SPH News July 3, 2006Jump to:From the Dean Faculty news Student news Staff news School news Calendar of events SPH News is a School-wide electronic newsletter distributed every other Monday during the school year. Over the summer, SPH News is distributed the first Monday of the month. The bi-weekly schedule will resume the first week in September. Please send news items to SPHNews@umn.edu. Whenever possible, please use SPH News in place of School-wide e-mails. The submission deadline for the August 7 issue is noon on Friday, August 4. Community partnerships an SPH priority Profs. Bob Jeffery, Simone French, and Mark Pereira of the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health presented their overviews in each area and other faculty joined us from Public Health, Medicine, Psychology and Food Science and Nutrition to add to the discussion. (By the way, you can listen in on the proceedings on the SPH Podcast Channel link from the front page of the SPH web site (www.sph.umn.edu).) The purpose of the event developed a couple of months ago when Dr. Manley and I got together to discuss BC/BS directions in community health since their tobacco settlement money became available for prevention and health promotion projects in Minnesota. Marc revealed that while his staff felt pretty confident about the evidence base for tobacco cessation and prevention, they were far less sure of the evidence underlying obesity, diet and physical activity interventions. I offered our faculty expertise to carry on a discussion. The seminar was born. The second meeting was with officials and staff from United Healthcare Group who are also interested in learning more about obesity treatment and prevention. Associate Dean Bill Riley organized the get-together with Bob Jeffery and Mary Story joining us for the discussion. Both events were important for a number of reasons. They underscore the respect and esteem that the community has for our faculty, to be sure, but also that our aim as a School to improve human health is shared in partnership with so many organizations and institutions. These partnerships are central to the success of our three-part missions of research, education and outreach. It is also revealing that these well known insurance and health providers increasingly recognize the need to go upstream from the usual acute care approaches to address these complex problems. One final insight - partnerships don't just happen. We need to continue working toward even better collaborations. It is one of our chief priorities. -- John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D. Faculty news (top) The Master of Healthcare Administration class of 2006 honored Jim Begun with the MHA Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching. Begun is the James A. Hamilton Term Professor in Healthcare Management in the Division of Health Policy and Management. Jean Forster, member of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center’s Prevention and Etiology Program, gave a presentation in June at the National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference on Tobacco Use Prevention, Cessation, and Control at NIH in Bethesda, MD. The three-day conference was convened to review the available evidence regarding what is known about tobacco use prevention, cessation and control, and what research gaps remain. Susan G. Gerberich received the Division of Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Excellence Award. The honor is bestowed annually by the graduating class for excellence in graduate instruction and progress in the professional development of the graduate students in the past academic year. Cheryl Perry received the 2006 Spring Prevention Science Award from the Society for Prevention Research. This award recognizes individuals for their work in developing and testing prevention strategies. The 2006-7 Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee begins meeting on September 15. The members are Chap Le and Wei Pan (Biostatistics); Bruce Alexander and Gurumurthy Ramachandran (Environmental Health Sciences); Harry Lando and Leslie Lytle (Epidemiology and Community Health); and Kathleen Call and Bryan Dowd (Health Policy and Management). Dowd will serve as chair. Please address any issues regarding faculty appointments, promotions, and continuation of probationary faculty to your division’s representative.
For descriptions of the Teaching Enrichment Workshops and links to registration, visit: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/enrichment/. For further information, please contact the Center for Teaching & Learning Services at (612) 625-3041. The SPH’s Advancement Services team is available to help you publicize your work and promote the school’s mission. If you have a study soon to be published, a research project newly under way, a grant award you wish the community to know about, or an event you want people to attend, contact Diana Harvey, SPH communications director. She can be reached at 5-7134 or dharvey@umn.edu. Media news The following SPH faculty members were featured in local, national and international media coverage for their work: Media outlets included: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, KARE 11, WCCO Radio, The Canadian Press, Forbes.com. The Sydney Morning Herald, The Contra Costa Times, The Baltimore Sun and many more. Student news (top) Dual degree candidate Robert Berlin (JD/MPH) has won first place in the fourth annual American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Law Student Writing Contest. Berlin's winning paper, "Epidemiology as More Than Statistics: A Revised Tool for Products Liability," will be considered for publication in the Tort Trial & Insurance Law Journal. In addition, he will receive $1,500 and round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations to attend the ABA Annual Meeting in Waikiki, Hawaii. Delta Omega Honor Society inducted several SPH students into its organization. Diana Plumer (HPM), Shannon Flood (HPM), Amanda Blasiak (EnHS) and Tricia Carmody (EnHS) are all newly-minted members. Delta Omega is the honor society for graduate studies in public health. Membership is based on outstanding academic performance. Ph.D. candidates Mira Grice (EnHS) and Tami Swenson (HPM) received awards for posters they submitted to the Delta Omega poster contest. This national competition is sponsored by the Association of Schools of Public Health and the Delta Omega Honor Society. Both won a cash prize and an opportunity to present their work at the American Public Health Association annual meeting. Doctoral student, Peter Scal, MD, MPH, has received a Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. His proposal, "Entry into Adult Care for Youth with Chronic Conditions," assesses the determinants of access, utilization and expenditures for young persons with chronic conditions as they transition into adulthood. SPH students Ele Scherman, Marie Quasius, Mindy Rostal, and others are writing about their summer experiences abroad. To read their entries in the Notes from the Field blog, go to http://blog.lib.umn.edu/sphpod/fieldnotes/. You can also leave comments. Concerned about campus awareness of mental health issues? Join students interested in starting a campus chapter of Active Minds. Open to all students, the organization’s mission is to provide information about available resources and serve as a liaison between students and the mental health community. Help the U of M chapter get started by contacting Cynthia Fuller at 624-0325 or full0060@umn.edu or http://www.activemindsoncampus.org. Staff News (top) The U’s new online employment system is live. It can be found at http://employment.umn.edu. The system allows local units to post position announcements via the Web, and job seekers to apply online. Access to the system is now being granted to those who will be initiating and/or approving job postings. Search committees and hiring authorities will also be granted guest access to the system in order to review applications. Judy Peterson (peter042@umn.edu or 4-7196) is distributing instruction manuals. If you have questions, please contact her or your division administrator. Andrew Ryan, research fellow in EnHS, has received the School of Public Health's P&A Excellence Award for his outstanding work in managing complex databases and mentoring of students in data analysis. School News (top) A Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course will take place from July 26-28 in Cowles Auditorium at Hubert H. Humphrey Institute. This continuing education program focuses on the improvement of maternal and infant health through the delivery of high-quality nutrition services. For more information, visit http://www.sph.umn.edu/publichealthplanet/events/mnic.html Minnesota Meeting, a public affairs forum, presents “Health Disparities: A Matter of Life and Death” on Thursday July 27 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Dr. Michael Trujillo, SPH alumnus, former director of the U.S. Indian Health Services and former Assistant U.S. Surgeon General will discuss on how Minnesota’s public health system and the clinical process itself must be realigned to meet the health care needs of communities of color. Visit http://www.minnesotameeting.com/disparities/mtg2.htm to register. The 2006 Summer Institute in Adolescent Health takes place at the Minnesota Department of Education Conference Center from July 31 – August 3. Participants will learn about resources for promoting healthy youth development and strategies for expanding youth representation and involvement in policymaking. To register, go to http://ustar.ahc.umn.edu/register_event.cfm. Email cpheo@umn.edu for more information. A 3-day workshop titled, “Designing, Conducting and Evaluating Functional Exercises,” will take place from August 7 – 9 at the Holiday Inn Select in Bloomington. The course is designed to assist public health planners in crafting, implementing and assessing functional and full-scale exercises for their health departments. It is open to participants from the state and local health departments and CPHP partners who have experience in designing and conducting tabletop exercises. To register for this course visit http://ustar.ahc.umn.edu/register_event.cfm A “Hazardous Materials 8 Hour Emergency Response Refresher” will take place on August 10. It is designed to meet OSHA requirements for annual refresher training for individuals engaged in hazardous materials emergency response and spills clean up who have previously completed Operations or Technician Level training. The New TA Orientation on Tuesday, August 29 focuses on teaching and learning as well as University policies and resources. It will be held in Ted Mann Concert Hall from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. New graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are encouraged to attend. For links to registration, visit: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/enrichment/. For further information, please contact the Center for Teaching & Learning Services at (612) 625-3041. “The Geneva Forum: Towards Global Access to Health” will be held August 30 to September 1. This forum will provide a unique opportunity for all participants to present and explore innovative partnerships and programs facilitating access to health. For more information and to register, go to http://www.hcuge.ch/genevahealthforum/GeneralInformation.html. Gary Schwitzer, director of graduate studies for the health journalism program, in collaboration with the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM), has launched HealthNewsReview.org. It is the first U.S. online service expressly designed for consumers and journalists who want reliable, unbiased analysis and evaluation of healthcare news articles that make claims about treatments and procedures. The Epi Shuttle will resume service on September 5, 2006. The SPH Alumni Network is available online. By providing contact information to the network, alumni can become a valuable resource for current and prospective students who are curious about public health careers. And, of course, they can also use the network to forge connections with other alumni. Check it out at http://www.sph.umn.edu/alumni/network/home.html. Mass dispensing online training modules are available to assist individuals who may be asked to work in mass dispensing sites during an emergency. To view the modules visit www.umncphp.umn.edu/massdisp. For more information, contact Jennifer Reilly at 624-7440 or e-mail massdisp@umn.edu. Calendar of Events (top)
Event listings are available at the SPH Web site at http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/events/home.html and the AHC site at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/calendar/. To sign up to receive SPH News, send your name and e-mail address to SPHNews@umn.edu. To read past issues of SPH News, go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/sphnewsletter.html. SPH News is sent by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 420 Delaware Street, S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455. www.sph.umn.edu. |