The Weekly SPHere Sept. 24, 2007
The Weekly SPHere is a weekly electronic publication for students in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. To submit items for the Weekly SPHere, please send an e-mail to sphnews@umn.edu.
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Student News
Stephanie Ball will serve as the campus liaison to the Student Assembly of the American Public Health Association for the University of Minnesota.
Planned Parenthood is seeking a program evaluation intern. As the education program evaluator, you will assess evaluation tools currently being used by Planned Parenthood and recommend changes as needed. You'll also develop new evaluation tools and processes to determine whether the program goals are being met, as well as administering tools and interpreting results. Knowledge of evaluation techniques is a must, and basic knowledge of current topics in sexuality, experience working with teens, and the ability to travel to Rochester and/or Duluth are all pluses though not required.
• Apply online. Questions? Write to volunteers@ppmns.org or call
(612) 821-6113.
It's not too late to join the School of Public Health Student Senate! We are holding open nominations for a number of positions. If you are interested, request the list of openings from sphss@umn.edu to read the descriptions of positions. Then select up to three positions to apply for and for each position send an e-mail to sphss@umn.edu with your name, your year, your track, and a paragraph telling us about yourself and why you think you're a good candidate for the position. E-mails must be sent by Wednesday, Sept. 26, at midnight. Everyone will be notified of their new positions before the meeting on
Wednesday, Oct. 3.
Equivalency exams for the School of Public Health core courses have been scheduled for January. Please contact the appropriate person by Jan. 5 if you are interested in taking the exam.
Equivalency Exam Date Time Contact
- Administration Jan.9, 2008 9-11 a.m. Doug Wholey
- Behavioral Science Jan.9 2008 1-3 p.m. TBA
- Biostatistics Jan. 10, 2008 9-11 a.m. Sally Olander
- Environmental Hlth Jan. 10, 2008 1-3 p.m. Ian Greaves
- Epidemiology Jan. 11, 2008 9-11 a.m. DeAnn Lazovich
- Ethics Jan. 11, 2008 1-3 p.m. Debra DeBruin
SPH Events
The Elephants in the Room: Social Justice, Public Health, and Health Inequities will be presented by Nancy Krieger, Harvard School of Public Health, on Friday, Sept. 28 at Coffman Union Theater, reception at 9 a.m., lecture from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Krieger will discuss three questions researchers must confront: what are health disparities?; what are their causes?; and who is responsible for health inequities? And she will draw attention to the "elephants" must we confront if our work is to make a dent in eliminating health inequities. This event is part of the Carl J. Martinson, MD, Lectureship in Preventive Medicine, presented by the SPH's Division of Epidemiology and Community Health.
• Learn more online
A simulation study comparing expectation substitution and full maximum likelihood methods in haplotype-based genetic association analysis is scheduleded for 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 24 in D325 Mayo. Xiaoxiao Kong, a masters candidate in biostatistics, is the presenter.
A Biostatistics seminar, "Identifying Protein Markers from Mass Spectrometry Data with Ordinal Outcome" will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26 in MoosT 1-450G. Deukwoo Kwon, a postdoctoral visiting fellow from the National Cancer Institute, is the keynote speaker. A social tea will be held at 3 p.m. in A434 Mayo. All are welcome.
• Learn more online or call 4-4655
Missing data imputation in case-parent triad studies will be discussed by Zhi Huang, a masters candidate in biostatistics, at 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 1, in A110 Mayo.
Plan B Presentation, part III, will be held at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2. Fang Liu, a masters candidate in biostatistics, will discuss "Multi-Class Cancer Outliner Differential Gene Expression Detection." Liu's presentation will be held in A434 Mayo.
Xenobiotics and Human Health Seminar Series: The Divisions of Epidemiology and Community Health and Environmental Health Sciences are holding a series of joint seminars. The goal is to exchange information and ideas about persistent organic pollutants and health, seen from several perspectives. Place and Time: Mayo 1155, Mondays, 10:30 a.m. to noon. This schedule is subject to change. Please call Carol Raichert at 5-1836 to confirm.
• Sept. 24: Jose Suarez (PhD student) and Bruce Alexander
• Exposure to pesticides on farms and flower plantations
• Oct. 8: Jeff Mandel and Bruce Alexander, Persistent fluorochemicals, worker health, and mortality
• Oct. 22: Deborah Swackhamer and Matt Simcik, Fate and transport of emerging chemical pollutants
Governmental Accountability Office information session. Representatives from the GAO will facilitate a session about their agency and the kind of public health and public policy positions they hire. The session is scheduled for noon-1p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, in Mayo A-301. Lunch will be provided. The GAO Health Care Team will be hiring for analyst and intern positions in 2008. The GAO also offers a two-year professional development program. E-mail Jen Burns Arntzen by Tuesday, Oct. 9, if you plan to attend (with "RSVP to Oct 11" in the subject line). Her e-mail address is arntz007@umn.edu.
The SPH Roundtable Series on Environmental Influences on Human Development and Disease Risk will be held 8:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, Oct. 12 in Cowles Auditorium at the Humphrey Center. The keynote speaker is Philip J. Landrigan. The Roundtable Series is free but registration is requested.
• Learn more online
Other Events
Just how do they get cheese on potato chips? Find out during the Joan Gordon Memorial Food Chemistry Fellowship Seminar, "How Do They Get Cheese on Potato Chips: The Wonders of Powder Coating." The seminar will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25, in FScN 15. Sheryl Barringer from the Department of Food Science and Technology at Ohio State University is the keynote speaker. A reception will follow the seminar. A seminar webcast is also offered.
You may join the presentation at any time and do not need a password. Questions may be asked of the speaker via live chat. Simply enter as a guest and follow the prompts.
• Go to the presentation and/or view previous webcasts
Thinking about a law degree to complement your MPH or other SPH degree? If so, make plans to attend an information session from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday Sept. 26. It will be held at the Law School in 25 Mondale Hall. Topics to be addressed include: pre-law resources, admission tips, what law school is like, and what it's like to practice law. This is a free event, but registration is required.
• Register online
The Academic Health Center will hold a campus-wide blood drive. Please schedule your appointment in advance at American Red Cross (ARC) and search by ZIP code 55455. Donors must be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds, and present a photo ID at check-in. If you have traveled outside the United States in the past year or have other questions about eligibility to donate, call the ARC nurse at (651) 291-3885 before scheduling. The blood drive is on Tuesday Sept. 25 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center. Questions? Contact Jenny Meslow at meslo001@umn.edu or call (800) 448-3543.
Volunteering is a great way to get connected to the community, and it looks great on your resume! Attend the annual Community Involvement Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. to learn about agencies that could use your help. The fair will be held in the Great Hall at Coffman Union. Representatives from more than 80 organizations will be on hand to discuss volunteer and internship opportunities that match your major or interests.
• Learn more online
The Graduate School is offering workshops on subjects ranging from Work/Life Balance to Writing Fundable Grant Proposals.
• Learn more/register online
Preconception Conference. A Lifespan Approach to Reproductive Health: Getting it Right. A one-day conference about preconception care will be held on Friday, Oct. 5, at Snelling Office Park in St. Paul. The conference is intended for health care providers, nurses, public health professionals, researchers, allied health students, health administrators, and policy makers. Conference participants may earn continuing education credits.
• Learn more online
Disparities: Unequal Opportunities, Unequal Outcomes is an initiative to make small grants and provide technical assistance to seed or support small projects that promote or examine ways to effectively address disparities among Minnesota's children, youth, and families. Funding is from the President's Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families. The Children, Youth, and Family Consortium requests proposals by Friday, Oct. 5.
• See the request for proposals
Do you still wonder which fork to use at a fancy dinner? If so, make plans to attend the Etiquette Dinner scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
• Learn more online
The 2007 Many Faces of Community Health Conference will be held on Thursday Oct. 11 and Friday Oct. 12. The focus of the conference is on working to reduce health disparities in underserved populations. This year's clinical sessions are on managing multiple chronic diseases. The keynote is "Bridges Out of Poverty." There will be a special session on Friday about working with homeless populations. Student Rates & Scholarships available; please call (651) 201-5429
• Learn more/register
Why We Eat More Than We Think. The Institute for Research in Marketing is pleased to announce that Brian Wansink, author of the best-selling book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, will discuss the influence of advertising and marketing on eating habits on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., in the Carlson School of Management's 3M Auditorium. A reception will follow the talk. This event is open to the public with a registration fee of $45; current University of Minnesota students may register at no charge.
• Register online
Minnesota Public Health Association's Centennial Celebration Gala - Join the MPHA as it celebrates 100 years as a contributor to the health of Minnesotans. Will Steger, polar explorer, will be the keynote speaker at the event, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25, 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. at McNamara Alumni Center. The evening includes a buffet dinner and cash bar, music by the MPHA Jazz Band, welcoming remarks by public health leaders, a history of public health in Minnesota, and highlights from A Public Health Journal. Registration deadline is Oct. 17.
• Register online. Questions? Call (612) 673-3948.
The Weekly SPHere is sent by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 420 Delaware Street, S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455. www.sph.umn.edu.