For close to 30 years, ASPH has offered national public health internships and fellowship programs for students and graduates of the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited schools of public health. The programs include placements at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Congressional or Executive branch agencies, and ASPH headquarters.

After helping establish and leading the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences for a decade, Dean Richard Clover is stepping down. As Louisville’s second longest-serving dean, Dean Clover will participate in the search process for a new dean and remain in the post until it is filled. He then plans to take a year of administrative leave before returning to the university where he hopes to work with the new SPHIS leadership on future projects.

According to a new study from Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, fewer children have required hospitalization following a drowning incident over the last two decades. According to the study, pediatric hospitalizations from drowning-related incidents declined 51 percent from 1993 to 2008. The rates declined significantly for all ages and for both genders, although drowning-related hospitalizations remained higher for boys at every age. Hospitalization rates also decreased significantly across the U.S., with the greatest decline in the South. Despite the steep decline, the South still experienced the highest rate of pediatric hospitalizations for drowning. The study will be published in the February issue of Pediatrics, and it is currently available on the journal’s website.

The University of Michigan School of Public Health designed an afterschool and summer program called Youth Empowerment Solutions for Peaceful Communities (YES) around the concept that kids can and want to reduce violence and improve their neighborhoods. This program included seventh and eighth grade students at select schools in Flint, Michigan. The study co-authors are Dr. Thomas Reischl, associate research scientist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Ms. Susan Morrel-Samuels, managing director of the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center and the Prevention Research Center of Michigan.

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health finds that perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), widely used in manufactured products such as non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and fast-food packaging, were associated with lowered immune response to vaccinations in children. It is the first study to document how PFCs, which can be transferred to children prenatally (via the mother) and postnatally from exposure in the environment, can adversely affect vaccine response. "Routine childhood immunizations are a mainstay of modern disease prevention. The negative impact on childhood vaccinations from PFCs should be viewed as a potential threat to public health," said study lead author Dr. Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. The study appears in the January 25, 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. To read more, click here.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Dr. Janet Holbrook published an article in the January 25 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association. Dr. Holbrook studied lansoprazole, the drug that many physicians prescribe for children with asthma and gastroesophageal reflux. This drug is generally used to supplement the standard inhaled steroid treatment for children with uncontrolled asthma regardless of GER symptoms. However, a randomized clinic trial conducted by the American Lung Association’s Asthma Clinical Group found that the addition of lansoprazole does not improve asthma symptoms or the control of asthma in children and may increase the risk for upper respiratory infections and other adverse events.

A new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health was published online in advance of publication in the Journal of Adolescent Health reveals that persistent use of dieting and unhealthy weight control behaviors, such as skipping meals and taking diet pills, can lead to a greater increase in body mass from adolescence into young adulthood. The study utilized data collected during the University’s Project EAT Study, and examined the dieting, eating and physical activity habits of more than 1,900 middle school and high school adolescents surveyed over a 10-year period. 

A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health provides even more reason for people to read a book or do a puzzle, and to make such activities a lifetime habit. Brain scans revealed that people with no symptoms of Alzheimer’s who engaged in cognitively stimulating activities throughout their lives had fewer deposits of beta-amyloid, a destructive protein that is the hallmark of the disease. While previous research has suggested that engaging in mentally stimulating activities – such as reading, writing and playing games -- may help stave off Alzheimer’s later in life, this new study identifies the biological target at play. This discovery could guide future research into effective prevention strategies.

According to a new study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Cleveland Clinic, frequently consuming red meat appears to increase the risk of stroke significantly, while choosing to eat poultry and other proteins, such as fish or nuts, lowers the risk. "The main message from this paper is that the type of protein or the protein package is really important for the risk of stroke," said co-author Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard. The study was published in Stroke online December 29, 2011. Other Harvard researchers included Dr. An Pan, Dr. Meir Stampfer, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, and Dr. Walter Willett. To read more, click here.

At the Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP)
held in San Diego, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health’s assistant professor Dr. Stacey Finkelstein presented her research to the community of social and personality psychologists on how consumers respond to low-fat foods, such as those they might see every day in the aisles at a grocery store. At a press conference on this research titled "The Psychology of Food: How everyday cues shape our choices and cravings," Dr. Finkelstein and colleagues talked about how exposure to healthy food cues can signal that a health goal has been met and then increase the desire to satisfy the appetite.

Retail pork products in the United States have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. MRSA can occur in the environment and in raw meat products, and is estimated to cause around 185,000 cases of food poisoning each year. The bacteria can also cause serious, life-threatening infections of the bloodstream, skin, lungs, and other organs. MRSA is resistant to a number of antibiotics.

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many of the most popular activities for kids (walking, bicycling, swimming, sports, and playground use) in the United States. The report, published online in the journal Health and Place, outlines how injury prevention and child obesity professionals can work together to prevent injury while promoting active lifestyles in kids.

In a new Pediatrics article, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the relationship between the co-occurring conditions in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and whether the children’s ASD diagnosis remained stable or changed. The study, "Co-occurring Conditions and Change in Diagnosis in Autism Spectrum Disorders," was authored by Ms. Heather Close, Dr. Li-Ching Lee and Mr. Christopher N. Kaufmann of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and by Dr. Andrew W. Zimmerman of Massachusetts General Hospital for Children. The authors found that the type and number of co-occurring conditions vary by children’s age. These conditions include anxiety, depression, developmental delay, speech problems and seizures.

Dr. Kitty Chan, an associate professor, and Dr. Jonathan Weiner, a professor in the department of health policy and management, both at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recently led a team in the development of performance measures designed to assess the quality of the primary care physician-specialist referral process, one of the most common coordination areas in health care. "Without good measures of coordination, quality improvement and pay for performance programs focusing on coordination activities are not feasible," stated Dr. Weiner.

The University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health’s Dr. Susan Steck has begun a three-year study aimed at reducing disproportionally high levels of prostate cancer in African American men. The study, "Vitamin D and Related Genes, Race and Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness," is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program.

Ms. Julia Singer, affiliate instructor in the department of health services at the University of Washington School of Public Health, and Washington student Mr. Peter Blackburn worked together to create the first local map of its kind  – Pesticide Free Places -- for King County, Washington.

Dr. Julianna Pachecho of the University of Michigan School of Public Health has found that in adopting anti-smoking bans, public opinion is much more important than originally thought. Dr. Pachecho recently authored a study that found that the closer a person lives to a state that has enacted smoking bans, the likelier it is for that person to support smoking bans. Eventually, politicians respond by enacting bans in those home states. "Democratic responsiveness is alive and well at the state level," said Dr. Pachecho, who is also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar.

According to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, family companions who routinely accompany older adults to physician office visits could be helpful to health care quality improvement efforts. The authors found that three-quarters of older adults who attend physician visits with a family companion are consistently accompanied over time, nearly always by the same companion. The results are featured in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Dr. Richard Jackson, a professor and chair of environmental health sciences at the University of California at Los Angeles's School of Public Health, has become one of the leading voices calling for better urban design for the sake of good health. Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, says that Dr. Jackson's work has been highly influential in public health and public policy. Dr. Benjamin first started talking with Dr. Jackson about the links between urban design and public health in the 1990s.

Norovirus is best known for causing outbreaks of illness in hotels and on cruise ships, and although the norovirus is usually passed from one person to another via surfaces, such as counters and door handles, it can also be transmitted through the consumption of raw oysters. Dr. Christine Moe, head of Emory’s Center for Global Safe Water and a professor at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, is collaborating with other researchers and the shellfish industry to change that.

"Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research" is a recent report from an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee co-chaired by Dr. Noreen M. Clark, professor at University of Michigan School of Public Health and director of its Center for Managing Chronic Disease, and Dr. Philip A. Pizzo, dean of Stanford University Medical School. The co-chairs also co-wrote an article for the January 19, 2012, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) called "Alleviating Suffering 101 — Pain Relief in the United States," which summarized the IOM committee’s findings and recommendations regarding chronic pain.

ASPH regularly provides members and Friday Letter readers with information about grant opportunities. Readers can access a full listing of grant notices by visiting the "Funding for Faculty" section of the ASPH website.

ASPH, along with its partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), and the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII), has established the Applied Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program. This new program will provide high quality training assignments for recent graduates in the expanding field of applied public health informatics, while aiming to secure long-term career placement for the fellows at the state or local level.

A paper from the University of South Florida College of Public Health, "Vigorous Physical Activity among Tweens, VERB Summer Scorecard Program, Lexington, Kentucky, 2004-2007," was called one of the top ten scholarly papers related to social marketing in 2011 by "On Social Marketing and Social Change." The paper was originally published in Preventing Chronic Disease, and it can be read here.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has adopted "water" as its campus-wide theme for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years. In doing so, the UNC Faculty Council has given the university a unique opportunity to enhance interdisciplinary research and practice at the University of North Carolina and globally around real-world issues related to water and sanitation.

The Loma Linda University School of Public Health is restructuring its research approach in order to increase new findings that improve people’s lives. Loma Linda’s interest lies in areas where the school offers something unique to the scientific community due to Loma Linda University’s historical emphasis on the impact lifestyle can have on health.

Dean Randy Wykoff of East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, was invited to testify before the Tennessee Senate Health and Welfare Committee about the health status of Tennessee and possible ways to improve this health status over time.

University of South Florida College of Public Health’s Dean Donna Petersen received the Scholar in Residence Award from the department of health science at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT on January 12, 2012.  The Scholar in Residence Award recognizes scholars with extraordinary vision to discuss ways the department can chart an exceptional future for itself in public health.

In an article published January 17 in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal, Dr. Judith K. Bass, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, calls on the United Nations to convene a special session of the General Assembly to focus global attention on mental health issues. The article states, "the time has come for recognition at the highest levels of global development, namely the U.N. General Assembly, of the urgent need for a global strategy to address the global burden of mental, neurological and substance use disorders."

Dr. Sara Corwin of the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health has been recognized by the department of athletics for her dedication to student-athletes. Selected as an honoree for the Guest Coach Program, part of the University of South Carolina athletics department, Dr. Corwin was invited to attend a home football game during the 2011 season and be recognized for her work with student-athletes. The program was established to provide student-athletes and academic staff an opportunity to recognize university faculty and/or staff members who have made a positive impact on the academic careers of athletes. The Arnold School has numerous student-athletes in its undergraduate programs and classes, including members of football, cross country, baseball and softball teams and men and women's soccer, track, basketball, swimming and golf teams.

Dr. Henry V. Doctor, a research scientist and demographer in the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health’s Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, was elected as the Secretary General of the Union for African Population Studies (UAPS), a pan-African non-profit scientific organization. Dr. Doctor, who is working in Nigeria, was elected to the position during the 6th African Population Conference held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and will serve a term of four years.

The Center for Transdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health held its inaugural conference, Transforming Women’s Health: Discovery, Delivery, & Development of the Oral/Systemic Connection, on January 6-8, 2012 in Tampa, Florida, and five professors from the University of South Florida College of Public Health led presentations. Dr. Vivian Pinn, the former director of the office of research on women’s health and the former associate director for research on women’s health at the National Institutes of Health delivered the keynote address. She presented a historical overview of women’s health research. Other presentations from leading researchers across the U.S. focused on oral health during pregnancy; early childhood caries; oral health and cardiovascular disease; and oral health and aging. South Florida’s speakers included Dr. Steven Klasko, Dr. Catherine Lynch, Dr. Donna Petersen, Dr. Rita DeBate and Dr. Ellen Daley.

Finding North, a documentary about hunger in America, debuted January 22 at the annual Sundance Film Festival, and the film includes insights from Dr. Mariana Chilton, an associate professor and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at the Drexel University School of Public Health. The film examines the issue of hunger through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity. It shines an international spotlight on the issues that are currently being addressed by Dr. Chilton, an expert on food insecurity and poverty, as well as Drexel’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities. Hunger-Free Communities encompasses Witnesses to Hunger, Children’s HealthWatch, The GROW Clinic and other outreach services. 

At a Columbia University-wide discussion on Monday, January 23^rd titled "Epidemic City: The Politics of Public Health in New York," Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health’s Dr. James Colgrove spoke about the social and political forces that have shaped the city’s response to a range of public health issues. Dr. Colgrove discussed the impact of the emergence of activist groups who mobilize around health issues such as AIDS, homelessness, and environmental protection, the severe fiscal crisis that hit New York City in the mid-1970s that led to deep cuts in the health department’s budget and staff and left the city poorly equipped to deal with the epidemics of HIV/AIDS and resurgent tuberculosis that emerged in the 1980s, and the importance of the support the city’s major, Michael Bloomberg.

Dr. Anil T. Mangla, an adjunct assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Georgia College of Public Health, has been promoted to director of Academic Relations and Research at the state’s Department of Public Health. He brings a wealth of knowledge regarding infectious diseases, heavy metal toxicology, epidemiology, and community advocacy to the position. As the director of Academic Relations and Research, Dr. Mangla will work to bolster publishing efforts and enhance relationships between the Department of Health and the academic community. He also will serve as a departmental liaison to educational institutions.

Chair of the department of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services Dr. Melissa Perry has been elected to the position of Secretary of the American College of Epidemiology, the professional organization dedicated to continued education and advocacy for epidemiologists in their efforts to promote good science and the public health. She will serve in the position for five years, beginning in 2012. Dr. Perry joined the College in 1999, became a Fellow in 2009, and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2008.

Dr. Jean Gutierrez, assistant professor of exercise science at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, was awarded a pilot grant from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) to determine if young African Americans at high genetic risk for chronic kidney disease show early signs of impaired kidney function or inflammation.  Dr. Gutierrez will also use this grant to see if recent physical activity patterns modify kidney-related biomarkers.  This study is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Eric Hoffman, chair of the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at CNMC, and Dr. Dominic Raj, director of the Division of Renal Disease and Hypertension at GW.

Regents Professor Dr. Marcia Ory of the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health (TAMHSC) received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Research during the Texas A&M Convocation held Friday, January 20. Dr. Ory was selected for this honor from nominees from various components of the TAMHSC including colleges of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing.

Dr. Laura Morlock was recently named associate dean for education at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Called an "outstanding mentor and faculty member," and a "leader and innovator in education, as well as in research and administration," by Johns Hopkins Dean Michael Klag, Dr. Morlock earned her doctorate in sociology from Johns Hopkins University. She has been a professor in at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health since 1989, and she also serves as the deputy chair of the department and director of the school-wide DrPH program. Dr. Morlock’s primary research interest is in how organizational and managerial factors affect the quality and costs of health care. She replaces Dr. Steve Teret, who is stepping down as associate dean in order to a lead a new public health legal clinic at Johns Hopkins.

The University of Minnesota School of Public Health’s Dr. Jean Forster is the co-principal investigator of a new cancer-related health disparities education development program grant. The grant is aimed at training new investigators who are prepared to develop, test, and evaluate interventions in both clinical and population settings to reduce cancer-related inequities among disadvantaged populations. The funding, through National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, is $2.2 million over 5 years. Dr. Kathleen Call and Dr. Rhonda Jones-Webb, also of Minnesota’s faculty, are included on the grant.

Regents Professor Dr. Kenneth McLeroy, of the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, served on the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) grant review committee for the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) in January. The IDeA grants are a congressionally-mandated program to improve the infrastructure for research in states that are historically underfunded by NIH. He is also serving in February on an ad hoc review committee for the Centers for Disease Control Injury Control Research Centers in Atlanta, and an NCRR review panel for Clinical Research Education and Career Development in Minority Institutions in Washington, DC. In May, he will serve on the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Operating Grant Competition (PH2) in Ottawa, Canada.

Effective February 1, Dr. Sharon Kardia will join the University of Michigan School of Public Health’s dean’s office, assuming the role of senior associate dean for administration. Facilitation and promotion of innovation represent one of her foci, as she works with faculty, staff, and students to develop administrative processes to aid in identifying and rewarding creativity and innovation. In announcing the appointment, school Dean Martin Philbert said, "The University of Michigan is well known for encouraging research. As we increase our focus on innovation, Sharon will help us make this a rewarding and relatively seamless process."

The University of Minnesota School of Public Health’s Dr. Julie Jacko was awarded a commendation by the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the Office of the National annual grantees' meeting. The recognition was given for her significant contributions to the national health information technology workforce and for her leadership in launching the University Partnership for Health Informatics consortium as a university-based training program.

On January 1, Dr. Vic Strecher became the University of Michigan School of Public Health’s first director for innovation and social entrepreneurship, working out of the dean’s office. He was the 2010 recipient of the University of Michigan's Distinguished Innovator Award, and he is "well prepared to foster new entrepreneurial endeavors at SPH, and to help drive the economic aspects of these endeavors," said school Dean Martin Philbert, in announcing the appointment. Dr. Strecher will work with internal and external stakeholders to cultivate and grow the school's entrepreneurial community. He will encourage innovation, and he will help take innovative ideas through the steps leading to community engagement and venture acceleration.

Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and director of the Johns Hopkins University Fogarty AIDS International Training & Research Program, received an honorary doctorate in health science from Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand on January 19, 2012. The award was given by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn during the commencement ceremonies.

Mr. Heath Elliott joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in November as Senior Director of Development where he oversees major gifts and strategic planning for development. Prior to joining the Johns Hopkins, Elliott spent four years as the senior director for college advancement at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA, where he managed major gifts and alumni relations. Before that, he spent eight years as the associate director of major gifts at Pomona College.