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Bios to host Summer Institute in Biostatistics The Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics has been selected to host one of six NHLBI-funded Summer Institutes in Biostatistics (SIBS). For the next three years, the department will host approximately 20 undergraduates to introduce them to concepts and careers in biostatistics, and many of these participants will go on to graduate studies in biostatistics or epidemiology at Rollins or other schools of public health. The department has hosted a SIBS program for each of the last six years and is proud to be part of the SIBS network.
Krall published in Significance Jenna Krall, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, had her work exploring the reliability of estimates of the number of deaths associated with the Volkswagen emissions scandal featured on the cover of Significance magazine. |
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Solveig Cunningham, associate professor of global health, won Emory University's 2016 Levy Award (Junior Faculty category). Solveig was recognized for her groundbreaking scientific contributions in mapping the life history of obesity. The University Research Committee acknowledged that her work "will no doubt give further impetus to the fight against childhood obesity." The Albert E. Levy Scientific Research Award was established to recognize the contributions of Emory faculty members to the advancement of scientific knowledge. It was created by Edith Levy Elsas, a civic and academic activist, while she was a member of Emory University Board of Visitors in memory of her father, Albert E. Levy. The award is overseen by the University Research Committee. Keith Klugman was elected to the new class of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly the Institute of Medicine. Keith is director of pneumonia programs for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and emeritus William H. Foege Professor of Global Health. Membership in the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievements and commitment to service. Kate Winskell, associate professor of global health, has been awarded the 2016 Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Early Career in Public Health Teaching Award. She will receive the award at the 2016 ASPPH annual meeting on March 21. This award is given to graduate public health faculty who are in the early stages of their professional careers and are noted for their excellence in teaching, research, and mentorship. Kate also was named Andrew W. Mellon Faculty Fellow in Humanistic Inquiry. Matt Freeman, assistant professor of environmental health, has been awarded the ASPPH's Early Career in Public Health Research Award. This award recognizes an outstanding early-career investigator who is a graduate public health faculty member at an ASPPH member school or program of public health. Sherman James, professor of epidemiology and African-American studies, was selected as the 2016 Mahatma Gandhi Fellow by the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) in recognition of his contributions to social science. Judy Greenlea-Taylor 15MPH, DDS was inaugurated as the 92nd president of the National Dental Association (the national organization representing minority dentists from across the nation). Judy has worked tirelessly both clinically and in policy-making to improve the quality and access to care for not only the best of us, but the least of us. Judy also serves on the board of the Georgia Department of Public Health. For the second year in a row, Dana Boyd Barr has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by Thompson Reuters. Barr, professor of environmental health, was listed among researchers who rank among the top one percent most cited for their subject field and year of publication, earning them the mark of exceptional impact. Barr’s research focuses on environmental contaminants and their impact on health and disease, with a special interest in maternal and child health and biomarkers of environmental exposure. |
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March 15: Stanley O. Foster Lecture Pathways in Global Health by Barry Levy, MD, MPH, adjunct professor of public health at Tufts University School of Medicine. His presentation will be “Climate Change and Public Health: Challenges and Opportunities.” 5 p.m. - 6 p.m., Rollins Auditorium. Reception to follow. Apr. 13: Charles R. Hatcher, Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Public Health to be awarded to Linda A. McCauley, dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, 4 p.m., Lawrence P. and Anne Estes Klamon Room. Apr. 18: Donna J. Brogan Lecture in Biostatistics by Ross Prentice, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics at the University of Washington School of Public Health, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m., Claudia Nance Rollins, Room 8030. |
WINTER 2016
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Kimberly Jacob Arriola 01MPH, professor of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, has been appointed associate dean for academic affairs. Kim is best known for her work developing and evaluating interventions that improve access to transplantation and improve public commitment to organ and tissue donations among African Americans. In addition to her research, she will focus on activities in faculty development and advancement, and the administration of the school's doctoral programs.
Kim is a 2010 alumnus of the Woodruff Leadership Academy and a 2012 graduate of the American Psychological Association Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology. In 2014, she received the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award. She will maintain her commitment to teaching courses and mentoring MPH and doctoral students in BSHE and to her funded program of research. Her appointment intends to broaden the engagement of faculty in school administration. She is a highly respected mentor and peer to both her students and colleagues, in addition to her invaluable research contributions. In addition, J. Mark Conde has been appointed assistant dean for information services. Mark is recognized nationally as having expertise in informatics and lab-based data collection. He currently serves as chair of the Informatics Committee for the Association of Public Health Laboratories. He also chairs the Informatics Workforce Curriculum Design and Development Committee for that same organization. Mark participated in the development of the curriculum for a new concentration in our EMPH program. The concentration, which he now directs, is Applied Public Health Informatics. He also teaches in that program and supervises students completing their practicum requirements.
Microbiome symposium a great success
Jennifer Mulle, assistant professor of epidemiology, organized and chaired the first microbiome symposium at Emory in November. The goal of this novel symposium was to foster internal collaborations, generate grant proposals, and jump-start microbiome research at Emory. It opened with a short session on Microbiome 101 for people not well-versed in the topic. The next day featured 10 different speakers—five from various schools at Emory and five from outside the university. See a complete list of speakers and topics. To keep the symposium affordable, Jennifer and her team were able to get the Emory's Center for Faculty Development and Education to underwrite the conference. Other financial contributors included Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the HERCULES center, our schools of medicine and nursing, Morehouse and Georgia Tech. It was truly a collaborative effort, and over 240 people attended.
It is with great sadness that I announce the loss of a valued member of our Dean's Council, Beverly B. Long. Beverly died on October 30 surrounded by her family. Beverly was one of the world's leading advocates on behalf of mental health and the rights of persons with mental illness. She served as president of the World Federation for Mental Health; president of the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) of Atlanta and Georgia; chair of the first Georgia Governor's Advisory Council on Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse, 1975 to 1978; and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the 1977/1978 President's Commission on Public Health. Beverly served on countless boards and councils advocating prevention of mental and behavioral disorders. She provided inspiration and support for the Rosalynn Carter Endowed Chair for Mental Health at Rollins.
Creating a GeoHealth Hub Kyle Steenland, professor of environmental health, and Karen Levy, assistant professor of environmental health, along with researchers at John Hopkins University and the University of Georgia, were awarded a GeoHealth Hub training grant. GeoHealth Hubs, which will serve as regional environmental health research and training centers, are a program launched by the Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the NIH, in conjunction with NCI/NIEHS/NIOSH. Funding is $3 million over five years, divided equally between research and training components, and five Hubs are to be created across different continents. Steenland and Levy will create a regional center in Peru with ties to Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The new center will conduct three research projects, including an intervention to improve indoor air in relation to cardiovascular endpoints, a study of outdoor air pollution in Lima (the most polluted large city in Latin America), and a study of the effects of climate change in Peru (a country where El Nino regularly causes major health problems likely to be exacerbated by increasing temperatures). Long-term health outcomes following gender reassignment therapies Michael Goodman (epidemiology) was awarded $696,000 by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to examine physical and mental health outcomes experienced by transgender and gender nonconforming people, particularly those who underwent or are undergoing hormonal and/or surgical gender confirmation. The project will provide critical and up-to-now absent information about the long- and short-term effects of different hormonal treatments, alone or in combination with surgical gender confirmation, on mental health and quality of life of transgender people. The project also examines how hormonal and/or surgical gender confirmation impact risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, cancer, risk of HIV, and sexually transmitted infections. Rollins faculty have recently received many other grants for research and training. View the complete list
New faculty
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