Dear Reader,

PH: The Yale Journal of Public Health was founded in the fall of 2003 by a group of undergraduates at Yale University. The foundation of PH marked the beginning of a new college-based discussion of global public health, and while the Journal arose at Yale, we hope that it encourages interest and activity at campuses around the country. When the topic of starting a magazine first surfaced, we were aware of a huge interest demonstrated through student activism in undergraduate and graduate organizations both in New Haven and across the United States, but we found few forums in the undergraduate community devoted to the discussion of public health and its related issues. In 2003 we decided to change that by embarking on the PH project, and now, after months of work with our founding editorial board, advisers, and financial supporters, we have shaped our vision into a reality.

One of our foremost goals was to convince readers of how far-reaching the public health arena is, not only in its presence around the globe, but also in its range of involved disciplines: medicine, politics, economics, and more. In PH's pages, we hope you discover that public health is not limited to disease containment or to the politics of health, but is a dynamic and broad topic that includes the social consequences of diseased teachers and parents, the health impact of environmental issues, and the relationship between global health and economic development.

We hope that you enjoy the contents of PH.com, and that it may inspire you to consider public health's many aspects and to bring its topics of debate to your own college or university.

Sincerely,

David Steinberg         Matthew Wilson

David Steinberg David Steinberg graduated from Yale University in 2005 where he majored in the Ethics, Politics & Economics. In addition to co-founding The Yale Journal of Public Health, he is the founder of Yale AIDS Watch (www.yale.edu/yaw) and Student AIDS Watch, advocacy and community service organizations aimed at fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. David traveled to South Africa as a Richter Fellow where he studied anti-retroviral treatment access, served as the Publisher of The Yale Herald and has worked in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs and the finance group of the European Development Bank. David is continuing his studies at Cambridge University as a Commonwealth Overseas Scholar, where he is pursuing an M.Phil in Development Studies.

Matt Wilson is a senior at Yale where he studies Economics and Mathematics. Matt is particularly interested in the issues surrounding costing and efficient resource allocation, as well as the political issues which arise from these areas. He spent two weeks last summer working with the Ministry of Public Health in the Bahamas analyzing the treatment, prevention, and education programs in place there from an practical and economic perspective. Next year Matt will be working as a consultant for Mckinsey and Company in New York.