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Museum of Science

The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better Public Health

February 26

7:00pm - 9:00pm

Museum of Science

1 Science Park, Boston, MA 02114

Speakers
Dr. Monica L. Wang

Join the Museum of Science for a compelling conversation with Dr. Monica Wang, award-winning public health researcher, and educator celebrating the release of her new book, The Collective Cure (Beacon Press), exploring how the spaces where we live, work, learn, and connect shape our health long before we enter a clinic.

Drawing from the powerful, story-driven narrative at the heart of her book, Dr. Wang illuminates the social and structural forces that influence well-being, from income and neighborhood conditions to social connection and belonging. Through the lived experiences of three extraordinary women across the United States, and through her own journey growing up as an Asian American bussing student and working mother, she reveals how upstream factors create downstream health outcomes- and what we can do about it.

In conversation with Indira Lakshmanan, award-winning journalist and editorial leader, Dr. Wang will go beyond the pages of The Collective Cure (Beacon Press) to discuss actionable, community-centered strategies for building healthier futures. With clarity, urgency, and optimism, she will invite us to reimagine what becomes possible when we shift our focus from individual fixes to collective solutions.

This conversation is for anyone interested in what helps individuals and communities thrive, build resilience, and navigate the systems that shape our lives. Discover how evidence-based, upstream approaches can transform public health- and how each of us can play a part in creating healthier communities from the ground up.

Followed by book signing. Copies of The Collective Cure (Beacon Press) for sale on-site.


Dr. Monica L. Wang. Dr. Monica L. Wang is an Associate Professor at Boston University School of Public Health, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Editor of Public Health Post. She is an award-winning public health leader, researcher, educator, and author of The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better Public Health (Beacon Press, 2026). Her work focuses on how social and structural factors, like income, neighborhood conditions, and policy, shape chronic disease and health across the U.S. and globally. Over the past decade, she has led major NIH-funded research initiatives to improve nutrition and chronic disease and secured over $6 million in research funding. She has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed publications in top journals such as JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, and The American Journal of Public Health, with her work featured in NPR, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, National Geographic, and The Boston Globe. Dr. Wang’s honors include national awards from the Society of Behavioral Medicine and recognition as a 40 Under 40 Leader in Health by the National Minority Quality Forum. She obtained her doctoral and master’s degrees from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.