SPH News Oct. 2, 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. 16 issue is noon on Wednesday, Oct. 11. From the DeanBe sure to pick up a copy of the Star Tribune on Oct. 19 or Nov. 9, or a Pioneer Press on Oct. 18 or Nov. 9 to see one of our very own SPHers featured in the University's new "Driven to Discover" marketing campaign. The first-of-its-kind campaign is designed to communicate the benefits of a public research university to Minnesotans and further the University’s goals to become one of the world's top three research institutions. Epidemiology and Community Health Professor Dianne Neumark-Sztainer is the SPH poster child in the "Driven to Discover" campaign. She was selected on the basis of how she is able to translate her research from discovery to impact, making it usable to people in the community and making a difference in peoples' lives. But this is nothing new to the field of public health; indeed, it is this translation from discovery to impact that characterizes what we do and why we do it. Congratulations, Dianne, on being selected for this unique recognition. Thank you for being a part of something that will help advance public health and the overarching goals of the University of Minnesota. --John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D. Media newsSeptember 2006 media coverage featured the following SPH faculty: Research news
Faculty newsRobert Jeffery was one of 12 national experts on obesity and cancer to testify at the President's Cancer Panel meeting recently held at the University of Minnesota. The Minnesota forum will help the panel advise President Bush and federal policymakers on cancer issues. Gordon Mosser was given a lifetime achievement award from the Minnesota James Neaton has been appointed to lead one of six newly restructured HIV/AIDS clinical research networks for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Neaton will head up the International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT). The SPH’s Coordinating Centers for Biometric Research will serve as INSIGHT’s statistical and data management center. Deborah Swackhamer has been appointed interim director of the new Institute on the Environment. The Institute on the Environment will coordinate the University’s environmental resources to make it easier for researchers to share knowledge with each other and the public. Expected to open in 2007, the institute is a key component of the University’s goal to become one of the top three public research universities in the world. Swackhamer will be featured Wednesday, Oct. 4, on University of Minnesota Moment, the daily radio feature highlighting University of Minnesota experts. Listen to Swackhamer on U of M Moment. AHC junior faculty, fellows, and scholars are invited to attend a monthly informal breakfast meeting for those interested in getting guidance on clinical research. Jasjit Ahluwalia, executive director, AHC Office of Clinical Research, will lead the session, along with AHC senior faculty members. Each breakfast will be limited to five mentees and will be held 7:30-8:30 a.m. at varying locations. Please contact Meredith at mcraven@umn.edu or 6-6033 to express your interest in attending one of these meetings. Student newsDo you know which fork is for your salad? Where you place your napkin when leaving the table? Or whether you 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 5:00), McNamara Alumni Center. Etiquette Dinner ticket cost per student is $14. Register at http://alumni.umn.edu/etiquette. School newsFree modules from Minnesota Emergency Readiness Education and Training (MERET) are available online. Each MERET module contributes to preparing the health care workforce to function during public health emergencies or bioterrorism events. The modules provide competency-based awareness-level online training for hospitals, clinics, long-term care, public health agencies, and other community emergency responders, including volunteers. Go to the MERET modules. The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and AcademyHealth are seeking applications for their 2007 fellowship. This program brings visiting scholars in health services research-related disciplines to NCHS to collaborate on studies of interest to policymakers and the health services research community using NCHS data systems. Fellows will conduct their research in residence (13-24 months) at NCHS in Hyattsville, Md. Applications are welcomed from doctoral students through senior researchers and faculty. Doctoral students must have completed course work and be at the dissertation phase of their program. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Application Deadline: Jan. 8. Information: www.academyhealth.org/nchs. Questions: nchs@academyhealth.org. SPH faculty and staff are invited to kick of the 2006 Community Fund Drive
The University of Minnesota has been invited by the Henry Luce Foundation to submit up to three nominees for the Luce Scholars Program. Through this program, young Americans with high leadership ability are given the opportunity to spend a year in Asia as apprentices under the guidance of leading Asian professionals. The program is directed toward students, junior faculty, and recent alumni who have not had significant exposure to Asian culture. Learn more about the Luce Scholars Program. The application, due Nov. 1, is available from the Graduate School Fellowship Office, 314 Johnston Hall. Direct questions to 5-7579 or gsfellow@umn.edu. As the school year gets started, many University students and staff are seeking information about childcare, elder care, parenting, and financial management. Resources for these and other issues are available through the Career/Life Alliance Services (CLAS) service. Visit this online resource and referral service, which is sponsored by the Office of Human Resources. If prompted, the login is "university" and the password is "minnesota". Learn more at the WorkLife Program Web site at or call 5-3531. The next AHC Office of Clinical Research Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series lecture will be Tuesday, Oct. 3, 12:15-1:15 p.m. in 1-450G Moos Tower. Spero Manson, professor of psychiatry and head of American Indian and Native Alaska Programs at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, will present “Wounded Spirits, Ailing Hearts: Trauma in American Indian Communities.” Lunch will be provided for the first 70 guests. Learn more from the Office of Clinical Research. 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. Learn more and/or download the registration form. The 2006 MPHA Duluth Luncheon is set for Friday, Oct. 6, 11:30 a.m.-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); sponsor ($20) 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." Learn more and download registration materials. Information on student rates can be obtained by calling 651-201-5429. From the Bedpost to the Command Post: Healthcare Administrators’ Role in a Disaster will take place Monday Oct. 16, 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center. The Minnesota Emergency Readiness Education and Training (MERET), in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Healthcare Alumni Association, is offering a free workshop to train participants to understand the an administrator’s role in the new Hospital Incident Command System. To register for this workshop contact MERET at 5-4409 or fitz0019@umn.edu. 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. Learn more and/or register. 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. The Health Policy and Management Seminar Series presents Timothy Hoff, associate professor, School of Public health, University of Albany, SUNY who will discuss “Applying Complexity Theory to Public Health Systems: The Care of Newborn Screening in the United States.” The event will be on Thursday, Oct. 26, 3-4:30 p.m., room A-110 Mayo. Learn more about this event. "Brown Chemistry, Green Chemistry: Regulatory Failure around Chemicals & Future Opportunities" will be presented Oct. 26, 12:15 to 1:30 p.m., in room 25 of the Law School, by Michael P. Wilson, PhD., University of California, Berkeley. 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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