National Public Health Week is observed across the United States each year during the first full week of April, and this year will run from April 3-9. Originally conceived and organized by the American Public Health Association, and now in existence for more than 25 years, the theme this year is, “Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health.”

For National Public Health Week this year, we sat down with Kristen Krause, PhD, MPH, instructor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health and deputy director, Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, Rutgers School of Public Health. Our conversation covered not only her current areas of research focus, but the importance of health equity among traditionally marginalized communities, how the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic shaped much of the worldview on public health, the influence of culture on many a health outcome, and lessons learned from past public health emergencies.