SPH News Sept. 4, 2007SPH 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 DeanWelcome to Fall Semester 2007! It is great to have everyone here—and new faculty, students, and staff--to join us for what I have no doubt will be another exciting academic year. The "dog days" of summer's end are passing into one of Minnesota's best seasonal transitions. Soon, the air will be a little more crisp. Leaves will burst into a rainbow of colors. It is a wonderful season to start new academic adventures, to re-energize continuing journeys, and to hear the stories of the summer. Let me tell you one right now. Just as summer was starting, the SPH was asked by legislative leaders to take leadership in an important study of the health of Minnesota's taconite workers. If you are not familiar with Minnesota, this involves that part of the state known as the Iron Range, historically one of the largest deposits of iron ore in the world. Beginning in the 19th century, iron ore mined from Minnesota was shipped to the blast furnaces of the eastern United States where it was turned into steel that built this nation and sustained it through two world wars. But high-grade ore began to run out in the early 20th century. With the help of the University of Minnesota, a new process was developed to turn lower grade ore into purified iron pellets that would continue to produce high-grade steel. Those pellets are called "taconite." By the mid-1950s, the first huge processing plants were built on the Iron Range. Whether mining the ore in open-pits or processing it in the plants, taconite production produces dust—lots of it. The question is, what are the long-term health effects on workers of exposure to this dust? Minnesota Department of Health scientists (many trained right here at the SPH) discovered an excess of cases of mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer, among taconite workers. The number rose from 17 cases in 2003 to 58 in 2006. The issue erupted late last spring in controversy over the Commissioner of Health's decision to delay releasing the findings for a year. She later regretted that decision and late in the summer decided to resign from her post. In mid-June, legislative leaders, many from the Iron Range, asked University President Bob Bruininks to provide the assistance of SPH and Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) scientists in getting to the bottom of the cause. We agreed. Dr. Jeff Mandel of the SPH Division of Environmental Health Sciences (EnHS) also agreed to serve as principal investigator along with key EnHS co-investigators Bruce Alexander, Ian Greaves, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, and Division Head Bill Toscano. At our first public meeting of the newly formed Minnesota Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership held on the Iron Range in early August, we laid out our plans for studies that will take place over the next three years. Importantly, scientists from the Minnesota Department of Health are indispensable to successful completion of this work and are full partners in unraveling this mystery on the Iron Range. Of course, this is only the beginning of this story. More episodes will come. At the end of the story, I hope that a key lesson will be that the University, communities, workers, and industry can come together to produce the best science and prevention for the health of Minnesota's Iron Range. To learn more about the partnership, please check out this website: www.sph.umn.edu/lunghealth/. Now, what's your summer story? --John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D. Media NewsAuguts 2007 media coverage featured the following SPH faculty and staff: Jean Abraham Coverage was featured in local media as well as in Time magazine, U.S. News & World Report, USAToday.com, and About.com. Visit www.sph.umn.edu/news to read more about SPH faculty in the news and find links to the complete stories. Research News
Faculty NewsIf you are teaching an online course or considering it, please make plans to attend the School of Public Health’s Digital Learning Summit on Friday, Sept. 14, in Mayo 3-125 (street level, near the Mayo Auditorium). The open house-style event will give faculty members an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of online teaching and show you ways to deliver course or research content online.
Lynn Blewett has been appointed by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Health Statistics. Russell Luepker has been named the American Heart Association 2007 Seasoned Advocate of the Year. In the past year, he played a leadership role to advance the national and Minnesota legislative agenda in heart health. Michael Osterholm has been appointed to a state working group on preparedness for terrorism and disasters by Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He has also received the 2007 State Excellence in Public Health Award from ASTHO, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. He will be recognized at ASTHO’s annual meeting, Oct. 2-5 in St. Louis, Mo. David Parker has authored Before Their Time: The World of Child Labor, a book of 134 photographs that portray the range of work and working conditions of children around the world. Parker took the photos from 1992 to 2004. The book, which features a forward by Sen. Tom Harkin, is published by Quantuck Lane Press and is available at major book retailers. Which community members have you worked with this past academic year, who helped enrich the SPH student experience? The SPH will honor these individuals at the annual Community Partners events on Thursday, Sept. 20. For more information, contact Michelle Lian-Anderson at liana001@umn.edu. School NewsPublic Health Moments from August include SPH faculty talking about topics such as alcohol advertising, donating blood, and immunizations. SPH Faculty Guidebooks available. If you would like copies of the 2006-07 SPH Faculty Guidebooks, please contact Kris Stouffer at stouffer@umn.edu. There are no limits on the quantity you may request. The 2007-08 edition of the guidebook will be available in early 2008. The summer issue of Advances magazine features the international field experiences of SPH students. To request copies of Advances, email Kris Stouffer at stouffer@umn.edu. The magazines are also available outside of the Dean’s Office in the Mayo building. Advances is a quarterly magazine for friends and alumni of the SPH. Gates Millennium Scholars Institute - The SPH has partnered with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program to host the Gates Millennium Scholars Graduate Studies Institute: Pathways to Professions in Public Health. This event to be held Sept. 8 offers undergraduate students who receive scholarship support through the GMS program an opportunity to engage in discussions with current students in public health, participate in faculty driven case studies with student and community partners, and network with emerging leaders in public health. Funded through a $1 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNCF is the administrator of the GMS program. For more information about the event, contact SPH staff Ruth Rasmussen, Lois Harrison, Carla Nathan, or Melvin Monette. For more information about the GMSP go to www.gmsp.org. This event is not open for general attendance. State Reform Evaluation Call for Proposals – SPH associate professor Lynn Blewett’s State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE) program issued a call for proposals to support research and evaluation of state reform initiatives that focus on health insurance access. SHADAC’s Kids Coverage Report Released - Led by SPH faculty member Michael Davern, SHADAC researchers prepared a new report on children’s health insurance coverage released by the Robert Wood Johnson Cover the Uninsured initiative on August 10. The report, "Protecting America’s Future: A State-by-State Look at SCHIP & Uninsured Kids," shows that 6.6 million children were covered by SCHIP at some point last year. Disaster in Franklin County: A Public Health Simulation - The University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) at the SPH Centers for Public Health Education and Outreach (CPHEO) has released Disaster in Franklin County: A Public Health Simulation. In this free online training tool the learner will assume the perspective of various public health professionals responding to a natural disaster. They will make decisions on behalf of a county public health director, a public health nurse, an environmental health specialist, and other public health professionals. Environmental Health Online - This series is designed to assist health professionals, with special emphasis on the role of nurses, who are interested in being members of the environmental health team by integrating knowledge and skills into professional practice through the use of distance learning technology. Each module offers readings, online references, and links to Web sites for timely updates on environmental health issues. SPH Events & CoursesXenobiotics 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.
Healers’ Healing and Resiliency in the Aftermath of Disaster: Harnessing Our Resources across Individual, Family, and Social Systems. September 5, noon-1:30 p.m., McNamara Alumni Center. Emergency Readiness Rounds are a series of sessions covering current issues and controversies in emergency readiness and response. As first responders, medical and mental health personnel, and public health professionals serving within the acute phases of a disaster transition to longer-term phases in recovery efforts, attention to these healers’ own healing and resiliency is essential to maintaining balance and mental/physical health. The presenter, Tai J. Mendenhall, will introduce key manners in which to harness our resources across individual, family, and social systems' continua, contextualizing these foci within the 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and Minneapolis 35-W bridge disasters. Learn about an exciting and easy method to reach students in online courses. Please join online faculty in a presentation by Kristin Anderson and Paul Bernhardt on an innovative way to reach students in online courses. Learn how easy it is to produce a quick "talking head" segment in WebCT. The event is Sept. 21, Mayo A301, 4 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Sarah Harper at 6-3740. Toxic Hazards in your Community: Free Community Workshops - These two-hour community workshops are for community members who are interested in understanding more about the toxic substances in their homes and neighborhoods. Participants will find out what might be dangerous where they live and how to protect their family and friends from those substances. Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course (Video Streaming), August 15-October 15, 2007. The National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course offers online video streaming over the Internet to allow distance learners an opportunity to view sessions of the course. The streaming video sessions will be 8-9 hours. UPCOMING CPHEO COURSES Occupational Hearing Conservation Refresher Training 8-Hour Hazardous Waste Site Worker Refresher, September 13, 2007 24- and 40- Hour Hazardous Waste Site Worker Training, September 17-21, 2007 Evacuation Coordination: Train the Trainer, September 27, 2007 Other EventsGet current on issues in clinical research
- The Academic Health Center, the Office of Clinical Research, and Mayo Clinical Trial Services are jointly sponsoring the conference Current Issues in Clinical Research, Sept. 18-19, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. This conference will focus on emerging trends and provide a comprehensive review of the responsibilities and process of clinical research performance. Regular registration is $550, but University faculty, research staff, and AHC students and trainees may attend for free. The next Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series in Health Disparities lecture will be held on Friday, Sept. 21, 12-1 p.m., in 1-450G Moos Tower. Speaker: Margarita Alegria, Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance. She will present a talk entitled, "Changing the Mindset to Reduce Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service Disparities." Also as apart of her visit, Alegria will be giving a less formal session at one of our community partners, West Side Community Health Services (153 Cesar Chavez Street, Saint Paul, MN 55107), on Thursday, September 20, 12:00-2:00 p.m. She will be speaking on "Psychological Health Impacts of Social Injustice." Space is limited for this meeting, so please RSVP to PHDR@umn.edu. This September is the fourth annual National Preparedness Month, a nationwide initiative sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies. This year, National Preparedness Month focuses on back-to-school planning, business preparedness, multicultural preparedness, and home and family preparedness. To assist with preparedness planning, LLIS.gov has created the National Preparedness Month resource page to share important information about these issues. To access the National Preparedness Month page, please log onto www.LLIS.gov and click on National Preparedness Month under Featured Topics. 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. October 25, 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. at McNamara Alumni Center. To sign up to receive SPH News, send your name and e-mail address to SPHNews@umn.edu. |