EpiCH News – May, 2012
“Sometimes I feel like I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.”
– Anonymous
Things You Need To Know
SPH Commencement 2012
When: May 14, 5 pm
Where: Mariucci Arena, 1901 4th St. S.E., Minneapolis
Commencement Speaker: Reed V. Tuckson, MD, FACP, Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs of UnitedHealth Group.
EpiCH Shuttle Schedule
The EpiCH shuttle will continue to run the regular schedule through June 8. The shuttle will not run through the summer, and will resume the regular schedule September 4.
Student News
Congratulations!
The following students have won Division Awards:
Sarah Eichberger won the Ruth Stief Chair Award
Katie Loth and Anna Fedorowicz both won the Lester Breslow Award.
Mandy Stahre, recent Epi PhD candidate and Amanda Beaudoin, PhD candidate in the Veterinary Medicine Graduate Program have been selected to join the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2012 class of EIS officers consists of 83 medical and public health professionals from across the globe selected for a two-year training program to apply public health in field investigations of serious public health problems. The EIS program, made famous in the movie “Contagion”, was created in 1951 to respond to the threat of biological warfare brought about by the Korean War. EIS Officers quickly became known as “disease detectives” and have been on the forefront of public health investigations and programs including smallpox eradication, influenza surveillance, anthrax attacks, hurricane response, as well as many others. Dr Stahre will be stationed at the Washington State Department of Health in Olympia, WA and Dr Beaudoin will be stationed at the Pennsylvania Department of Health in Harrisburg, PA. Congratulations!
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Epi Genetic Meeting
When: Friday, May 11, 11:00 am
Where: 1-112 Moos-T
Epi Postdoc/RA Meeting
When: Friday, May 18, 11:45 am
Where: 140 WBOB
Events & Conferences
All-School Assembly Meeting
When: Thursday, May 10, 1-2:30pm
Where: Mayo Memorial Auditorium
SPH faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the school-wide spring assembly and faculty meeting SPH award winners will be announced. Refreshments provided and parking coupons will be available.
MPHA Series, “What Plagues Our Children?” Presents:
What chemicals are our children eating, drinking and breathing?
When: Friday, May 11, 7:30-9:00am
Where: MN Dept Health, St. Paul
This forum will discuss the chemicals that surround our children, the impact that they have on children’s health and the policy actions that are in place to protect our children.
Home-Based Parenting Interventions to Promote Child Health
When: Monday, May 14, 9:30 – 11:00am
Where: HHH Cowles Auditorium
SPH Years of Service Event
When: Tuesday, May 15, 2:30-4:00 pm
Where: McNamara Alumni Center
Achieving Universal Health Care for Kids (& Adults): The Minnesota Health Plan
When: Wednesday, May 16, 3-4:30 p.m.
Where: Wilder Center, St. Paul, or by UMConnect
Ann Settgast, assistant professor of medicine, University of Minnesota, and HealthPartners Center for International Health, will present. This event is part of the National Children’s Study Speakers’ Series.
The Summer Public Health Institute
When: May 21-June 8
Courses will be offered in nine concentration areas of public health.
Division News
Faculty/Staff Profile: Pat Svedberg
REPAs
Effective 04/13/2012, all personnel listed on a PRF must have their 2011 REPAs submitted (pending status or approved) before SPA can submit the proposal. Anyone listed on the PRF as the PI or as an Investigator without a REPA submitted will hold up the entire submission. Also effective 04/13/2012 no awards (continuations, amendments, new, etc.) will be set up if the REPA’s are not approved.
- Questions? Contact Anjeanette Bastian, Grants& Contracts Administrator SPA basti042@umn.edu, 612-624-4121
Accounting Reminder:
Out of Pocket Purchases should be minimized and Ustores, PCARD, or Purchase Order used instead whenever possible.
- Guidelines for Determining Appropriateness of Out of Pocket Purchasing
Congratulations!
Mark Pereira received the Council of Graduate Students (COGS) Outstanding Faculty Award. This is the only faculty award that expresses the appreciation of the graduate student body—it was created by graduate students, nominations are made by graduate students, and the winners are selected by graduate students.
Mary Story received an award as the Outstanding Graduate or Professional Student Group Advisor. Co-sponsored by GAPSA, this award recognizes one outstanding advisor of a graduate or professional student group who has gone above and beyond to help their group accomplish its mission and goals. She was nominated by the SPH Student Senate.
Mary Cooper, one of EpiCH’s student workers, has been awarded the U’s Outstanding Student Employee Award. She has been a tremendous asset to our team, fielding all tasks with competence, energy, and enthusiasm, and a natural ability to see the “big picture.” Her healthy approach to balancing work, school, and her personal life means she is always pleasant and “upbeat”! Congratulations, Mary!
Tech Tips & News
New Presentation Equipment in WBOB
The TVs in room 364 have been replaced with a ceiling-mounted projector system. As with the TVs, this system can be used by anyone using the room. There are connections at the front of the room for a laptop, and controls to turn on the projector. The system also allows connection to the audio system in the room. The audio system is turned on by a power strip next to the AV cabinet. The AV cabinet also includes a DVD player that can be selected to be projected instead of the computer video.
If you would like to use this system, feel free to try it out ahead of time. Contact EpiHelp for assistance if you need it.
The TVs that were in 364 are being relocated to other conference rooms, so in the future we will have more rooms that have presentation equipment in them at all times for everyone to use.
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UMN VPN Service – What is it?
Recent changes to the UMN network require more people to start using the UMN VPN Service. If you are not aware of this service or what it can do for you, here is a little overview:
The UMN VPN service allows UMN personnel with current IDs to make a connection from a computer off-campus to the campus network that allows that remote computer to function as if it were on campus. A VPN tool on your computer creates a secure “tunnel” through the internet to the campus network. Once this tunnel is established you can connect to network services (like file shares) on campus.
Using the UMN VPN is a two-step process. First, use the VPN tool to connect and establish the secure tunnel. Then connect to the service that you want to use. When done, first disconnect from the service then shut down the VPN connection.
In addition to allowing access to on-campus network services, the VPN provides security for your network connections. This is handy when working on a shared wi-fi network, like at a coffee shop, or if you are on a network that you are not sure you can trust with your private info.
If you need to use the UMN VPN, EpiHelp can install the necessary components on your laptop and show you how to use it.
Media Mentions
Who Said What During March & April?
Just for Fun
May Riddle
Two people are talking on the phone long distance. One is in an East Coast state of the U.S., the other is in a West Coast state of the U.S. The first asks the other, “What time is it?” He hears the answer and says, “That’s funny. It’s the same time here!” Neither one of them were mistaken about the time.
How is this possible?
March Riddle
A man worked at a high security institution. The man tried to log into his computer and the computer denied the password. He then remembered that the passwords to the computers were reset every month for security reasons. He called his boss for his new password.
The man said, “Boss, my old password is out of date.”
The boss said, “Yes, it is. The new password is different, but if you listen closely you will be able to figure out the new one. Your new password has the same amount of letters as the old one, and four of the letters are the same.”
The man then logged into his computer with no trouble. What was the new password? What was his old password?
Old password: “outofdate”
New password: “different”
The winners: Lindsey Fabian, Sue Seftick, Dammy Oluleye, Carolyne Campbell, Dan Graham
Good job all!
Have some news or information for EpiCH News?
Send it to cwiebe@umn.edu.