SPH News -- Sept. 19, 2006
SPH News is a School-wide electronic newsletter distributed every other Monday during the school year. 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 Oct. 2 issue is noon on Wednesday, Sept. 27. From the DeanNext month (October 3), we will honor our community partners and adjunct faculty in the SPH. This will be the third year of such honors. Let me tell you why they are important. Communities are the places where academic public health and professional practice intersect. The SPH could not succeed in its research or education missions without our community partners and adjunct faculty. They help us advance scientific discovery to public impact, teach many of our courses, and sharpen our academic training with real-world practice experience for our students. They are true partners in the school's mission without which we could not attain the excellence we strive for daily. There are dozens of organizations who partner with us in numerous ways, and more than 150 adjunct faculty who enhance our students' learning. They, like the SPH, are committed to human progress and achievement through better public health for all. October 3 will also mark the beginning of another advance in our partnerships. The SPH will host the first meeting of the Research and Education Advisors Partnership (REAP). The group's key mission is to bring together the SPH and some of its key partners to consider how we improve our collective impact on public health through joint research and education initiatives. If successful, such strategic partnerships could offer greater opportunities to shape the public health agenda and to stay on top of important changes in public health. Our thanks to all community partners and adjunct faculty who contribute so importantly to our school's excellence. --John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D. Faculty newsRSVPs for the school's annual Community Partners event are due Sept. 18. Community Partners recognizes individuals and organizations for their contribution to the education, training, and guidance of the next generation of public health leaders. SPH faculty are invited to the Oct. 3 event, to take place 5-7 p.m. at McNamara Alumni Center. Atum Azzahir, executive director, Powerhorn/Phillips Cultural Wellness Center, is the keynote speaker. RSVP online, by telephone (4-6669), or send a message to sphdo@umn.edu. The deadline for 2006-07 documentation for promotion or tenure is Monday, Sept. 18. Please forward the original plus 20 copies to the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee, c/o Judy Peterson, Dean's Office, SPH, room A308 Mayo. If you have any questions, please contact Judy Peterson (peter042@umn.edu, 4-7196) or Marsha Reinking (reink001@umn.edu, 6-1428). Alan Hirsch, epidemiolgy, is the national chairman of the PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease) Coalition, an alliance of national organizations and professional societies united to improve the health and health care of people with the disease. Mentoring expert Janet Bickel will lead three sessions on mentoring and career development at the Medical School, Thursday, Sept. 21. AHC faculty are welcome to attend. Bickel is a career development and executive coach and former associate vice president for medical school affairs at the Association of American Medical Colleges. Learn more about this event. The Academic Health Center and Mayo Clinical Trial Services are sponsoring a conference, "Current Issues in Clinical Research: Latest Trends in Clinical Research" Oct. 4-5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The program will cover the latest on pharmacovigilance, genomics and proteomics, principles of good clinical practice, and teamwork in clinical research. A nationally prominent faculty has been assembled, including SPH professor Jim Neaton. Download the registration form and/or learn more. Student newsJohn Amuasi has won an essay competition sponsored by the Geneva-based Global Forum for Health Research and The Lancet. The competition was open to young professionals (under 30) working on the broad spectrum of health research. The theme was “Combating disease and promoting health.” For their prize, the four winners will take part in Forum 10, the Global Forum’s 2006 annual meeting in Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 29-Nov. 2, at the invitation of the Minister of Health and Population of Egypt. The winning essays will be published in The Lancet online. Elizabeth Habermann and Stephanie Jarosek presented posters at the Third Annual Women's Health Research Conference, Powell Center for Women's Health at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 11. Habermann’s poster was titled "The Impact of a Change in Medicare Reimbursement Policy and HEDIS Measures on Stage at Diagnosis Among Medicare HMO and FFS Female Breast Cancer Patients." Jarosek’s was "Excess Mortality in Young Female Breast Cancer Survivors." Deadline to join the public health mentor program is Monday, Sept. 18. This joint program between the SPH and Minnesota Public Health Association gives students the opportunity to: network with public health professionals; discover career opportunities available in public health; share ideas about linking academic work to career objectives; and, explore the challenges and rewards of working in public health. Sign up at www.sph.umn.edu/mentor or contact Michelle Lian-Anderson at 6-5536. Do you know which fork is for your salad? Where do you place your napkin when leaving the table? Should you tell someone if they have food in their teeth? Get the answers to these questions and more at the 2006 Etiquette Dinner. Join fellow U of M students and learn how to professionally handle any dining situation. A three-course meal by D'Amico catering will give you the chance to try out these new skills: Tuesday, Oct. 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (registration begins at 5 p.m.), McNamara Alumni Center. Etiquette Dinner ticket cost per student is $14. Register online now. School newsPlease review and comment on the SPH self-study. Until Sept. 24, the school’s self-study will be posted online for review and comment. To make it easy to share your feedback and make requests for information, the school has established a dedicated e-mail address (sphceph@umn.edu) to which you may send comments. If you prefer to submit your input via regular mail, please send it to University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, MMC 197, 420 Delaware St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 Attn: CEPH Accreditation. Your comments will be taken into account as the school finalizes the self-study and submits it to the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) in mid-November. Go to the self-study online. Pamela Jo Johnson, research associate at the State Health Data Assistance Center (SHADAC), was selected as a 2006-2008 recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Program (LRP) award for her proposal "Methodological Issues in American Indian Health Disparities Research." The NIH LRP is a competitive program to encourage research careers in health disparities. The Minnesota Public Health Association (MPHA) has an opportunity to forward questions to gubernatorial candidates. The League of Women Voters Minnesota has invited MPHA members to submit questions about public health or health care policy for upcoming forums. Keep questions, no more than three, short. Include the candidate’s name if you wish it to be asked of just one candidate. Otherwise, the question will go to all candidates. Assemble all questions into one e-mail, and send to Ellie Garrett at egarrett@mn.rr.com by noon, Sept. 22. Each year, University Services confers Star Performer Awards to employees on the Twin Cities campus. These awards are designed to provide recognition to departments, teams, or individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty in the work they do. University Services includes Facilities Management, Public Safety, University Health and Safety, and Auxiliary Services. To nominate an individual or a team—even if you don't know the full name—simply complete a nomination form and return to userv@umn.edu by Friday, Sept. 22. Read the guidelines, download the nomination form and find more information. The Health Policy Management Seminar Series presents Amitabh Chandra, assistant professor of public policy, Harvard University. He will present the "Economics of Treatment Disparities in Healthcare" on Thursday, Sept. 21, 3-4:30 p.m. in room A-110 Mayo. Download the abstract. EpiCH Candidate Seminar: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2 p.m., in WBOB Rm. 142. Gail Laughlin, University of California, San Diego, will present “The Molecular Basis for Sex Differences in Coronary Heart Disease: Two Hormone Candidates.” The Academic Health Center will sponsor a blood drive Thursday, Sept. 28, 7 a.m. 5 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center. Please schedule your appointment by visiting http://www.givelife.org/ and entering the sponsor code: uofmacademic. Donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and present a photo ID at the blood drive check-in. If you have traveled outside the country in the past year, or have other questions about your eligibility to donate blood, please call the ARC nurse 651-291-3885 before scheduling your appointment. Greeters and canteen helpers are needed for the blood drive. If you (or someone you know) would be willing to volunteer for one 2.5 hour shift, please e-mail Jenny Meslow, AHC Communications, at meslo001@umn.edu. Shift times are: 7-9:30 a.m.; 9:30 a.m. to Noon; Noon to 2:30 p.m; and 2:30 to 5 p.m. Please also designate your job preference when you respond. The 22nd MHA Alumni Institute will be held Sept. 29 and 30 at the Radisson University Hotel. The theme of this year's institute is "Leadership for Linking Health Protection and Promotion to Provide Better Healthcare." Derek Yach, director of health equity, Rockefeller Foundation, will present the keynote address at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 29. His presentation is "Where is the Political and Economic Leadership to Balance Health Gain and Health Care?" Advance registration is required and early registration is encouraged. For more information contact Dave PeKarna at pekar001@umn.edu or call 5-1321. Register and/or view the entire institute program. To all SPH students, staff, and faculty: Please join the SPH Alumni Society on Saturday, Sept. 30, 12:30-2 p.m. as SPH helps the University celebrate an historic, invitation-only event. Be a part of the cheering section as SPH alumna Mary Lou Christensen (M.P.H. '76 and past president of the SPH Alumni Society), SPH's official "Ball Carrier," helps pass a football from the Metrodome, through the University campus, to the future site of the TCF Bank Stadium. The football pass is both a symbolic and literal prelude to the official stadium groundbreaking celebration at 2 p.m. All SPH participants (and their family and friends) will receive a SPH bandana to sport that day. Please RSVP online; more logistics and details will be sent to you as the event approaches. The 2006 MPHA Duluth Luncheon is set for Friday, Oct. 6, 11:30-1:30 p.m. You are cordially invited to join the Minnesota Public Health Association by the shores of Lake Superior to hear updates on MPHA activities, share your thoughts and ideas with MPHA leadership on how to promote public health around Minnesota, and interact with other MPHA members, local public health professionals, and community health students. RSVP to info@MPHA.net. Event location: Best Western Edgewater, 2400 London Road, Duluth, Minn., 55812,800-444-8120. Cost: regular ($13.00); full-time student ($5.00); sponsor ($20.00) Sponsors help subsidize the cost of one student. The Many Faces of Community Health Conference will take place Oct. 12-13 in Minneapolis. This two-day conference will focus on depression management for chronic disease patients, as well as public policy and trends that effect community health centers and programs. A discounted fee will be available for full-time students. Keynote speaker is Jack Geiger, a Nobel laureate and health care pioneer who has dedicated his career to the issues of health, poverty, and human rights. He will speak on "What the Origins of Community Health Centers Can Teach Us Now." Full description and registration materials are available at www.mnachc.org. Information on student rates can be obtained by calling 651-201-5429. The Minnesota Water 2006 and Annual Water Resources Joint Conference will take place Oct. 24-25 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center. The conference will facilitate interactions among resource managers, researchers, state and local agency staff, and other water resources professionals, including consultants and practicing engineers. SPH professor Deborah Swackhamer served on the conference planning committees. Register and/or learn more. Moving Toward Sustainable Energy Systems: Exploring Global Pathways to a Common Destination will take place Oct. 24-25 at the Humphrey Center. The event is free and open to the public. Keynote speaker is RK Pachauri, chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and director-general, The Energy Research Institute (TERI). Seating is limited, so early registration is recommended. Register online. For more information, please contact Sophia Abbott, 6-1593; albot002@umn.edu. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health Seminars will take place Fridays, 10-11 a.m. in WBOB, room 364. Learn more at the Epi Web site. Upcoming seminars: Upcoming CPHEO Courses To see a more detailed listing of courses, go to http://cpheo.sph.umn.edu. Register for courses. Event listingsTo sign up to receive SPH News, send your name and e-mail address to SPHNews@umn.edu. 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.
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