SPH News July 6, 2009
SPH News is a school-wide electronic newsletter distributed to SPH faculty and staff every other week during the school year. Please send news items to SPHNews@umn.edu.
From the Dean
Gone Fishing? Risky Business!
Here it is July already, one of Minnesota’s premier vacation months. I was considering a sign in place of today’s column: “Gone Fishing.” But I had second thoughts about it because from a public health perspective, fishing is an increasingly risky activity in Minnesota.
I am writing this column from a cabin on the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota. My family has vacationed here every summer (some winters, too) for 25 years. For many members of my family—as well as millions of other Minnesotans—fishing is one of the main events. But it has become increasingly risky, as public health experts across three state agencies focus on one of Minnesota's most serious problems: polluted lakes, rivers, and ground water. This has been a problem in the making for a very long time, indeed, and it is something Minnesota is sensitive about, given our erstwhile state slogan, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The main culprits are industrial and agricultural chemicals, and contamination from coliform bacteria and phosphorus, among other substances. In far northern Minnesota, mercury is a chief hazard. In fact, there are advisories for many lakes recommending against frequent fish consumption by size of fish (big ones have absorbed more mercury), and based on a person's age and gender (children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable). Some of these advisories apply to Lake Superior, reputedly the cleanest of the Great Lakes. And they certainly apply to the Mississippi River and Twin Cities lakes. Risks are worse for people of limited means who fish to supplement their diets. While Minnesota is working hard to reverse the damage to our waterways and ground water, reverting to a near-pristine state will take time. In the meantime, catch and release doesn't look like such a bad idea, at least for those who fish for leisure.
By the way, the three state agencies engaged in this work are the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. You can read more here at the Minnesota Department of Health.
—John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
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Media News
June media coverage featured the following SPH faculty and staff:
- Alvaro Alonso
- Kristin Anderson
- Lynn Blewett
- Michael Davern
- Roger Feldman
- John Finnegan
- Bernard Harlow
- Craig Hedberg
- David Jacobs
- Nicole Larson
- Leslie Lytle
- Jeff Mandel
- Jian-Min Yuan
- Michael Osterholm
- Mary Story
- Deborah Swackhamer
- David Wallinga
Coverage was featured in local media as well as in Canadian Press, Kansas City Infozine, New York Times, California’s KESQ — TV, West Virginia’s WCHS — TV, Austin Daily Herald, Consumer Reports, Time Magazine, Gainesville Sun, Winnipeg Free Press, Washington Post, USA Today, El Paso Times, Chronicle Herald, Lethbridge Herald, Physorg.com, Wall Street Journal, and Albany Times Union. Visit SPH in the News to read more about SPH faculty in the news.
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Faculty News
Jean Forster is the new director of graduate studies for Epidemiology. Her term runs through June 2012. She succeeds Pamela Schreiner, whose term ended in June.
Pat McGovern was appointed to the National Children’s Study Executive Steering Committee. This committee addresses protocol and operational decision making for the study—the largest, long-term study of environmental and genetic influences on children’s health ever conducted in the United States.
Nancy Nachreiner has been named co-director of the Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing (OEHN) Program of the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Nachreiner has been faculty in the OEHN program since 2002. In her role as OEHN co-director, Nachreiner will teach and recruit OEHN students, plan and evaluate curriculum, conduct research and outreach, and coordinate interdisciplinary collaboration.
Deb Swackhamer has accepted the Charles M. Denny Jr. Chair in Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. She will combine her scientific expertise with the study of how science informs public policy. Swackhamer has also been involved with the Statewide Water Framework and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board.
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School News
“Creating a 21st Century Intelligent Health System in Minnesota” will be held on Wednesday, July 15 in Memorial Hall at the McNamara Alumni Center. The event begins at 11 a.m. and will feature Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation, and Cal Ludeman, Minnesota Commissioner of the Department of Human Services. The event will be webcast live.
• More information
The National Institute of Health is calling for applications for two clinical research scholars for its K12/Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars (CAPS). This career advancement program for clinical research scholars emphasizes a multidisciplinary team approach to mentoring and research. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is 5 p.m. on July 15. Send completed applications electronically in Word, Arial 11, in the designated format to tharp@epi.umn.edu. Direct questions and requests for applications to tharp@epi.umn.edu.
Community Partner Star Nominations now being accepted. Each SPH division is asked to nominate up to five individuals for a Community Partner Star award. This award is intended to thank those individuals who have been mentors, preceptors, guest lecturers, field experience hosts, and research partners. The awards will be presented at the annual Community Partners celebration on Thursday, Sept. 17. If you’d like to nominate someone, you can either communicate your nominees to your division head or send an e-mail to Nichole Axtman at mart1047@umn.edu with the following information by Friday, July 17:
- Name(s)
- Contact information of nominee(s) i.e. phone number & e-mail address
- A brief description (two-three sentences) as to why this person(s) has been nominated
The Deborah E. Powell Center will present the Sixth Annual Women’s Health Research Conference on Monday, Sept. 21 at the McNamara Alumni Center. This year’s theme is “A Focus on Women’s Mental Health and Neurosciences.” Poster abstracts will be accepted on any topics regarding women’s health or gender specific research across the lifespan. The deadline for award consideration is Wednesday, July 15, and Monday, Aug. 3, to be recognized in the program.
• Submit an abstract online
Nicole Larson, research associate for Project EAT in Epidemiology and Community Health, received the Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award. She completed an M.P.H. in public health nutrition and a Ph.D. in nutrition at the U of M.
Minnesota Taconite Worker Health Study website launched in June. The Minnesota Taconite Worker Health Study is a comprehensive, U of M-led research initiative to determine the cause of mesothelioma in Minnesota’s Iron Range mining industry workers. The goals of the new website are to provide study news, resources, and information for participants, health care providers, researchers, and members of the media.
• Visit the website
This month’s issue of Research Brief comes from SPH faculty member Kyle Rudser in the Division of Biostatistics. He writes about Inference for Arbitrary Functionals of Survival.
• Read the brief
Recent Public Health Moment segments featured Leslie Lytle and the Blue Zones Vitality Project in Albert Lea, Minn., and Jean Forster's research that shows smoking bans do not cause economic harm to bars and restaurants.
There will be no EpiCH Shuttle service during the summer. Service resumes Tuesday, Sept. 8. The mail runs to ECRC, Mayo, and HSRC will continue at their regular times.
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SPH Events
Career Services is offering a four-part series called the SPH Job Club to assist recent graduates and alumni in their job search. The meetings will be held at 10 a.m. on four consecutive Thursday mornings: July 9, 16, 23, and 30. Job Club meetings will be held in D305 Mayo in the Career Resource Center. Attendees should bring a copy of their resume to receive a one-to-one resume critique with a career consultant after the meeting ends. For any questions regarding the Job Club, contact Mary Dwyer at 6-4448 or dwyer012@umn.edu.
•More information online
“Determining the Impact of Donor KIR Genotypes on AML Patients Who Underwent HCT Using Ordinary and Competing Risks Survival Data” will be presented by Matt Rousseau. This Plan B presentation will be held on Wednesday, July 8, at 11 a.m., in Mayo A110. Refreshments will be served.
“Estimation of Gene-Gene Interactions in Case-Parent Triad Studies in the Presence of Missing Data” will be presented by Matt Deyo-Svendsen. This Plan B presentation will be held Thursday, July 9, at 10 a.m., in Mayo A301. Refreshments will be served.
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Student News
Wobo Bekwelem and Imee Cambronero received the President’s Student Leadership and Service Awards in May. The award recognizes the accomplishments and contributions made by outstanding student leaders at the U of M. It is presented to approximately one-half of one percent of the student body for their exceptional leadership and service to the University and the surrounding community.
Liz Hackenmueller received the 2009 Student Achievement Award from the Minnesota Public Health Association. The award is given to a public health graduate student who has demonstrated leadership skills in the contribution to the promotion of the health of individuals, families, and the community.
Charu Mathur received overall First Prize for her poster “Transitions in Cigarette Smoking among Adolescents” at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Epidemiological Research (SER) in June. Mathur is a doctoral student in Epidemiology and Community Health.
Epidemiology students who make up Team D received recognition on a recent Consumer Reports blog highlighting their findings as related to food-borne illness after a recent peanut butter contamination in Minnesota. Team D also received national recognition a year ago when the group linked a nation-wide salmonella outbreak to jalapeños.
• Read the blog
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CPHEO News
2009 National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course
July 29-31
• Additional Information
8-Hour Emergency Response Refresher
Tuesday, August 11
• Additional Information
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Other Events
Magers & Quinn’s “Big Bang” popular science book club will meet to discuss My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey. The discussion is on Tuesday, July, 28 at 7 p.m. at Grumpy’s Bar and Grill on Washington Avenue. For future book club events, visit Magers & Quinn Booksellers.
For more events, go to the SPH Online Calendar
Subscribe to SPH calendar updates by e-mail
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Events on the AHC Web Site
Events on the SPH Web Site
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Last modified on Thursday Jul 02, 2009