Translating Public Health Education into Community Impact’.

I would like to thank Dr. Anshuman Sewda for the invite and other esteemed colleagues at the Symbiosis University to discuss collaboration opportunities with their respective programs:

• Lt Col (Dr) T Vijaya Sagar (Dean, Symbiosis Medical College for Women)
• Prasoom Dwivedi Ph.D. (Head, Research & Project Funding, Symbiosis Center for Research & Innovation)
• Dr. Sammita Jadhav, Director, SIHS
• Dr. Kavitha Menon (Head, Nutrition & Dietetics Programme, SSCANS Pune)
• Dr Girija Mahale (Head, Symbiosis Centre for Emotional Wellbeing)
• Dr. Anupama S. Kotur (Kaddi) (Head, International Academics Program, Symbiosis Centre for International Education)
• Dr Reshma Patil (Head, Symbiosis Community Outreach Programme & Extension [SCOPE])

I also would express my sincere gratitude to Dr Rajiv Yeravdekar (Provost, FoMHS) for hosting me.” Dr. Ashish Joshi says.

At Symbiosis University, Pune, Maharashtra, India, December 18, 2024

December 16, 2024 – The goal of this partnership is to collaborate with the aim to enhance academic and research excellence in population health, health informatics and health communication.

Sudha Rustagi of Dental Science and Research

October 29 – November 1, 2024 – Ashish Joshi as the Dean of School of Public Health UofM with his team, high school students and their parents had a fantastic opportunity to attend the first in-person Global Model WHO, jointly organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The event took place from October 29-November 1st. SPH collaborated with University High and White Station High Schools to take eight high school students interested in public health to this remarkable event, where they explored solutions to current global health challenges and interacted with WHO experts.

The students participated in simulation sessions, social, and global experiences representing various countries and being a part of different committees and each student received a certificate of participation for this event. During the closing ceremony, Aashita Joshi from University High School was awarded the Diplomacy Award for Ethiopia. Representing the country of India, Henry Greenberg demonstrated exceptional dedication to consensus-building and collaboration, which led to his selection as India’s spokesperson at the Global Model WHO closing plenary held at the Palais des Nations at the United Nations.

Global Model WHO 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland

October 6, 2024 – The purpose of this MOU is to strengthen and promote scholarly cooperation. Joint research, student internships, academic events, faculty development, and other initiatives are also the pillars of this collaboration.

SHA- Society for Hospital Administrators

September 24, 2024 – Through this Memorandum of Understanding, we will work together to support academic programs, collaborative research, experiential learning, and capacity-building projects. Both sides pledge to collaborate on scientific publications and Public health events.

KLE Academy of Higher Education & Research

May 24, 2024 – “Met Director IIPH Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, Dr. Deepak Saxena and faculty of IIPH to discuss areas of collaboration including health informatics, healthcare quality and patient safety and behavioral health and positive well-being. Thanks to Dr. Apoorva and Dr. Medha for very insightful discussions on how to take the collaboration forward,” says Dr. Ashish Joshi.

May 24, 2024 – Ashish Joshi’s visit to Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India