EDITORIAL
Reborn public health school a good prospect

It's tough to see any "up" side to the growing threat of bioterrorism and global health epidemics such as SARS.

But if there is one, it is that government and the private sector have stepped up their interest in funding research to combat bioterrorism and avoid global health outbreaks.

This, in turn, has generated new interest and prospects for the University of Hawai'i's School of Public Health, which was virtually shut down in 1999, a victim of low interest and lack of funding.

Now, Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert is suggesting the school might be reborn with the prospect of a fresh flood of research dollars on the horizon.

He's right. If there is research interest — particularly in tropical diseases or Asian-based concerns such as SARS — Hawai'i is the right place to do it.

This is particularly true as the university gets up and running with its new biomedical research facility at the new medical school in Kaka'ako.

Englert proposes a new School of Global and Public Health separate and apart from the medical school. That does not imply the two schools would not share research and expertise, however. In fact, planning should specifically take such cooperation into account.

Together, the two operations could be particularly appealing to fund-granting organizations.