Boston Public Health Commission Partners with 30+ Academic Institutions

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Friday, September 18, 2026 — Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) today announced a first-of-its-kind coalition of more than 30 local academic and research institutions to unite public health leadership and academia in a shared commitment to the health and well-being of all Boston residents. The coalition, Boston SPHERE (Strengthening Public Health-Academic Partnerships in Education, Research, and Equity), includes an unprecedented mix of community colleges, universities, research centers, and academic medical centers. Together with the Mayor's Office and Boston Public Health Commission, these institutions will unify their efforts to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and on-the-ground community health outcomes.

"Boston has some of the best academic and healthcare institutions in the world, and we're working together as a city to close the gap between what our researchers discover and what actually happens in clinics, neighborhoods, and everyday care," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "I want to thank the Boston Public Health Commission and Commissioner Ojikutu for leading Boston SPHERE and bringing everyone to the table to collaborate, share ideas, and innovate. That's what Boston is known for, and we look forward to continuing to support students, health workers, and our communities across the city."

"Boston is resource rich yet too many residents still experience profound and preventable health inequities," said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Boston. "Boston SPHERE will harness our city's extraordinary intellectual power and put it to work in our neighborhoods - turning research into action, building a public health workforce that reflects the communities it serves, and creating pathways for students to become the next generation of health leaders. Our goal is to ensure that every Boston resident has the opportunity to live long and well."

The coalition will focus on three core pillars to drive measurable progress across Boston:
  • Research and Innovation: Accelerate the development of data-driven and empirical solutions to address Boston's most pressing health challenges.
  • Workforce and Education: Build pathways to train, upskill, and retain the next generation of public health professionals, researchers, and frontline workers.
  • Health Equity: Activate Boston's Live Long and Well agenda by moving evidence-based strategies into Boston's neighborhoods to create immediate, tangible benefits for underserved communities.

One of Boston SPHERE's first initiatives is a workforce development partnership between Boston Public Health Commission and University of Massachusetts Boston that will be announced on Monday, September 21. This partnership will give University of Massachusetts Boston students hands-on training with BPHC to develop the workforce and education pipeline and strengthen the next generation of public health workers and leaders.

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Another new initiative under Boston SPHERE is AI Insight to Impact Innovation (I³), designed to close the gap between AI's potential and the current practices addressing critical public health issues. I³ will focus on BPHC's highest-priority challenges and greatest improvement opportunities, including turning the City's Live Long and Well Agenda into everyday public health practice and improvement. Beginning in Fall 2026, a group of Boston's AI leaders from across sectors will meet to establish shared standards for responsible AI use and identify priority problem areas. A second group will then turn those problems into funded projects. Teams of students, fellows, and faculty will be paired with BPHC staff to build and test real tools, forecasting models, data pipelines, and public-facing tools to improve health equity in Boston.

Boston SPHERE will also host periodic Boston Public Health Grand Rounds, an open platform to elevate topics driving public health improvement in Boston and nationally. Through virtual grand rounds, Boston SPHERE partners may host students in collective viewing and conversations with a focus on action. The first grand rounds will be in late October and will focus on Boston Public Health Commission's advancing the mission of public health in turbulent times. Commissioner Ojikutu will be joined by Dr. Jerome Adams, former US Surgeon General and Executive Director of Purdue University's Center for Health Empowerment and Learning (HEAL).

"The SPHERE initiative launched by BPHC is an innovative mechanism for healthy and sustainable engagement of academic partners like our Boston University School of Public Health," said Dr. Adnan A. Hyder, Dean of Boston University's School of Public Health. "We believe this mechanism will allow many of us academics, researchers, and institutions to work together and pool our expertise to help BPHC serve the people of Boston. For 50 years our school has been working on one mission – the health of all people locally, nationally and globally – and SPHERE adds tremendous value to our work in our own city."

"Despite being an academic hub of the universe, Boston still needs to address persistent health disparities across the city," said Dr. Kenneth Mayer, Co-Director of the Fenway Institute and Medical Research Director of Fenway Health.  "The Boston Public Health Commission's SPHERE initiative provides a timely and proactive mechanism to convene researchers, educators, and community leaders to develop strategies to improve the health of all Bostonians. My colleagues at The Fenway Institute and I are pleased to work with BPHC and other colleagues to support the success of this important process."

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"Community colleges have a vital role to play in building the public health workforce because we connect students from our communities with pathways to meaningful careers," said Pam Eddinger, President of Bunker Hill Community College. "Boston SPHERE creates an important opportunity to connect those students with the city's public health, healthcare, and academic institutions while strengthening connections to the communities they serve. Together, we can expand opportunity, strengthen the workforce, and prepare the next generation to advance health equity and improve health outcomes across every neighborhood."

"Improving health and advancing health equity in Boston requires us to work beyond the walls of any one institution. Boston SPHERE creates an important opportunity to bring together the Boston Public Health Commission, healthcare organizations, and academic institutions around shared priorities—combining our expertise, resources, and commitment to communities to improve population health today while developing the public health workforce and leaders of tomorrow," said Tavinder Phull, Vice President of Community Health for Mass General Brigham. "Mass General Brigham is proud to be part of this collective effort and to support the City's vision for a healthier, more equitable Boston."

"We must always meet new challenges with new solutions," said Dr. Dan Palazuelos, Director of Harvard Medical School's Office of Community Centered Medical Education. "Cultivating the creativity to envision the possibilities, and mobilizing the courage to implement them, however, is not always straightforward. We can help each other; SPHERE promises to be a roundtable of different groups across Boston all committed to confronting our shared reality head-on."
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