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Synergy awards

rosenberg

The Woodruff Health Sciences Center has announced the 10 proposals selected for funding in the fifth cycle of Synergy Awards. The awards support collaborative projects among faculty at Emory's schools of medicine, nursing, and public health, and all other units in the WHSC. Proposals for the Synergy Awards are required to include faculty members with primary appointments in at least two different schools/units as co-principal investigators. The awards are intended to support new, highly innovative projects that are not yet funded or published.

Eight of the 10 winning proposals included Rollins faculty members. Our Synergy winners are

- Robert F. Breiman (global health) with Steven Yeh (SOM) and Jessica Shantha (SOM) for Clinical and ocular fluid analysis in the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network;

- Hao Wu (biostatistics and bioinformatics) with Peng Jin (SOM) for Developing cell-free DNA-based net-generation biomarkers for neurodegenerative disorders;

- David H. Howard (health policy and management) with Faisal Merchant (SOM) and Neal Dickert (SOM) for Evaluating the impact of decision aid timing on mandatory shared decision making for defibrillator implantation;

- Veronika Fedirko (epidemiology) and Yijuan Hu (biostatistics and bioinformatics) with Mehmet Bilen (SOM), Viraj Master (SOM), Haydn Kissick (SOM), and Timothy Read (SOM) for Gut microbiome, cancer immunotherapy, and kidney cancer outcomes;

- Dayna A. Johnson and Tene T. Lewis (both epidemiology) with Donald Bliwise (SOM) for Multilevel determinants of sleep and 24-hour blood pressure among African Americans;

- Jorge E. Vidal (global health) with Christopher LaRock (SOM) for Nutritional immunoregulation protection against pneumococcal pneumonia;

- David Benkeser (biostatistics and bioinformatics) with Julien Hogan (SOM) and Lee Cooper (SOM) for Transplant rejection diagnosis and classification using machine learning on whole-slide imaging in pediatric and adult kidney transplant recipients;

- Amit Shah (epidemiology) and K. M. Venkat Narayan (global health) with Gari Clifford (SOM) for Unravelling the electrophysiologic effects of diabetes with novel risk prediction tools: A global collaborative study in South Asians.


A look at Levy’s Leshner Fellowship

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) featured an article about Karen Levy’s (environmental health) experience as an AAAS Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellow. The program fosters public engagement and science communication. She is currently participating in Emory Public Scholars Institute sessions about engaging through traditional and new media. Read the AAAS article here.


 
   
 
stock illustration of a group winning an award
Tené Lewis (left) & Miriam Van Dyke

Tené Lewis (epidemiology) and Miriam Van Dyke (PhD epidemiology student) were selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as one of 45 Gilliam Fellowship advisor/mentee pairs. The Gilliam program aims to ensure that a diverse and highly trained workforce is prepared to assume leadership roles in science. HHMI is taking a two-pronged approach: supporting promising graduate students from groups that are underrepresented in science and helping their thesis advisers build inclusive training environments.

Xu Ji 13MSPH, 17G has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the Academy Health Outstanding Dissertation Award. This national award is presented annually in recognition of an outstanding doctoral thesis in health services research or health policy from the previous year.

The American Statistical Association (ASA) selected Michael Kutner, professor, as the 2018 recipient of the 2018 ASA Mentoring Award and chose Ying Guo, associate professor, and Dionne Price 00G as ASA Fellows.

 
   
 

October 3: The Virginia S. DeHaan Lecture on Health Promotion and Education, Enola Proctor, Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor, Washington University at St. Louis presents "Implementation Science: A Path to Ensuring Quality Mental Healthcare," 3:00 pm reception, 4:00 pm lecture, Lawrence P. and Anne Estes Klamon Room

October 26: Epidemiology Grand Rounds, Maria Glymour, professor, University of California San Francisco presents “Lifecourse perspectives on dementia epidemiology: Have we been studying Alzheimer's disease or child development?” Noon – 1:00 pm, Claudia Nance Rollins Auditorium

November 12: RSPH Dean’s Reception at APHA, 6 pm – 8 pm, Roy’s San Diego Waterfront San Diego, CA. Register here.

*View all Rollins events on the online calendar.

 
 
 
FALL 2018

Off to a strong start

 
Dean James W. Curran

The new year has gotten off to a strong start. In August we welcomed another large incoming class that totaled 581 students, including Humphrey Fellows. These students came to us from 37 countries and 39 states. For the upcoming 2018-2019 school year, 543 Rollins students have accepted Rollins Earn and Learn awards. We had another strong year in research funding, garnering $132 million in awards in 2017-2018. And we wrapped up our 23rd year in the black—a feat important to our school.


Transitions

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Kimberly Jacob Arriola and John Hanfelt

We start the new year with a few transitions. Richard Levinson, who came to Rollins in 1972, is stepping back to become senior associate dean of academic affairs, while Kimberly Jacob Arriola is succeeding him in his role as executive associate dean for academic affairs. Lance Waller is stepping away from his post of chair of the biostatistics and bioinformatics department, and John Hanfelt is serving as interim chair. And, as we reported in the last issue of The Dean’s Letter, Timothy Lash is now the Rollins Professor and Chair of Epidemiology.


Marsit takes the helm at HERCULES

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Carmen Marsit

Carmen Marsit (environmental health) has been named director of the HERCULES Exposome Research Center, succeeding the center’s founder, Gary Miller. The chance to work with the center was one of the things that drew Carmen to Rollins in 2016. He will be reaching out to HERCULES researchers and partners in the coming weeks and months.


James garners Award of Distinction

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Michelle James

Michelle James is being honored with Emory University’s 2018 Award of Distinction on October 18. The annual award recognizes Emory staff members who have demonstrated excellence in their professional role and have made exceptional contributions to their department and to the university.

As senior director of Alumni Engagement, Michelle works beyond the parameters of her job description, offering mentorship to students, guidance to alumni and donors, and friendship to her fellow colleagues. She builds bridges across Rollins and Emory, and she connects employers and community partners with the university. Michelle is an essential reason why students feel a strong sense of community while at Rollins, and she is the person who keeps public health alumni excited about Emory long after they leave campus. Congratulations, Michelle.


New grants

Thomas Clasen, Household Air Pollution and Health: A Multi-country LPG Intervention Trial, NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, $4 million, continuation

Patrick Sullivan, Mobile Messaging Intervention to Present New HIV Prevention Options for MSM, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $1.3 million, continuation

Aaron Siegler, Making It Last: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of a Home Care System to Promote Persistence in PrEP Care, NIH National Institute of Mental Health, $1.1 million, continuation

Melissa Alperin, Region IV Public Health Training Center, Health Resources and Services Administration, $1.1 million, July 1, 2018 – June 20, 2022

Patrick Sullivan, Enhancing Models of HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STIs, and Tuberculosis to Inform and Improve Public Health Impact, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $1.1 million, continuation

Patrick Sullivan, Theoretically Based Mobile App to Increase PrEP Uptake Among MSM, NIN National Institute on Drug Abuse, $1 million, continuation

Carlos del Rio, Center for AIDS Research at Emory University, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, $900,000, supplement

Julie Gazmararian, A Rigorous Evaluation of the Relationship between Physical Activity and Education, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, $900,000, continuation

Patrick Sullivan, Engaging African American and Latino MSM for HIV Testing and Prevention Services through Technology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $850,000, continuation

Samuel Jenness, EpiModel 2.0: Integrated Network Model for HIV/STI Prevention Science, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, $800,000, July 12, 2018 – June 30, 2022

Rollins faculty have received many other grants for research and training between May 15 - Sept. 1 View the complete list.


Appointments and Promotions

Faculty promotions
  • Julie Gazmararian, Professor, Epidemiology

  • Amy Webb Girard, Associate Professor, Global Health

  • Kimberly Jacob Arriola, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Dean’s Office

  • Timothy Lash, Rollins Professor and Chair, Epidemiology

  • Helena Pachon, Professor, Global Health

New faculty

  • Melvin Livingston III, Associate Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

  • Robin Elizabeth McGee, Assistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

  • Whitney Smith Rice, Assistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

  • Briana Woods-Jaeger, Assistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

  • Noah Scovronick, Assistant Professor, Environmental Health

  • Dayna Johnson-Morgan, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology

  • Ann Do, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology

  • Renuka Fnu, Assistant Professor, Global Health

  • Pengbo Liu, Assistant Professor, Global Health

  • Puneet Kaur Chehai, Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management

  • Donghai Liang, Assistant Professor, Environmental Health

  • Samaah Sullivan, Instructor, Epidemiology

Post Doctoral Fellows

  • Elizabeth Ann Mosley, Assistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

  • Ziyi Li, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics

  • Zhenzhen Shi, Environmental Health

  • John Gharbin, Global Health

  • Anne Hause, Global Health

  • Carmen Ng, Global Health

  • Maria Sundaram, Global Health

  • Abumohdnaser Titu, Global Health

  • Elaine Ann Yu, Global Health

Staff Promotions

  • Katherine Carey, Post Award III Research Administrator, Research Administration

  • Cherita Antonia Clendinen, Clinical Research Coordinator I, Epidemiology

  • Beatriz Ibanez-Alvarez, Research Administration Services Senior Director, Research Administration

  • Kathryn Graves, Senior Associate Dean for Development and External Relations

  • Lara Martin, Senior Program Coordinator, Global Health

  • Courtnee Matthews, Senior Customer Services Representative, Fulfillment Services

  • Dwayne Miller, Analyst IV Applications Developer, Information Services

  • Phyllis Ayers Peninger, Business and Finance Director, Finance and Compliance

  • Suraja Raj, Lead Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

  • Brittney Romanson, Admissions Senior Associate Director, Student Services

  • Gaelle Sabben, Senior Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

  • Eric Strait, Research Administration Services Assistant Director, Research Administration

  • Jennifer Taussig, Program Director, Epidemiology

New Staff

    • Leah Powell, Public Health Program Associate, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

    • Kiauna Nichole Rome, Academic Technology Specialist I, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

    • Ilyssa Paige Tamler, Public Health Program Associate, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

    • Melissa Williams, Clinical Research Coordinator II, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education

    • Marjorie Howard, Biostatistician, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics

    • Letryce Caullia Scully, Biostatistician, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics

    • Aniqa Bushra Alam, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology

    • Megan Maureen Coe, Clinical Research Coordinator II, Epidemiology

    • Ruth Mizzy Dana, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology

    • Megan Fields, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology

    • Margaret Forshag, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology

    • Meghan Franczek, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology

    • Jamie Paige Heber, Tumor Registrar (CTR), Epidemiology

    • Marissa Hicks, Data Analyst, Epidemiology

    • Chandni Jaggi, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology

    • Kingsley Leung, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology

    • Santiago Tovar Diaz, Senior Research Interviewer, Epidemiology

    • Brian George Batayeh, Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

    • Irina Bergenfeld, Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

    • Lana Childs, Senior Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

    • Evan Alexander Glassberg, Program Coordinator, Global Health

    • Amanda Cecelia Howa, Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

    • Shamia Moore, Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

    • Laura Randall, Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

    • Donna Thomas, Administrative Assistant, Global Health

    • Breanna Katelin Wodnik, Public Health Program Associate, Global Health

    • Jianheng Li, Data Analyst, Health Policy and Management

    • Emily Caroline Moore, Public Health Program Associate, Health Policy and Management

    • Ivone Foisy, Programs Senior Associate Director, Student Services

 
       
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