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Emory University is the #1 research
university in Georgia based on external sponsored research, and
Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) faculty were important
contributors to that ranking. For example, Associate Dean of Applied
Public Health Kathleen Miner is the second highest funded
investigator at Emory. The Department of Behavioral Science
and Health Education (BSHE) is the second highest funded academic
department on campus, and the Department of International Health (IH)
is the sixth. Of the major three research universities in the state,
Emory posted $351,000,000, followed by Georgia Institute of
Technology with $341,000,000 and the University of Georgia with
$228,000,000. Emory's growth of 10% from the last year was welcome
news, particularly considering NIH funding grew only 3.6%.
In the 40 years since its founding, the Department of Biostatistics has grown to include 19
full-time doctoral faculty, nine associate faculty, two jointly
appointed faculty, and 16 adjuncts, who teach and conduct research
that is national and international in scope. Established at Emory in
1963, it became in 1990 one of six departments in the RSPH. This fall
Biostatistics celebrated its 40th anniversary with presentations on
its history by Chair Mike Kutner, Emerita Professor Donna Brogan, and
President of the Medical University of South Carolina and former RSPH
Dean Ray Greenberg. Brogan, retiring after 33 years at Emory, was
honored for her service, including her tenure as chair of
Biostatistics from 1991-1995. The celebration--which drew more than
120 people currently or formerly associated with the
department--included lectures on the future of the field,
biostatistical methods in imaging research, and biostatistical
methods in occupational studies.
This fall, Emory established an interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Disease Analysis. Directed
by Professor of Biostatistics Elizabeth Halloran, the center
coordinates work already under way on campus, in which
biostatisticians apply statistical modeling to some of today's most
challenging epidemics, such as smallpox, cholera, influenza, and
SARS. The center will not only raise visibility for medically and
mathematically linked research projects but also encourage more work
in bioinformatics, vaccine development, and understanding
transmission of infectious diseases. One of its first projects is
modeling a disease outbreak in a hypothetical American community and
identifying the best ways to control an epidemic. The
research--supported by a five-year, $3 million grant from the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences--is part of a new NIH
initiative known as MIDAS (models of infectious disease agent study)
and is led at Emory by Principal Investigator and Professor of
Biostatistics Ira Longini, who was instrumental in establishing the
center.
The RSPH received a $3.8 million grant to establish a Prevention Research Center in partnership with Southwest
Georgia Cancer Coalition, a Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC) Regional
Program of Excellence. Led by Karen Glanz--professor of Behavioral
Sciences and Health Education (BSHE) and a GCC scholar--the partners
will work jointly in 33 counties in southwest Georgia in an
initiative designed to reduce high cancer rates. They seek to promote
prevention behaviors, specifically targeting smoking and nutrition
issues, and creating a foundation for additional collaborations in
this medically underserved region. In addition, Emory's PRC has
received $2.5 million in additional funding for Special Interest
Projects initiatives. One award, led by Glanz, supports a five-year
role in the Cancer Prevention & Control Research Network. The other,
led by GCC Scholar Kyle Steenland in the Department of Environmental
and Occupational Health (EOH), supports a three-year study of quality
of life for men with localized prostate cancer.
Congratulations to Professor of Epidemiology Ruth Berkelman on her recent election to the Institute
of Medicine (IOM). RSPH adjunct faculty members who are were elected
this year include CDC Director Julie Gerberding and CDC Director of
Chronic Diseases James Marks. RSPH has a solid representation in the
IOM, including faculty members James Curran, Godfrey Oakley, and
Reynaldo Martorell; jointly appointed faculty Michael M.E. Johns,
Jeffrey Koplan, Marla Salmon, and Rick Martinez; adjunct faculty
Arthur Kellermann, Claire Broome, Roger Glass, Jaime Sepulveda, Jim
Hughes, Don Hopkins, and Mark Rosenberg, and emeritus faculty William
Foege.
As a public health coordinator in
Grenada, Tonia Frame, 03MPH, saw first-hand the destruction of
Hurricane Ivan: "Nothing is like it was prior to the hurricane. Many
people have lost everything they own." Frame recently wrote to thank
RSPH for assisting Grenada with donations of money, water treatment
equipment, roofing and building materials, generators, medical
supplies, clothing, and more. International Health Office Manager
Sandra Smith, who organized the RSPH response, filled her
15-passenger van to capacity three times with donations. RSPH
students also helped package donations at the relief effort's
centralized location for transport to Grenada.
Security was tight at the fall G8
conference held in coastal Georgia, and among those prepared to deal
with any natural or man-made public health emergency were students
from the RSPH. The eight students were part of a state public health
team, and they got a chance to witness up close how public health
works in the field during a high-profile event. They participated in
discussions about disease surveillance, worked with hospital staff,
observed food service inspections, and were available to contribute
to disease case investigations. Research Professor of Epidemiology
James Buehler, a consultant to the Georgia Division of Public Health
and principal investigator on the Academic Health Department Project,
helped link the students to this fieldwork.
The following faculty are newly appointed to the RSPH:
Stephanie Ebelt, research assistant professor in EOH, will work with
Paige Tolbert's research team on air pollution epidemiology. She is
completing her ScD in Environmental Health at Harvard, with a thesis
on the impact of air pollution on cardiovascular health.
Chensheng (Alex) Lu, assistant professor of EOH, is an expert in
exposure assessment and biomarker development. His recent work
focuses on quantifying exposure to pesticides using novel methods
such as saliva analysis. He also is engaged in a longitudinal
approach of assessing aggregate exposure to pesticides in children
and a study of human exposure to pesticides due to variations of
dietary consumption patterns.
Anne Riederer, senior research associate in EOH, recently earned a
ScD in environmental health from Harvard School of Public Health,
where she focused on residential exposures to developmental toxins in
the Philippines. Her research looks for practical ways to mitigate
environmental risks in the developing world, with a special emphasis
on water pollution.
Jeremy Sarnat, assistant professor in EOH, focuses on air pollution,
especially particulates. Most recently, he was a research fellow in
exposure, epidemiology, and risk at Harvard, and he previously worked
as a staff scientist at the Israel Union for Environmental Defense.
Paul Terry, assistant professor of epidemiology, focuses on the
etiology of cancers of the digestive tract and several
hormone-mediated cancers. He has completed doctoral studies in
epidemiology at Columbia University and Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm and a fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental
Sciences.
Congratulations to Eugene Huang, who has been
appointed as associate professor of biostatistics with tenure. His
statistical research interests are in the theory and methods for
censored outcomes, or survival data, and in contaminated covariates
(errors in covariates). Congratulations also to Usha Ramakrishnan,
who was promoted to associate professor of International Health with
tenure. Her major area of research is maternal and child nutrition,
focusing on micronutrient malnutrition during pregnancy and in young
children.
*Ruth Berkelman (Center for PH Preparedness) has been appointed chair
of the Public and Scientific Board of the American Society for
Microbiology.
*Colleen DiIorio (BSHE) will receive the 2004 Distinguished Scholar
in Nursing Award at New York University in November for her
significant contributions to nursing and healthcare as well as the
2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Iowa in June.
She also was elected from the RSPH to serve a three-year term on the
President's Advisory Council (PAC), the group that reviews promotion
and tenure decisions and advises the Provost and President of Emory
University. Her term follows that of Ronald Braithwaite, who recently
completed service on PAC.
*Howard Frumkin (EOH) received the Environmental Professional of the
Year Award from the Georgia Environmental Council, being commended
for his work on the Clean Air Campaign.
*Elizabeth Halloran has been appointed to a four-year term for NIH's
study section on Biostatistical Methods and Research Study.
*Vicki Hertzberg (Bio) has been appointed to the University Advisory
Council on Teaching (UACT) from the RSPH. The UACT is an organization
dedicated to supporting teaching across Emory University. Carol Hogue
recently completed a term of service with UACT.
*Amita Manatunga (Bio) will serve as the RSPH member of the
University Research Committee (URC). This committee distributes
approximately $500,000 to Emory University faculty who apply for
funding.
*Walter Orenstein (IH), associate director of the Emory Vaccine
Center and associate director of the Southeastern Center for Emerging
Biologic Threats at Emory, received the Charles C. Shepard Lifetime
Scientific Achievement Award from CDC.
*Lance Waller (Bio) received the Abdel El-Shaarawi Young Research
Award from the International Environmetrics Society, which recognizes
excellence in environmental statistics research by a researcher under
40.
*Kathryn Yount, along with former MPH student Michele A. Sinunu and
Humphrey Fellow Nadia El-Afifi, received the Nobuo Maeda
International Research Award from the Gerontological section of APHA
for substantial contributions to international research and policy.
James W. Curran, MD, MPH
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