This week, ASPH welcomed the SUNY Downstate Medical Center School of Public Health as an associate member school.  The School, led by Dean Pascal Imperato, is a Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited graduate program in public health that recently began the transition to an accredited school of public health with CEPH.

On Monday, July 13, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Dr. Regina M. Benjamin as Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Benjamin is the founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, AL, and was a graduate of the Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health.

On Tuesday, July 14, the three health committees of the House (Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means and Education and Labor) introduced, "America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" H.R. 3200 (or "Tri-Committee Bill"). ASPH is encouraging members to contact their Representatives to advocate for the importance of a sustained investment in public health and primary prevention, and to express support for the provisions of the bill that address the public health workforce crisis, as well as strengthen public health research.

ASPH has once again teamed up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to offer two new fellowship positions. The ASPH/NHTSA Public Health Fellows should be early-career public health professionals with interest in injury prevention and behavioral research, and will be based in NHTSA’s Office of Behavioral Safety Research, located at DOT headquarters in Washington, DC. 

ASPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) welcomed 30 new ASPH/CDC Public Health Fellows during a two-day orientation held in Atlanta this week.  An exciting part of the orientation was the opportunity to hear from three current ASPH/CDC Public Health Fellows.   Mr. Jason Dela Cruz (Drexel) presented on "Violence Prevention and Public Health," Ms. Ebony Thomas (Emory) presented on "Maximizing your Fellowship Opportunity" and Ms. Allison Waller (South Carolina) presented on "Getting Situated as a Fellow at the CDC."

The new class of fellows, working with teams of public health experts within CDC, will be contributing to CDC’s Health Protection Goals.  Fellows will be placed within nine of the CDC national centers including: National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD); National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP); National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH); National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC); National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD); National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases (NCPDCID); National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP); and National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED).  The Fellows will be placed at CDC headquarters in Atlanta as well as in Cincinnati, Ohio and Morgantown West Virginia.

ASPH is proud to welcome the following members of the Class of 2009 ASPH/CDC Public Health Fellows:

• Ms. Ansley Lemons (Emory)—NCIPC;
• Mr. Brady Miller (Michigan)—NCIRD;
• Ms. Colleen N. Wichser (Berkeley)—NCIRD;
• Mr. David Hesse (Minnesota)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Elizabeth Dunbar (Johns Hopkins)—NCZVED;
• Ms. Elizabeth Hill (Emory)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Flavia Travern (Emory)—NCBDDD;
• Ms. Gretchen Knoeller (Drexel)—NIOSH;
• Mr. Hovi Nguyen (Loma Linda)—NIOSH;
• Ms. Jana Wallace (UAB)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Jennifer Pieters (Texas A&M)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Jessica Keralis (Texas A&M)—NIOSH;
• Ms. Jessie Gleckel (Washington)—NCIPC;
• Mr. John Donovan (Drexel)—NCIPC;
• Ms. Kari Cruz (Emory)—NCEH;
• Ms. Kendra LeSar (Tulane)—NCCDPHP;
• Mr. Kevin Embrey (Tulane)—NCPDCID;
• Ms. Kristine Gabuten (Emory)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Lauren Fitz Harris (Tulane)—NCHHSTP;
• Ms. Linda Baffo (Emory)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Maria W.Steenland (Michigan)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Marissa L. Zwald (South Florida)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Mary Berghaus (Tulane)—NCHHSTP;
• Ms. Michelle VanHandel (Drexel)—NCHHSTP;
• Ms. Mridhula Maya Kumar (UCLA)—NCCDPHP;
• Mr. Omar Contreras (Arizona)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Pamela Mallinga (Michigan)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Pamela S. Amparo (San Diego State)—NCCDPHP;
• Ms. Rachel C. Faulkenberry (Emory)—NCCDPHP; and
• Ms. Shantrice Jones (Emory)—NCCDPHP.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement from eligible U.S. for-profit, non-profit, or private voluntary organizations, or an Institution of Higher Education for a program titled, "Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS)."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Procurement and Grants Office has published a funding opportunity announcement entitled, "Support for Implementation and Expansion of HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment Services at National Teaching and Referral Hospitals (NT & RHs) As Centers of Excellence in the Republic of Kenya Under The President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)."

This funding opportunity announcement, issued by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), invites applications for cooperative agreements to support the development of model programs for the training and education of workers engaged in activities related to hazardous materials and waste generation, removal, containment, transportation and emergency response.

The major objective of this solicitation from the National Institute of Health is to prevent work related harm by assisting in the training and education of workers in the Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons complex. Safety and health training will transmit skills and knowledge to workers in how best to protect themselves and their communities from exposure to hazardous materials encountered during hazardous waste operations, facility decommissioning and decontamination, hazardous materials transportation, environmental restoration of contaminated facilities or chemical emergency response.

This funding opportunity announcement, issued by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director (OD) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), encourages innovative research to enhance the quality of measurements of dietary intake and physical activity.

Mr. Brian Gilchrist, a second year PhD student at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, authored two grants that were recently funded by the New York State Department of Health. Mr. Gilchrist, who studies in the School’s department of public and community health, wrote the grants for the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island, where he previously worked. The two grants total more than a million dollars over five years to educate young people about tobacco.

New Jersey native Dr. Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, visited the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-School of Public Health in Piscataway on Thursday, June 18. Dr. Birnbaum was accompanied by NIEHS Epidemiology Branch staff scientist Dr. Jane Hoppin, NIEHS associate director Dr. Allen Dearry, and Mr. John Schelp, special assistant to the director of NIEHS. During the visit, School of Public Health faculty presented highlights of their research, and a tour of the School of Public Health’s Office of Public Health Practice Training Center was provided.

The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) is launching volume three of the journal Cases in Public Health Communications and Marketing, an online, open-access journal that focuses exclusively on case studies from the fields of public health communication and social marketing. The journal's mission is to promote the analysis of real-world experiences and practice-oriented learning.

For five years, the Columbia University Mailman School’s Harlem Health Promotion Center’s (HHPC) service arm, Project STAY (Services to Assist Youth), has been offering graduate students from Columbia University and other schools in the New York area the opportunity to participate in a dynamic, hands-on practicum through its Mobile Health Team (MHT). The opportunity benefits students in many ways: they earn HIV counseling and testing certification, have direct exposure to adolescent clients, collaborate with interns from various backgrounds, and develop valuable expertise reaching specific populations.

Dr. Alwyn Cohall, director of HHPC and associate professor of clinical sociomedical sciences and population and family health at the Mailman School, explained, "Students come to us from a diversity of backgrounds, ranging from public health and social work to nutrition, and health education. They gain valuable experience in the community before they move into the work world."

As part of the team, MHT interns help provide sexual and reproductive health education and services to high-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 24 in Harlem and throughout the broader New York City area. "We provide important services for young people who need, but inconsistently receive, quality education and care," said Ms. Tiffany Garcia, MHT Outreach Coordinator.

The MHT uses an integrated team approach to deliver individually tailored and comprehensive services. Youth learn valuable lessons about risk behaviors from trained health educators, clinicians, and social workers. MHT’s interdisciplinary staff works closely with various youth-oriented partners, including high schools and community-based organizations to engage young people through interactive multimedia group workshops, individualized counseling, and non-invasive screening for pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

As part of the internship, students gain certification in HIV counseling and testing, and participate in an extensive training program delivered by MHT faculty and staff before becoming involved in its outreach and education efforts.

"We go beyond teaching the basic facts to helping student interns appreciate the underlying psychosocial issues that put youth at risk for STIs/HIV and unintended pregnancies," said Ms. Renee Cohall, MHT social worker.

Through their hands-on work in the field, interning students have the unique opportunity for direct exposure to adolescent clients. While all too often people are in jobs where they never see the effect they have on others, interning with Project STAY gives students the opportunity to teach teens how to take better care of themselves.

MHT’s interdisciplinary approach also allows interns to work with other students from various backgrounds. For example, MHT Outreach Worker, Tiffany Jules, an MPH candidate in the Mailman School’s Department of Sociomedical Sciences, who has already completed her social work degree at Columbia University, said being a part of the Project STAY MHT allowed her to utilize her skills in both social work and public health.

The internship also bridges the gap between the classroom and the work world in other ways according to public health student and MHT intern, Ms. Melody Hsiou, "As a health promotion student, it is such a great learning experience to see the health behavior theories I am learning about applied to real people in their situations."

Ms. Kayla Daigneau, a member of the MHT, said her experience allowed her to gain important communications skills that she will need on the job, "I have become significantly more comfortable speaking with people about tough issues, such as HIV, rape, and depression."

In addition, interns also learn how to provide tailored risk-reduction. "This is an invaluable skill," said Ms. Susan Vacca, MHT nurse-practitioner, "that is often lacking in traditional clinical experiences."

Today, The George Washington University’s (GW) Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program, within the School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS), launched an interactive tool designed to provide an ongoing and comprehensive comparative analysis of national health reform proposals. The purpose of this health reform comparative analysis project is to advance public understanding of the policy and legal dimensions of national health reform.

Former Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist and East Tennessee State University (ETSU) College of Public Health Dean Randy Wykoff have co-written an editorial titled "Poverty and Healthcare:  Fatefully Linked."  Published in the Sunday, June 21, 2009 edition of the Johnson City Press, the editorial addresses the challenges facing the nation as we strive to improve the health of all Americans, especially those living in poverty. 

Dr. Matthew L. Boulton, associate professor of epidemiology, associate dean for practice and director of the Preventive Medicine Residency at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (SPH), and associate professor of internal medicine in the division of infectious diseases, was recently presented with an award by the Chinese government for initiating the highly successful China Scholar Exchange at the Unviersity of Michigan SPH with the Tianjin Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and for his work in assisting China with infectious disease control efforts.

In a ceremony at the Tianjin CDC, Dr. Boulton was presented with an award for "contributions to public health practice in China" by Dr. Jianli Kan, director of epidemiology for China’s national CDC in Beijing, and Dr. Gu Qing, director of Tianjin CDC’s Division Disease Control. Dr. Boulton also received a formal appointment as a senior advisor to the Tianjin CDC.

Over fifty University of Michigan public health students and preventive medicine residents have worked in China with the Tianjin CDC on public health issues under the exchange program. Six leaders from the Tianjin CDC, including the Deputy Director, Dr. Fengshan Wang, have completed three-month training rotations in the University of Michigan SPH Office of Public Health Practice and four more Chinese scholars will begin rotations at SPH in September 2009.

The exchange program has produced two jointly sponsored symposia, one in China and one on the University of Michigan campus, focused on global health and public health practice, and has generated numerous joint research projects between the Tianjin CDC and SPH faculty. Last year, the Tianjin CDC formally dedicated an SPH Office of Public Health Practice in their agency and the SPH opened an office for the Tianjin CDC and visiting Chinese scholars earlier this year.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth School of Public Health has promoted Dr. Christine A. Moranetz to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Chair for the new department of public health education. She also serves as an associate professor in both the department of public health education and the department of social and behavioral sciences. In her new position, Dr. Moranetz will provide strategic vision, expertise and leadership in academic initiatives and curricular development strategies that enhance program and degree offerings in public health.

Dr. Moranetz will also direct the Doctor in Public Health Practice (DrPH) degree program with a new focus in leadership and management, and coordinate the development of a new PhD in Public Health Sciences program.

A leader in health promotion and disease prevention education, she joined the School of Public Health in 2008 from Kansas, where she served on faculty in the Schools of Medicine at The University of Kansas Medical Center (KU) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). An award-winning educator, she developed innovative curriculum in HIV-prevention and was co-creator of the Dramatic AIDS Education Project (DAEP)—a collaborative project among KU, UMKC and The Coterie Theatre, a nationally acclaimed youth theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. At KU, Dr. Moranetz was also interim director of the MPH Program and Director of the Community Health Project (CHP), a service-learning program for MPH, MHSA and medical students.

Dr. Moranetz has served as president of the Association for Worksite Health Promotion (AWHP), formerly the Association for Fitness in Business, and has served on the editorial board of AWHP’s international publication, Worksite Health. She actively contributed to the development of the Health Fitness Director certification for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and was an advisor/liaison to the Missouri Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Health. She has served on the board of directors of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM) and was president of the ATPM Foundation. In 2002, Dr. Moranetz was selected as a Primary Health Care Policy Fellow for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. For five years, she also served on the scientific advisory board for the Center for Living at Duke University.

Dr. Moranetz received her PhD in education/exercise physiology and nutrition from the University of Kansas. She earned certification by the ACSM as a health/fitness director and was awarded the rank of Fellow in the AWHP.

She has most recently been named to Leadership Fort Worth, Texas, beginning in September 2009.

Dr. Noel Rose, director of the Johns Hopkins Autoimmune Disease Research Center, was awarded the Nicolaus Copernicus Medal by the Polish Academy of Sciences. The award is the Academy’s highest honor. Dr. Rose, who is also professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s W. Harry Feinstone department of molecular microbiology and immunology and in the department of pathology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, was recognized for his discoveries on thyroiditis, which ushered in the modern investigation of autoimmune disease.

In 1956, Dr. Rose and his colleagues introduced the concept of autoimmunity as a cause of disease when they discovered that the human disease chronic (Hashimoto’s) thyroiditis could be reproduced in experimental animals by immunization with thyroglobulin, a major protein constituent of the thyroid gland. Today, more than 80 human diseases affecting every organ in the body are related to autoimmunity, including type-1 diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.

The award will be presented to Dr. Rose at a ceremony in Washington, DC by Poland's ambassador to the United States.

The premier international publication for rural health research is now being overseen by an associate professor in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. Dr. Ty Borders, associate professor in the department of health policy and management, has been named editor of The Journal of Rural Health, the official journal of the National Rural Health Association and leading publication of rural health research with more than 10,000 subscriptions worldwide.

Last year, articles on the publication’s web site were downloaded more than 40,000 times, with 40 percent of downloads occurring in other countries.

"Most of my research pertains to rural health and health care issues. Living in a predominately rural state like Arkansas, the importance of advancing our understanding of the health problems and related health care needs of rural residents has become a great interest of mine," Dr. Borders said. "It’s a great honor for me to have been chosen as editor of this prestigious scholarly publication and I look forward to continuing its mission to publish the most up-to-date and pertinent rural health research findings possible."

Dr. Borders will remain a College of Public Health faculty member and will direct the publication from his office on the UAMS campus. His duties include winnowing the more than 200 annual article submissions down to about 60 that get published each year.

"One unique aspect of this journal is that although we publish original research, it is intended to have applications for health care delivery and has a very substantial influence on the way we deliver services in rural communities in the U.S. and abroad," Dr. Borders said.

Previously serving on the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Rural Health and the Texas Journal for Rural Health, Dr. Borders is tuned into the need for incorporating modern practices to help streamline the publication’s operations. He recently implemented an online submission system to get pieces published more quickly. He also plans to find ways to attract new authors and readers and to optimize the relevance of its contents to rural health management, practice and policy.

Dr. Borders said he hopes the opportunity for his editorship will also be good for UAMS and the College of Public Health by adding to the credibility of the impressive work being done there.

"It’s also perhaps an opportunity to help bring people together on campus to focus on rural health issues," Dr. Borders said.

Dr. Borders has authored articles covering a wide range of rural health topics, including rural residents’ assessments of their medical care access and quality, health-related quality of life and health behaviors. His recent research has focused on the epidemiology of alcohol and illicit drug abuse and accessibility of substance abuse treatment in rural America.

Dr. David Allison, professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health’s department of biostatistics, has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 TOPS Research Achievement Award presented by The Obesity Society. The TOPS Research Achievement Award recognizes Dr. Allison’s singular achievements or contributions to research in the field of obesity and is made possible by an annual grant from the Take Off Pounds Sensibly Foundation (TOPS).

Dr. Gary Foster, chair of the Awards Committee stated, "Dr. Allison could not be more deserving of the Society’s prestigious award as this is a nomination by his peers for his diligent work."

As the recipient, Dr. Allison will receive a $5000 prize plus reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses, up to $1000, to attend the meeting and a plaque to display this honor.

The award presentation ceremony will take place at The Obesity Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, DC during a plenary session on Monday, October 26, from 8–8:30 a.m. (Easterm) in the Marriott Ballroom Salons 2&3 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, located at 2660 Woodley Road, Washington, DC 20008.

The Obesity Society is the leading scientific society dedicated to the study of obesity. Since 1982, The Obesity Society has been committed to encouraging research on the causes and treatment of obesity, and to keeping the medical community and public informed of new advances.

Dr. Michael Wessells, professor of clinical population and family health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, professor of psychology at Randolph-Macon College and until recently, senior advisor on child protection for Christian Children’s Fund, received the 2009 International Humanitarian Award from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Wessells was selected for his extraordinary commitment to the health of children and families.

Throughout his career, Dr. Wessells has applied his expertise in psychosocial assistance for the benefit of children and families affected by forced migration, disasters, and ethnopolitical violence. As a global leader in post-conflict reconstruction and child protection, Dr. Wessells has worked for numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations throughout the world, including the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and the American Psychological Association’s Division of Peace Psychology.

His contributions to publications in the field have also been widely influential. Dr. Wessells is associate editor of Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology and the author of Child Soldiers: From Violence to Protection. In addition, Dr. Wessells has been an integral leader in creating guidelines for mental health workers – he was a key contributor to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (2007) and is currently serving as the co-lead, also known as the global focal point, for the psychosocial sector of the upcoming revised version of the Sphere Handbook, which sets the global humanitarian standards for emergency response.

Dr. Ulrike (Riki) Peters, research associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and associate member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, was named by President Obama in July as one of 100 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

Dr. Peters, a 1999 alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health's Master of Public Health program in epidemiology, will join other recipients who will be recognized at a White House ceremony in fall 2009.

Winning scientists and engineers receive up to a five-year research grant to further their study in support of critical government missions.

The awards, established by President Clinton in February 1996, are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President. Awardees are selected on the basis of two criteria: pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and a commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.

Dr. Muhiuddin Haider, an associate research professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, was recently highlighted for his efforts to improve global health around the world. On a recent trip to Ecuador sponsored by the Fulbright Scholars Program, Dr. Haider conducted workshops for The Institute for Research in Health and Nutrition of the University of San Francisco de Quito. The workshops with local health professionals aimed at improving prevention and health promotion strategies through education and communication.

Dr. Beverly Winikoff, professor of clinical population and family health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and President of Gynuity Health Project, a research and technical assistance organization, was named to the 2009 Irvin M. Cushner Lectureship by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Society of Family Planning.

Selected in recognition of her distinguished career in the field of women’s health, her dedication to advances in reproductive rights, and her ability to inspire significant public policy debate, Dr. Winikoff will deliver the lecture at Reproductive Health 2009, a conference this fall in Los Angeles.

Previous Cushner lecturers include U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) and former Mailman School Dean Allan Rosenfield.

The International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), based jointly at Emory University and Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare, has selected three "mentor-mentee" pairs to inaugurate its new Mentorship Program.

• Dr. Emmanuel Oni Idigbe, former director-general and current director of research of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, agreed earlier this year to advise Dr. Amabelia Rodrigues, research director of the Bandim Health Project in Guinea-Bissau.
• Dr. Omar Khan, director of global health and assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Vermont, will serve as mentor to senior scientific officer Dr. M. Mushtuq Husain of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, Bangladesh.
• Dr. Richard Rothenberg, professor of public health at Georgia State University, USA, has been matched with research scientist Dr. Mary Mayige of the National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania.

The IANPHI Mentorship Program facilitates active partnerships between experienced public health leaders and promising current or potential national public health institute (NPHI) leaders. This program is part of an ongoing IANPHI effort to build human capacity and provide a career path for public health professionals through training in strategic leadership and management. Part of this commitment involves providing current and future NPHI leaders with the public health tools, training and support they need to develop their full potential.

National public health institutes are vital to protecting not only their nations’ health, but also economic and political security. NPHIs around the world are their countries’ first line of defense in investigating, diagnosing and containing infectious disease outbreaks and combating chronic diseases. The U.S. version of a national public health institute is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. Similarly, there is the Health Protection Agency in the United Kingdom, the China CDC and the RIVM in the Netherlands. Some NPHIs, such as those in Brazil and Finland, have existed for decades. Others, such as the Public Health Agency of Canada, were created in the wake of major and dramatic public health crises that highlighted deficits in capacity, leadership and coordination.

Several IANPHI member countries, such as Guinea-Bissau, are actively working to create an NPHI in the next few years. Guinea-Bissau has suffered a bitter civil war and many serious disease outbreaks including a recent devastating cholera epidemic. Dr. Rodrigues has been among those championing efforts to rebuild the nation’s public health system and improve its population’s health.

"A workable NPHI will transform our capacity to recognize and monitor health problems and respond with evidence-based policies and actions. It will be a tremendous resource for coordinating and providing leadership for core public-health functions," said Dr. Rodrigues.

NPHIs are particularly important in low- and middle-resource countries because they can provide an antidote to brain drain and a career home for public health professionals interested in participating in initiatives like the IANPHI mentorship program. The added value of the mentor program is that it will help future NPHI leaders take a more active role in determining their future while engaging in a number of public health processes that contribute to the development of their country.

The mentor-mentee pairs have welcomed the opportunity to participate in the mentorship program. For the next two years, they will communicate regularly via E-mail and monthly conference calls and partner to develop plans to implement and evaluate their joint ventures.

"This is a great opportunity to further my public health career," said Dr. Mayige of Tanzania. "This program will help to enhance my professional skills in leadership, communication, program management and grant writing."

The IANPHI Mentorship Program is funded by a gift from Dr. David Heymann, derived from a Heinz Family Foundation award and through the Better World Fund. "It is tremendously satisfying to see IANPHI’s progress in moving this program forward to link such accomplished public health professionals and promising leaders," said Dr. Heymann. "Their work together—IANPHI, mentors, and mentees—will affect the health of thousands."

IANPHI is an international advocacy and professional organization for NPHI directors in more than 60 countries as well as a major investor in public health infrastructure projects in low-resource countries. Funded through Emory University by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IANPHI helps countries with the long-term planning and priority-setting necessary to develop strong public health systems.

Incorporating even relatively short bouts of exercise into a daily commute appears to deliver significant rewards, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Researchers, led by Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen, associate professor of nutrition in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health, looked at the health and fitness levels of active commuters—people who walk or ride a bike to work at least part of the way—compared to those who drive or take public transportation.

Men and women who were active commuters performed better on a fitness test, according to the study published in the July 13, 2009, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

And men who walk or bike have lower obesity rates as well as healthier triglyceride levels, blood pressure and insulin levels, Dr. Gordon-Larsen said.

"We don't know why women don't reap all the same health benefits as men," said Dr. Gordon-Larsen, an obesity epidemiologist. "We can speculate - women may not be exercising as intensely or it may be that they are commuting shorter distances. But for both sexes, we see significant health benefits to walking or biking to work."

For most adults, 60 minutes of brisk walking per day is sufficient to meet physical activity guidelines for avoiding weight gain, Gordon-Larsen said, and walking is an activity most people can do.

"Walking or biking to work is one way to increase physical activity," said Dr. Janne Boone-Heinonen, a postdoctoral nutrition researcher at UNC and co-author of the study. And while the benefits of exercise in general have been studied quite a bit, she noted, not much research has been conducted on the cardiovascular and overall health benefits of "non-leisure" activities like active commuting.

Dr. Gordon-Larsen and colleagues studied 2,364 adults in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study who worked outside the home. At examinations conducted between 2005 and 2006, participants reported the length of their commute in minutes and miles, including details on the percentage of the trip taken by car, public transportation, walking or bicycling. Researchers also recorded participants' height, weight and other health variables, including blood pressure and fitness levels as assessed by a treadmill test. In addition, subjects wore an accelerometer to measure their levels of physical activity during at least four days of the study period.

The average length of active commuters' trips was 20 minutes for men and 17 minutes for women. However, fewer than two in 10 (16.7 percent) of the participants used any means of active commuting to reach their workplace.

The results add to existing evidence that walking or biking to work is beneficial, the authors noted.

"Ultimately it would be wonderful to see more people walking and biking to work, but to make this happen, we need to make walking and biking safe and accessible by reducing environmental barriers to activity," Dr. Gordon-Larsen said.

Additional research is needed to determine other potential benefits of active commuting and unravel the relationship between walking or biking to work and other health-promoting behaviors that people may engage in, the authors concluded.

Along with Drs. Gordon-Larsen and Boone-Heinonen, other study authors are Drs. Steve Sidney and Barbara Sternfeld from Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA; Dr. David R. Jacobs Jr. from the University of Minnesota and the University of Oslo, Norway; and Dr. Cora E. Lewis from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

From the White House to the State House, health care reform is the number one concern for legislators, providers and health care patients or "consumers." If health care reform is to meet the needs of consumers, then consumers need to become actively involved in their own care, according to a new report out of the University of California (UC), Berkeley, titled From Patients to Partners: A Consensus Framework for Engaging Californians in Their Health and Health Care.

The report was developed by the California Program on Access to Care (CPAC), a program of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and was funded by the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA).

The report release date, Tuesday, July 14, occurs during the same week that the House Ways and Means Committee is initiating markups to new health care legislation.

Award-winning Bay Area journalist Ms. Ysabel Duron will moderate a Sacramento event highlighting the report's release. Ms. Duron is a cancer survivor and founder of Latinas Contra Cancer, a group addressing cancer support services and education for Latinos in low-income, Spanish speaking communities.

Senator Gilbert Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), who is a long time champion of health care access for all populations groups, will be a keynote speaker.

More than 40 representatives from California's academic community, health industry, media, and consumer advocates contributed to the report, which details issues that plague "patients" when using the U.S. health care system. The report also details concrete recommendations to engage patients so that they become "partners" in their health care.

"Our report encourages providers and health plans to use new approaches to engage consumers," said CPAC director Gil Ojeda. "One suggested approach is to have providers use mobile phone technology to communicate with enrollees, especially those enrollees who lack access to a personal computer. Another innovative approach is to assign certain patients, say cancer patients, a personal guide, such a trained lay person, to help them sort out treatment options and deal with the health care infrastructure."

OPA, funder of the report, is the state agency charged with helping California's 16.5 million HMO or managed care enrollees get the proper health care services.

According to the report, consumers who can effectively navigate access to their care and benefits are far less likely to use expensive health care settings such as emergency rooms, because they will have learned how to work with a regular physician or "medical home." By choosing high value health plans and providers, consumers can help drive improvements in quality and efficiency. By self-managing chronic conditions, consumers can improve their own outcomes, reduce expensive complications, and live full, productive lives. By engaging in healthy behaviors, consumers can prevent or delay the onset of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and many types of cancers, which are largely triggered by unhealthy behaviors.

Recommendations included in the report call upon health care stakeholders, i.e., providers, insurance plans, advocates and the media, to help consumers play a greater role. The report urges these stakeholders to:

• Identify key information about their consumer audience, such as age, ethnicity, education and income, and then tailor messages to promote specific behavior changes or relay useful information;
• Promote messages in positive ways that enable and persuade and address consumers' fears and hopes;
• Motivate consumers to take "small steps" on the road to self-care and health care health improvement; and
• Engage in collaborative outreach and promotion campaigns.

Furthermore, the report specifically urges OPA to:

• Expand outreach and partnerships with other health care groups and the media to elevate OPA's visibility to become a trusted "go to" resource;
• Work with health plans and medical groups to promote health information on Internet social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook; and
• Work with health plans and medical groups to develop condition-specific performance reports on chronic illness, such as diabetes and asthma.

"Basically, our report shows that health care consumers can help reduce costs and improve the quality of health care in our state and in our nation. Consumers just need a helping hand in making wise choices," said Mr. Ojeda.

As part of a series about Americans' response to the H1N1 flu outbreak, the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health is releasing a national poll that focuses on Americans' views and concerns about the potential for a more severe outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) in the fall or winter. The polling was done June 22-28. Approximately six in ten Americans (59 percent) believe it is very or somewhat likely that there will be widespread cases of Influenza A (H1N1) with people getting very sick this coming fall or winter.

States have unfunded liabilities for retiree health care of about $558 billion, including for teachers, according to a new report from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence. "At a Crossroads: The Financing and Future of Health Benefits for State and Local Government Retirees" is the first systematic (entire workforce) assessment of the level of OPEB (other post-employment benefits) liabilities of U.S. states and a sample of localities.

Brazil's nearly two-decade effort to treat people living with HIV and AIDS shows that developing countries can successfully combat the epidemic. Inexpensive generic medicines are a large part of the solution, according to researchers from Brown University and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

The University of Iowa College of Public Health is accepting nominations for the 2010 Richard and Barbara Hansen Leadership Award and Distinguished Lectureship. This award honors persons who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in the health field—in public service, executive management, higher education or research—and brings them to The University of Iowa campus in order to create opportunities for students, faculty and public health professionals to encounter and be challenged by their ideas and insights. The deadline for nominations is Friday, July 31.

Chronic diseases in adulthood, causes of infertility and the impact of genetics on reproduction are all influenced by what happens in the womb, affecting well-being over a lifetime. Research on these and related topics will be presented at the 42^nd annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), which will be held July 18-22, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Upper Midwest Center for Public Health Preparedness will host a Grand Rounds Series titled "Severe Weather—Hospital/Public Health Lesson Learned, Cedar Rapids Flooding of 2008" on Thursday, July 30, 2009 from 12-1:30 p.m. (Central) at 2189 Medical Education Research Facility at the University of Iowa. This presentation will also be available via streaming video on the web.

On Thursday, August 6 from 2-3 p.m. (Eastern), the Florida Department of Health's Distance Learning Satellite Network, the Office of Performance Improvement and the Division of Disease Control will host the upcoming satellite broadcast titled "Novel Influenza A H1N1 Outbreak: The Florida Response."

From September 22-24, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Office of Medical Applications of Research (OMAR) is hosting the State-of-the-Science Conference: Diagnosis and Management of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) in Bethesda, MD.

The Inaugural Conference of the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences will be held October 8-11 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The theme of the conference will be "Environment: The Interdisciplinary Challenge."

The 14^th Annual Conference of the National Hispanic Medical Association will be held March 25-28, 2009 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW, Washington, DC. The theme of the conference is "Health Care Transformation to Expand Prevention and Health Promotion for Hispanic Communities."

Mr. Jerold  R. Mande was named Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday, July 9. Mr. Mande, a 1983 alumnus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's (UNC) Master of Public Health program in nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, will oversee the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the USDA agency that protects public health by ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of the nation's supply of meat, poultry and processed egg products.

At Yale University School of Medicine's Yale Cancer Center, Mr. Mande developed a national model to increase support for cancer prevention and control, including diet, exercise and obesity. He also initiated and helped manage the cancer center disparities program, to improve cancer control and care in underserved populations.

Previously, Mr. Mande had served on the White House staff as a health policy adviser, where he helped lead key food safety, tobacco control and cancer initiatives, including expansion of FoodNet and PulseNet.

He was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Health at the U.S. Department of Labor. He also served as Senior Adviser and Executive Assistant to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug and Administration, where he led design of the Nutrition Facts food label, for which he received the Presidential Award for Design Excellence.

In addition to his UNC degree, Mr. Mande holds a Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude (B.S. with distinction in nutritional sciences) from the University of Connecticut at Storrs. He also attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, completing a program for senior managers in government.