SPH News Jan. 16, 2007
Jan. 16, 2007
SPH News is a school-wide electronic newsletter distributed every other week. Please send news items to SPHNews@umn.edu. The submission deadline for the Jan. 29 issue is Wednesday, Jan. 24.
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From the Dean
Welcome to Spring Semester 2007! It seems odd to write this greeting in light of our new coat of winter, but spring is coming nonetheless and with it another season of events to enlighten, educate, and expand our minds. Here are a few upcoming events:
*Students fortunate to take Prof. Mike Osterholm's spring course will have the opportunity to attend the Second National Summit on Business Preparedness for Pandemic Influenza, Feb. 5-6 in Orlando, Fla. Major speakers include former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, and CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. Risk assessment, planning, and preparedness policy development are just a few of the tools Mike's students and business people from all over the world will be exploring and learning. To learn more about the conference, click here:
https://programs.regweb.com/metro/cidrap07/1/
*The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) and the Association of American Veterinary Colleges (AAVMC) are co-sponsoring a national conference April 22-24 in Atlanta: "Partnerships for Preparedness: Future Directions for Schools of Public Health and Colleges of Veterinary Medicine." Minnesota is just one of a few universities fortunate to have both a College of Veterinary Medicine and a School of Public Health that have developed a close working partnership in research, education and outreach. Students are invited, too.
For more information, see: www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=936
Here at home, Stanford Prof. David Relman, M.D., will discuss the good and bad potential in the science of manipulating microorganisms for preventive and therapeutic treatment of infectious disease. Be sure to attend, "Dual Use and National Security" Jan. 25, 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Coffman Union Theater. The event is sponsored by the University of Minnesota's Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment, & the Life Sciences (www.lifesci.consortium.umn.edu) and Joint Degree Program in Law, Health, & the Life Sciences (www.jointdegree.umn.edu) of which the SPH is a member.
*A statewide alliance of health care providers and organizations including the School of Public Health and Academic Health Center is preparing for a rally at the State Capitol Jan. 30 for support of a statewide ban on smoking in the workplace. To register, check out this Web site: www.smokefreeminnesota.com/ahs/capitolrsvp.nsf/
*Don't forget Pamoja, the annual SPH student celebration of togetherness Feb 8, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Weisman Art Museum. Faculty are especially invited to join in the fun!
--John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
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Faculty news
James Hart is the new director of the SPH Executive Program in Public Health Practice, an MPH program within the Public Health Practice major. Hart follows Bob Veninga, the program's founding director, who recently retired from the SPH.
Kim Robien has been awarded the 2006 George Santos Award for the best clinical science article by a new investigator from the editors of the journal Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Robien's article, "Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase and Thymidylate Synthase Genotypes and Risk of Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease Following Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia," was published in the September 2006 issue of the journal.
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Student news
SPH Student Senate's spring semester meetings will take place 5:15-6:15 p.m. on the following days: Jan. 17, Jan. 31, Feb. 15, Feb. 28, March 28, April 11, and April 25. Meetings will be held in the Student SPHere. All students are welcome to attend and participate. For more information, contact Denise Feda at feda0004@umn.edu.
CLARION will host SPH professor Gordon Mosser, who will speak on interprofessionalism and quality improvement in health care. The event will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 in 2-650 Moos Tower. For more information, contact Allison Prusak (prus0022@umn.edu).
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School news
Read the latest SPH Research Brief, "Using Mathematical Models for Cancer Control: An Example of Colorectal Cancer," by Karen Kuntz, professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management. Research Brief is a monthly publication of research by SPH faculty that is distributed electronically.
• Read Kuntz' Research Brief
• Subscribe to Research Brief
The School of Public Health accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) is moving forward as we continue to prepare for the CEPH site visit on April 16-18, 2007. In 2006, the School conducted a self study which is summarized in the Preliminary Self Study report at www.sph.umn.edu/faculty/accreditation/. The Final Report will be released in February.
Comments and feedback can be provided directly to the School at:
CEPH Accreditation
University of Minnesota, School of Public Health
MMC 197, 420 Delaware St. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Email: Debra Olson, Associate Dean, at olson002@umn.edu, or Amy Scheller, Lead Staff for Accreditation, at sche0526@umn.edu
CEPH will accept 3rd party comments until March 16, 2007. Direct comments to:
Council on Education for Public Health
800 Eye Street, NW, Suite 202, Washington, DC 20001-3710
Phone: (202) 789-1050 Fax: (202) 789-1895
The SPH annual report and latest issue of Advances magazine are now online at http://www.sph.umn.edu/advances/home.html. If you'd like to receive printed copies of the magazine, please send a request to SPHnews@umn.edu.
Melvin Monet has accepted the position of director of student recruitment for the SPH. His primary responsibility will be to implement a strategic plan to recruit students to the school. He will also work collaboratively with the offices of Student Affairs, Multicultural Services, and Communications to enhance student services.
Show your support for a statewide smoking ban at the Minnesota Capitol on Jan. 30. University students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to register for Smoke-Free Minnesota Day. Participants who register to take part in the day's activities will gather at St. Paul RiverCenter, 175 West Kellogg Blvd., for morning programs before traveling to the capitol to show their support for comprehensive smoke-free workplace legislation. Experienced advocates will lead group meetings with state legislators in which people will be given the opportunity to express why they think Minnesota should be smoke-free. Participation in Minnesota Smoke-Free Day at the Capitol is open to the public and free of charge. Registration is required.
• Learn more and/or register online
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Event listings
Minnesota Public Radio is holding a forum on long-term care on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 7-8:30 p.m., in The UBS Forum in St. Paul. SPH students, faculty, and staff are invited to be a part of "A Dignified Life: Providing for Long Term Care."
• Learn more and/or register online
Introducing: e2 Environmental Exposure Grand Rounds. Thursday, Jan. 18, 7-8 a.m., "Risky Communications: The Hazards of Talking about Environmental Exposures" by Tannie Eshenaur. All of us are involved in communicating with people about health risks. Given the variety of contexts represented by our organizations, are there common goals or strategies shared by health care providers and public health professionals? How can we move beyond good intentions to better address the unique challenges of environmental exposures? CMEs are available through Health Partners. Location: Minnesota Department of Health, Freeman Building (Rm. B-144): 625 N. Robert St., St. Paul On-street meter parking is free until 8 a.m. Hosted by HealthPartners, the Hennepin Regional Poison Center, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the SPH.
Lunch Series on the Societal Implications of the Life Sciences presents David Relman. He will present "Dual Use and National Security" on Thursday, Jan. 25, 12:15-1:30 p.m., in the Coffman Memorial Union Theater. Relman is associate professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. He is also chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. This event is free and open to the public. Lunches are provided to those who register by Jan. 19 to lawvalue@umn.edu or 5-0055 (please indicate if vegetarian/vegan). Registration is required if you wish to receive continuing education credits (CLE, CME, CNE). Those without reservations are welcome to attend, but should bring a lunch.
Join the University of Minnesota's first-ever Quality Fair, 8 a.m.- noon, Thursday, Jan. 25, in McNamara Alumni Center. Faculty and staff from around the system will share best practices that improve teaching, learning, research, and work processes. President Robert Bruininks will open the fair, which features more than 50 poster and breakout sessions on a diverse array of topics. As the "Great University of Minnesota Get Together," the fair comes complete with a side-show barker, mini-donuts, cotton candy, mini-corn dogs, and prizes. To register or for more information, go to http://www.umn.edu/osci.
Global Warming Conference: Thursday, Jan. 25, 7–9 p.m., Humphrey Center. The scientific facts of global warming are well known, but the more basic social science question is seldom addressed: what social institutions and conditions help governments and the public trust science, admit risks more clearly, and respond effectively to fix global warming? The conference will bring together social scientists from around the world to investigate that very question. Introduction: Walter Mondale, former Vice-President of the United States and Ambassador to Japan. Keynote: Leslie King, "Findings from the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Project: a progress report and synthesis."
• Learn more
The eighth annual State of the Academic Health Center Address by Frank Cerra, senior vice president for health sciences, will be Wednesday, Jan. 31. This year's speech will be presented in the newly restored Mayo Auditorium. The presentation, "Learning from History: Driving to Discover the Future," will be preceded by the Academic Health Center Faculty Assembly. SPH faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.
• 2-2:45 p.m. - Academic Health Center Faculty Assembly
• 3-4:00 p.m. - State of the Academic Health Center Address
• 4-5 p.m. - Reception and tours of Mayo Auditorium.
The Deinard Memorial Lecture Series on Law and Medicine presents Stephen Morse, University of Pennsylvania, who will present "New Neuroscience, Old Legal problems: The Case of Juvenile Responsibility," Thursday, Feb. 1, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Coffman Memorial Union Theater. This lecture will address the legal implications of neuroscientific advances that have been fueled by the revolution in imaging technology.
PAMOJA! is an evening of "togetherness" with food, drink, music, and entertainment on Monday, Feb. 8, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Weisman Art Museum. The evening is sponsored by the School of Public Health Student Senate. For questions, please email sphss@umn.edu.
Ground-breaking Stem Cell Conference will be held on Feb. 26. This is a full-day conference sponsored by the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences. This conference will convene top researchers and experts to explore the issues raised by SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer), the options open to universities, and how policy should progress. To register for the conference, "Creating Stem Cells by Research Cloning: Scientific, Ethical, Legal and Policy Challenges," visit the Web site or e-mail lawvalue@umn.edu.
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health Seminars take place Fridays, 10-11 a.m. in WBOB, room 364. Learn more at the Epi Web site. Upcoming seminars:
• Jan. 19: Beth Virnig, SPH, "Use of Medicare and SEER/Medicare data for Epidemiologic Research."
• Jan. 26 Deborah Hennrikus, SPH
• Feb. 2 Alex Scott-Samuel, director, IMPACT – International Health Impact Assessment Consortium
Upcoming CPHEO Courses
Risk Communication: Public Engagement in Public Health Practice will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wedesday, Jan. 17 at the Coffman Memorial Union. The featured speaker will be University of Minnesota professor Will Hueston. The course is part of the Emergency Readiness Rounds series. This semester Emergency Readiness Rounds will be offered spring semester as both an academic course (AHS 6001) and for continuing education credit from January to May. Register for academic credit at One Stop.
Evacuation Coordination: Train the Trainer
January 18. For more information or to register visit http://cpheo.sph.umn.edu/niehs
• 8-Hour Hazardous Waste Site Worker Training Refresher
February 8, 2007
For more information or to register visit http://cpheo.sph.umn.edu/niehs
• 24/40-Hour Hazardous Waste Site Worker Training
February 12 – 16, 2007
For more information or to register visit http://cpheo.sph.umn.edu/niehs
• Register now for Designing and Conducting Focus Group Interviews
Session I: March 12-13, 2007, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Session II: March 14-15, 2007, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Workshop Leader: Richard Krueger
This workshop is an interactive, intensive (yet enjoyable) overview of focus group procedures that can be used in public and non-profit environments. Practical approaches to determining the appropriate use of focus group studies, design options, developing questions, recruiting participants, moderating skills, and analyzing and reporting results are emphasized. The workshop can be taken as non-credit continuing education or for 1 graduate credit. For more information visit http://cpheo.sph.umn.edu.
• 2007 Summer Public Health Institute (May 21 – June 8) - Want more information?
Visit cpheo.sph.umn.edu/institute for the complete three-week schedule including new courses offerings in a workshop format. The print catalog will be available in late January. If you are not on the mailing list, please call 6-4515 or email cpheo@umn.edu to request a copy.
• Events on the AHC Web Site
• Events on the SPH Web Site
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Last modified on Monday Jan 15, 2007