The Weekly SPHere Oct. 8, 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
Calling on Twin Cities Marathon Runners. Did you participate in the Twin Cities Marathon this year? If so, please send your name (for students, your major; for faculty/staff, your title), and if you'd like it included, your time. We'll include a list of SPH runners in a future email. Congratulations to all who ran.
Facebook is a new UMTC emergency communication tool. To supplement communications tools used during campus emergencies, UMTC has created the U of M Emergency Notification Facebook group. U community members who join can have access to the latest information on crisis situations, such as weather emergencies, hazardous material spills, or crime alerts. Recent crises on campuses around the country, including recent bomb threats at UMTC, prompted the change. Facebook, a popular social networking Web site, has been primarily a student phenomenon, but membership is rapidly expanding to the employment ranks of higher education.
• Join the group or
• Become a Facebook member
Tips for taking shelter on campus in case of severe weather are posted on the Department of Emergency Management Web site. See "Severe Weather Emergencies" and scroll to the end.
AHC Student Immunization Requirement. All students are required to be in compliance with the Academic Health Center (AHC) immunization requirements to be able to register for Spring Semester 2008 classes. Please be sure to be in compliance no later than Wednesday, Oct. 31.
• Learn more online
Are you attending APHA this year? If so, consider signing up to volunteer at the SPH booth. Each year the booth is buzzing with alumni, friends, faculty, and your future colleagues (prospective students). What a perfect opportunity to network and assist the Student Services Center personnel. If you are presenting, you may want to schedule yourself at the booth immediately following your session to accommodate continued discussion or prior to your session to advertise yourself. A booth staffing schedule that reflects the concurrent sessions of the conference is being managed by Melvin Monette, Director for Student Recruitment. Please stop by Melvin's office in Mayo D384 to claim your spot on the schedule and pick up a complimentary copy of APHA's Program at a Glance. You may also e-mail monet008@umn.edu.
Business card orders will be accepted through Monday, Oct. 15 ensuring that they will be available for you for APHA. The cost is $17 for 100.
• Place your order online
Are you looking for a way to participate in SPH recruiting efforts? If so consider getting involved in upcoming events or offering suggestions for recruiting opportunities. Stop in the recruitment services office to volunteer for upcoming opportunities. Contact Melvin Monette for details at 4-0601 or monet008@umn.edu.
School News
Participants wanted for Alzheimer's disease research conducted by the School of Nursing and the Medical School. Researchers are focused on discovering future therapies that will slow or halt the progression of the disease, which affects 13 million adults worldwide. They are looking to identify biological determinants of Alzheimer's. A phone call will determine if a person is qualified and an office visit for a physical exam and blood and urine tests. To participate or for questions, contact Joe Gaugler at 6-2485 or gaug0015@umn.edu.
Fellowship opportunities. Families USA is accepting applications for two fellowships -- The Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice and the Villers Fellowship for Health Care Justice. The deadline is Jan. 15, 2008. For more information about the fellowships go to:
• Learn more about the Wellstone fellowship
• Learn more about the Villers fellowship
SPH Events
Save the date for the All-School Winter Reception. Students, staff, and faculty mark December 13 for the All-School Winter Reception. The magic will begin at 2:15 p.m. at the Weisman Art Muesum and last until 4:30 p.m. Food and fun will be present at the Weisman along with some other surprises. More information will be given as the date gets closer.
SPH celebrates National Coming Out Day. All SPH faculty, staff and students are invited to a gathering to celebrate National Coming out Day on Thursday, Oct. 11 from 11 a.m. to noon in A301 Mayo (the Dean’s office). Pizza and beverages will be provided at the event sponsored by SPH Multicultural Services. For questions contact Thuy Doan at 4-6915 or doanx034@umn.edu.
A discussion on the Medical Arms Race Syndrome featuring Mark McClellan will be held on Monday, Oct. 15 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Mississippi Room at the Coffman Union. McClellan, former FDA commissioner and former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will address the impact of government regulation and payment systems on the Medical Arms Race. The event is sponsored by the National Institute of Health Policy (NIHP) and the Medical Technology Leadership Forum (MTLF). Students may attend for free. The NIHP has teamed up with the MTLF at the SPH to host this event, in conjunction with MTLF's 2007 Fall Forum. To learn more, visit NIHP's Web site.
• Register online
Jimmy Efird will discuss, "A Method to Model Season of Birth as a Surrogate Environmental Risk Factor for Disease," during a seminar on Monday, Oct. 15. The seminar will be held at 12:15 p.m. in 2-520 MoosT. Efird is a candidate for a director position in the Biostatistical Design and Analysis Center at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. All are welcome to attend and lunch will be provided for the first 30 attendees.
Plan B Presentation. Benhuai Xie will discuss, "Prediction of Kidney Transplant Acute Rejection with SNPs: A Comparison of Penalized Logistic Regression and Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction" during the presentation at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 15. The presentation will be held in A434 Mayo. Refreshments will be served prior to the presentation.
Students in the MCH Program will discuss their public health experiences in India during two informal gatherings. Both sessions will be held in A301 Mayo (in the Dean's suite of offices) and both will be from 12:15-1:15 p.m. The first is Monday, Oct. 15 and features Karthik Srinivasan discussing his work with a project to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and with HIV/AIDS in commercial sex workers in South India. In the second session on Monday, Oct. 29, Mandi Proue and Terra Carey will share stories and photos from their recent field work. MCH will provide light refreshments and everyone is welcome to attend.
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-noon. This schedule is subject to change. Please call Carol Raichert at 5-1836 to confirm.
- October 8: Jeff Mandel and Bruce Alexander
Persistent fluorochemicals, worker health, and mortality - October 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 public health and public policy analyst and intern positions for which they hire, including those on their health care team. Students pursuing the M.P.H. in Public Health Administration and Policy, and the M.S. in Health Services Research, Policy and Administration may be particularly interested in considering the GAO, yet recruiters encourage all interested students to attend. Learn more at www.gao.gov. The session is scheduled for noon-1p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, in Mayo A-301. Lunch will be provided. 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 School of Public Health Roundtable Series on Environmental Influences on Human Development and Disease Risk will be held from 8:30-noon on Friday, Oct. 12 in Cowles Auditorium at the Humphrey Center. The keynote speaker is Philip J. Landrigan. This event will focus on the historical and unprecedented increases in chronic disease and illness among infants and children. After the event participants will better be able to identify continuing and emerging threats to infant and child health, describe changes in governmental policy that can protect children from environmental hazards and risk and describe issue advocacy efforts at local, regional national and global levels to help reduce those risks. The Roundtable Series is free but registration is requested.
• Learn more/register online
Other Events
Canadian Defense Scientist Jim Ho will discuss, "Detection of Biological Threat Aerosols: Why is it so Difficult," on Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in 2-620 Moos Tower. The event is part of the LM Fingerson/TSI Inc., Distinguished Lecture Series. A wine and cheese reception will be held in the Campus Club at the Coffman immediately following the event.
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 session 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.
• Learn more online
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
Looking for a green career? What action can you take now to get on your green career track and work for a sustainable world? Barbara Parks from Green Career Tracks will help you answer these questions and get you started on creating your own green careers customized plan during an upcoming session. For more information contact Do It Green! Minnesota (formerly Twin Cities Green Guide) at 612-345-7973 or info@doitgreen.org.
- 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25 at the West 7th Community Center 265 Oneida St, St. Paul
- 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Washburn Public Library 5244 Lyndale Ave., S., Mpls.
- Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 at Natural Built Home 4020 Minnehaha Ave., Mpls.
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, 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 October 17.
• Register online. Questions?
Call (612) 673-3948.
Diabetes--a Breakthrough Series event. Registration is now open for the daylong event scheduled for Monday, Oct. 29. Learn about important research that examines insulin delivery systems, continuous glucose monitoring, islet transplantation, stem cells and other emerging modalities. The event is presented by the Office of Clinical Research and partner, LifeScience Alley. University faculty, staff and students will receive a discounted rate of $25 for the full- day conference on the St. Paul Campus.
• Register online
A conference on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) will be held on Thursday, Nov. 8. This conference will cover a multitude of topics related to FASD including current diagnostic criteria, approaches for screening for alcohol use during pregnancy, and prevention and intervention strategies. The keynote address will be presented by Dan Dubovsky, the FASD specialist for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) FASD Center for Excellence. Registration fee is $25. Student scholarships are available. Please call Mary Ellen Walker at 651-351-3135.
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.