UMD School of Public Health Spring 2013 News by University of Maryland School of Public Health

University of Maryland, College Park

School of

Spring 2013 Newsletter

Public Health

Advancing a better state of health

sph.umd.edu A newsletter for faculty, staff, alumni, colleagues, research partners, and friends of the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

IN THIS ISSUE 2

DEAN’S MESSAGE

PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE

RESEARCH NEWS

RESEARCH AWARDS

FACULTY & STAFF NEWS

TEACHING & LEARNING INITIATIVES

14 NEW FACULTY & STAFF 15

STUDENT NEWS

ALUMNI NEWS

LATEST FROM SPH RESEARCH CENTERS

SPH IN THE NEWS

22 DONOR RECOGNITION 23 PHOTO GALLERY

BUILDING BRIDGES TO PROMOTE HEALTH

Public Health Research @ Maryland On April 4, 2013, the University of Mary-

land School of Public Health, in collaboration with University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, launched the first annual Public Health Research@Maryland (PHRM) day. Over 400 students, faculty and community partners convened to discuss current and emerging public health issues and present research findings. The event was supported by the “MPowering the State” initiative, a partnership between the University of Maryland, College Park and Baltimore campuses designed to maximize strengths and resources by linking programs and expanding collaborations.

Pictured Left to Right: School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece; School of Public Health Dean Jane Clark; Jay Magaziner, Dept. of Epidemiology and Public Health chair (UMB); University of Maryland, Baltimore President Jay Perman.

Keynote by D.A. Henderson World-renowned epidemiologist D. A. Henderson gave the keynote address: a personal account of his experience leading the global effort to eradicate smallpox in the 1960s and 70s. While Henderson is widely credited for one of the greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century, he said that he was “just a symbol.” The campaign was a team effort from start to finish, he said. “[The campaign] gave me a view of community,” Henderson said. “You had to bring together a lot of ideas. It was exciting.” Henderson’s story encapsulated the mission and message of Public Health Research@Maryland day: that collaboration and innovative research are crucial to the future of public health.

Message from the Dean The School of Public Health is engaged in a period of tremendous growth and I am honored to be serving as dean during this important time of expansion and transition. Much has happened this academic year, and this newsletter highlights many important accomplishments of our faculty, students and staff. I became dean in July 2012 and was tasked with leading the development of a collaborative School of Public Health in partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. Plans for the collaborative School of Public Health are well underway, and on April 4 we hosted our first big event in partnership with our Baltimore colleagues —Public Health Research@Maryland. This event brought together faculty and student researchers across both campuses, as well as community and state partners, to highlight complementary strengths and ongoing collaborations, and build new bridges to promote health in Maryland and beyond. To read about the research presented, see photos and watch the keynote lecture, visit sph.umd.edu/phrm. At our Spring 2013 commencement ceremony on May 20, we will graduate more than 450 students in our undergraduate and graduate programs. Senator Ben Cardin is our distinguished keynote speaker, and we are honored to host this public health champion. Senator Cardin has been a national leader on health care, and his efforts in support of access to high-quality, affordable health care for all people reflects the values and mission of our School. As we conclude another year, we are already looking ahead to the year before us and the exciting and innovative programs and initiatives we’ll undertake. I am pleased to announce the launch of two new graduate academic programs beginning this summer – an Executive Master of Public Health and a Certificate in the Principles of Public Health. These programs, as well as the recently launched Certificate in Global Health, will be offered at the Shady Grove campus using blending learning formats that include online and in-person courses (read more on p. 12). As we move closer to the creation of the collaborative SPH, we will be well-positioned to offer new Master of Public Health students a unique educational experience that takes advantage of the best of both University of Maryland campuses. We have also begun the process of redesigning our School of Public Health websites and look forward to launching a dynamic new web presence in early fall that will better serve students and showcase our school’s strengths and momentum. I want to thank all who make the University of Maryland School of Public Health an inspiring place to learn, work and grow. The years ahead promise to be an exciting continuation and expansion of our trajectory, and I am proud to lead our organization in its next phase of growth. Best wishes for a healthy and joyful summer. Jane E. Clark Dean, School of Public Health 2

BUILDING BRIDGES TO PROMOTE HEALTH

Public Health Research @ Maryland

Continued...

The Role of Collaboration “Collaboration is really where both the knowledge needs are and the answers are,” said Dushanka Kleinman, Associate Dean for Research in the University of Maryland School of Public Health and lead organizer for the event. Kleinman said PHRM was intended to reinforce the partnership between the School of Public Health (College Park) and the School of Medicine (Baltimore) and promote future collaboration. “It was a terrific success,” she said. Public Health Research@Maryland and the MPowering the State initiative represent a crucial collaborative effort, said Jane Clark, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health. “This MPowering the State partnership and the development of a collaborative School of Public Health comes out of the need to bring diverse expertise together to make progress on the complex public health issues facing our state,” she said. Katherine J. Fenstermacher, an undergraduate in the College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences at College Park, presented a poster at PHRM and was excited to take part in the cross-disciplinary event. “There’s a bit of a divide between the public health component of HIV research versus the basic science people,” she said. “We don’t go to a lot of the same conferences. I was excited about doing this because, you know, we should mesh a little better.”

Networking Opportunities Faculty members also took advantage of networking opportunities. Robin Puett, assistant professor of environmental health (School of Public Health), co-led a roundtable discussion about the use of mapping, satellite technologies and geographic information systems (GIS) to advance public health research. “We know that the neighborhood where you live matters to your health,” Puett said. “If we can make better use of GIS or remotely sensed data…It can help target where more specific research and intervention is needed.” University of Maryland School of Public Health

Puett is working with Tatiana Loboda, assistant professor of geographic sciences (College Park), to understand how Maryland’s “built environment” is affecting public health. “We can pair the satellite data on how land use has changed over time with data on physical activity and obesity rates in communities,” Puett said. “With this information, we can design interventions to create healthier communities.” Others researchers using GIS, like Laura L. Hungerford, professor of epidemiology and public health (School of Medicine), are studying the epidemiology and geographic patterns of infectious diseases. Hungerford co-convened the PHRM roundtable with Puett. This research group plans to link expertise from both campuses in the areas of geographical science, environmental health and exposure assessment and disease Spring 2013 News

epidemiology. This is the type of collaboration University of Maryland Baltimore Campus President Jay Perman encouraged in his opening remarks at PHRM. “Doctors like me who practice medicine need public health research because families’ lives and health are affected by many factors which can be influenced by public health scholarship and programs,” he said. “I’m thrilled about the achievement represented by this day.” Likewise, Jay Magaziner, Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, expressed, “We do more to save lives by preventing disease than we do by treating disease.” Next year’s annual Public Health Research@Maryland day will be held at the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus. Watch D.A. Henderson’s keynote lecture.

Photos from Public Health Research@Maryland Photos this page, clockwise from top left: 1 - Stephen B. Thomas, director, Maryland Center for Health Equity 2 - A packed room for the keynote by D.A. Henderson 3 - Zainab Okolo, undergraduate coordinator for the Department of Family Science 4 - UMB President Jay Perman and Chad Perman, Public Policy graduate student 5- The Inter-Campus Steering Committee (ICSC) coordinates plans for the creation of the collaborative School of Public Health. L to r: Laura Wilson (UMCP), Patricia Langenberg (UMB), Blakely Pomietto (UMCP), Laura L Hungerford (UMB), Sandra C. Quinn (UMCP), Diane Marie St. George (UMB), Dushanka Kleinman (UMCP), Nancy J Ellish (UMB) 6 - Robert S. Gold, D.A. Henderson, Sandra C. Quinn, Jane E. CLark, and Jay Perman 7 - Dushanka Kleinman awards doctoral student Christina Greene (from UMB) an award for her poster presentation Cover photos at bottom, left to right: 1 - A group of students from the Gemstone team

“Food Deserts” present their research poster with faculty mentor Stephanie Grutzmacher (left)

2 - Jim Hagberg and Dushanka Kleinman 3- Epidemiology doctoral candidate Mariano Kanamori presents his research 4 - D.A. Henderson speaking about the eradication of smallpox.

PublicHealthPractice Empowering Afghani Women to Grow their Own Food Stephanie Grutzmacher, research assistant professor of family science and University of Maryland Extension family specialist, is part of the Food Security Team, a group of four extension specialists supporting vulnerable women living in the poorest sections of Kabul, Afghanistan. The program, funded by a $1.3 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, trains Afghan women to grow their own food and generate income through selling homegrown produce.

Assistant Professor Stephanie Grutzmacher (left) speaks through a translator in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The Food Security Team traveled to Kabul several times last year to train female extension agents employed through the Ministry of Agriculture on growing techniques, fruit and vegetable dehydration, food preparation, preventing nutrient loss, and insuring dietary variety. Watch the TerpVision video to learn more. FMSC

Improving Health Literacy in Riverdale The Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy formed a partnership with East Pines Pharmacy in Riverdale, Maryland in March. As part of its mission of community education, the Center 4

developed an informational brochure to aid the local pharmacy in meeting its goals of service, engagement, and loyalty to the community. The brochure is based on interviews with East Pines Pharmacy staff and community members, and includes tips and suggestions such as how to use medicines wisely, questions to ask your pharmacist, understanding medical terms, and how to read prescription bottles.

Urging the FDA to Regulate Energy Drinks Amelia Arria, director of the School of Public Health’s Center for Young Adult Health and Development, and 17 researchers, scientists, clinicians, and public health professionals, jointly urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March to protect adolescents and children from the possible risks of consuming high amounts of caffeine. Their letter summarized scientific evidence showing the caffeine levels in energy drinks pose serious potential health risks, including increased risk of injury or death, and suggested that the FDA has failed to apply its Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) standards for food additives to regulate energy drinks. An estimated 30-50 percent of adolescents and young adults consume energy drinks, yet manufacturers have avoided regulation of potentially harmful additives by labeling these beverages as dietary supplements. Arria and colleagues urged the FDA to apply the existing GRAS standards to beverages that contain caffeine as an additive and to require manufacturers to list caffeine content on energy drink labels. FMSC

Training Guide Provides Tools to Reduce Health Disparities The School of Public Health Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy published the Cultural Competency and Health Literacy Primer: A Guide for Teaching Health Professionals and Students, in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities. Olivia Carter-Pokras, associate professor of epidemiology, and Bonnie Braun, professor of family science, developed the primer over several years to provide much-needed training and to support recent legislation enacted in Maryland requiring the health professions students to be trained in crosscultural communications skills, delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services to diverse populations, and developing programs and policies to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities. Download the Cultural Competency and Health Literacy Primer.

“Insuring Your Health” Website Makes Health Plan Choices Easier Bonnie Braun, professor of family science, has launched the web site Insuring Your Health as part of a multi-state Extension Health Insurance Literacy Initiative. The site was created in April 2013 to assist consumers in understanding and purchasing the best health insurance plans for themselves and their families. Dr. Jinhee Kim, associate professor of family science, contributed finance-related educational materials and Andrew Williams, a maternal and child health graduate student, created the site. Visit extension.umd. edu/insure. FMSC

University of Maryland School of Public Health

Project ReFresh Gets Kids to Eat Their Fruits and Veggies Stephanie Grutzmacher, research assistant professor of family science and University of Maryland Extension (UME) family specialist, is the principal investigator for Project ReFresh, a collaboration between UME and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). It aims to improve fruit, vegetable, and whole grain consumption in fourth and fifth-grade students. Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, Project ReFresh helped change cafeteria environments in 34 Maryland schools by

implementing classroom-based nutrition education and showing teachers and food service staff how to promote healthy eating. The FoodSmart impact team and Maryland Food Supplement Nutrition Education Program are leading the continued implementation of ReFresh activities across the state, based on the success of the pilot. As part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, Grutzmacher will be working with MSDE to improve the dietary quality of the School Lunch Program in 10 Maryland counties by implementing program standards that require schools to serve more nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables. FMSC

The Project ReFresh Promising Practices report details the successes of this school-based intervention program aimed at improving nutrition and health decisions among elementary students in Md.

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IN PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND

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TRANSFORMING HEALTH

A team of senior School of Public Health researchers released the report Transforming Health in Prince George’s County, Maryland: A Public Health Impact Study in July 2012. Since then, the team members have presented findings to key stakeholder groups: the Prince George’s County Board of Health, the Prince George’s Healthcare Action Coalition and the Maryland House of Delegates Health and Government Operations Committee, among others. “The impact study was charged to inform the design of the county’s new health care system and sharing the findings is an essential part of the study process. The report has stimulated new projects with county partners and enhanced ongoing projects,” said Dushanka Kleinman, associate dean for research and the leader of the impact study team. Examples of the efforts by SPH researchers to improve health and reduce disparities in the University of Maryland’s home county include:

• Community Health Needs Assessment for Prince George’s County Health Center and Laurel Regional Hospital Led by Lori Simon-Rusinowitz, associate professor of health services administration, this project is assisting the two hospitals run by Dimensions Healthcare System to better understand the needs and assets of their communities, and to collaborate to improve community health and well-being.

• Reducing Health Disparities & Improving Health Literacy: A Pilot Community Health Empowerment Campaign

Led by Linda Aldoory, director of the Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, in partnership with the Prince George’s County Health Department. Part of Maryland’s new Health Enterprise Zones (HEZ) initiative, the goal is to improve health literacy and lower risk chronic disease risk in Capitol Heights.

• University of Maryland Prevention Research Center

Directed by Brad Boekeloo, professor of behavioral and community health, the PRC is committed to influencing better health outcomes for the County. One project focuses on reducing high rates of HIV/AIDS in Seat Pleasant. The fourth annual Seat Pleasant Health Summit on May 10 will bring a group of youth and senior citizens to UMD to develop an arts-based inter-generational community engagement and education project focused on HIV awareness.

• Healthy Futures Program of Prince George’s County

Led by Elliot Segal, professor of the practice, this organization works to combat obesity, particularly among low-income children and their families and is newly enrolling families to connect them with available services to support better nutrition and overall health.

• Community Health Awareness, Messages, & Prevention (CHAMP) program

Led by Cheryl Holt, associate professor of behavioral and community health, these community-based research projects aim to increase early detection of cancer in Prince George’s County, Maryland in partnership with African-American churches.

• Health Advocates In-Reach and Research (HAIR)

Led by Dr. Stephen B. Thomas, director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity, this project is bringing health professionals to barbershops and beauty salons in Hyattsville and other neighborhoods to provide screenings and health education for communities at high risk for chronic diseases. Spring 2013 News

PublicHealthPractice, continued Getting a Head Start on Physical Activity The Horowitz Center for Health Literacy is beginning a community-based research study with the Head Start Program of Prince George’s County. This federally funded program provides comprehensive educational, nutritional, health and social services to participating families and eligible children. Head Start recognizes parents’ roles as primary caregivers and encourages them to be actively involved in policy and program decisionmaking. The Center’s new project, ‘Moving to Healthy Futures,’ will be a physical activity program for Head Start families. The Center is forming this partnership by talking with parents at Head Start events, such as health fairs, and inviting them to help create a campaign for families to get active.

ResearchNews Exercise May Protect Against Emotional Stress J. Carson Smith, assistant professor of kinesiology, showed that exercise helps safeguard against the effects of emotional stress. Smith led research, published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (August, 14, 2012), that compared how moderate intensity cycling versus a period of quiet rest (both for 30 minutes) affected anxiety levels in healthy college students. The study showed that rest and exercise are both equally effective at lowering anxiety levels, but that exercise maintains those lowered anxiety levels after emotional stimulation. Smith’s research adds to the limited pool of literature examining how long the positive post-workout effects of exercise last. KNES 6

SPH Launches Regional Environmental Justice Network in Partnership with EPA and Sierra Club The First Annual Symposium on Environmental Justice (EJ) and Environmental Health Disparities in Maryland and Washington, DC on December 1, 2012 brought together over 400 community members, researchers, public health practitioners, policymakers, students, and environmental health advocates. Launched by the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH) and the Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health (CEEJH) initiative, led by Dr. Sacoby Wilson, the goal was to raise awareness about racial and ethnic environmental health disparities in the region and to establish a regional EJ network. Dr. Wilson (pictured left), assistant professor, MIAEH, along with Mustafa Ali, associate director, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Environmental Justice, and Leslie Fields, national environmental justice director for the Sierra Club, co-hosted the event. Wilson launched the CEEJH initiative in 2011 to engage communities in applied action-oriented research on critical environmental health disparities and environmental justice issues, provide technical assistance to communities impacted by environmental injustice, and implement solutions to environmental injustice and health disparities in Maryland and Washington, DC. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, and Carlessia Hussein, director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, were among the distinguished guest speakers at this inaugural symposium. Environmental justice leader Vernice Miller-Travis (pictured at right), who serves on the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to EPA and as Vice-Chair of the Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities, gave the keynote address. The second annual Symposium on EJ and Environmental Health Disparities in Maryland and Washington, DC will be held in April 2014 to coincide with National Public Health Week, National Minority Health Month and Earth Day. Visit the CCEJH website for symposium videos and more information.

“If you exercise, you'll not only reduce your anxiety, but you'll be better able to maintain that reduced anxiety when confronted with emotional events,” -Kinesiology Assistant Professor Carson Smith

University of Maryland School of Public Health

ResearchNews, continued College Life Study Links Pot and Alcohol Abuse to Use of "Smart Drugs" for Studying

Disparities in Health Care Use Among Asian Americans

Students who have problems with alcohol and cannabis are more likely to abuse nonmedical prescription stimulants (NPS) such as Ritalin and Adderall, according to a study led by Amelia Arria, director, Center for Young Adult Health and Development and principal investigator of the College Life Study. Cannabis-use problems predicted increases in skipping class, which predicted lower grades and led to NPS use for studying. Alcohol problems similarly predicted NPSuse for studying. This study challenges the perception that the majority of students abusing NPS are performing well academically. Since students with low academic performance are more likely to abuse NPS and other substances, this study, published in Addictive Behaviors (October 8, 2012), demonstrates the need for substance abuse screenings within academic advising programs. FMSC

Jie Chen, assistant professor of health services administration, led research that studied health care expenditures among Asian American subgroups including Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, and other Asian groups. Chen found the greatest disparities in health care expenditures were among Asian Americans with low English proficiency and among those who were recent immigrants. Overall, Asian Americans had lower physician and pharmaceutical costs than whites, yet their emergency department and hospital costs were higher. This study, published in Medical Care Research and Review (online December 4, 2012), is the first to examine health care expenditures by ethnic subgroups and demonstrates the need for health promotion strategies focusing on preventive medical visits and prescription drug use within Asian American subgroups. HSA

Economic Recession Associated with Reductions in Health Care Use

Two assistant professors of health services administration, Karoline Mortensen and Jie Chen, published a study in January that examined the relationship between the Research led by Amy Spakota, assistant economic recession (2007-2009) and the use of professor of environmental health, found health care services among African Americans, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites. Compared (MRSA) at several U.S. wastewater to the pre-recession period between 2005 and treatment plants (WWTPs). This study, 2006, Mortensen and Chen found downward published in Environmental Health trends in physician visits, prescription drug Perspectives (November 2012), was the fills, and use of inpatient services among whites, first to look at WWTPs as potential African Americans and Hispanics. In their study, environmental reservoirs of MRSA. MRSA Mortensen and Chen report that before and during is well known for causing difficult-to-treat and the recession, African-Americans and Hispanics were Methicillin-resistant potentially fatal bacterial infections in hospital Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) less likely to visit physicians and fill prescriptions than patients, but since the late 1990s it has been causes difficult-to-treat and whites. African Americans had higher rates of inpatient potentially deadly infections. infecting otherwise healthy people. and emergency department visits during both periods. Sapkota and colleagues collected water samples Hispanics showed greater reductions in physician visits from different points throughout the water treatment processes than whites or African Americans in the recession period, the of two Mid-Atlantic and two Midwestern WWTPs. They found only evidence of disparities widening during the recession. This MRSA in 50 percent of all samples and another related pathogen, study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine (online January 7, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), in 55% of 2013). HSA the samples. Because wastewater can be “reclaimed” and used in spray irrigation activities, there are potential public health risks for those exposed to both wastewater and “reclaimed” wastewater, Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, who conducted this research for her doctoral dissertation, explained. “Because of increasing use of reclaimed wastewater, further research is needed to evaluate the risk of exposure to antibioticresistant bacteria in from this source," Goldstein said. MIAEH

Superbug MRSA Found in U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants

Spring 2013 News

New Clues to How Flu Virus Spreads People may more likely be exposed to the flu through airborne virus than previously thought, according to a study by Donald Milton, professor and director, Maryland Intitute for Applied Environmental Health. The study also found that when flu patients wear a surgical mask, the release of virus in even the smallest airborne droplets can be significantly reduced. In examining the breath exhaled from individuals infected with flu, Milton and his research team found nearly nine times more influenza virus present in the smallest airborne droplets than in the larger droplets that would be expected to carry more virus. This has important implications for preventing the spread of flu. The study, Researchers gather samples of flu sufferersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; exhaled published in PLOS Pathogens (March 7, breath using a special 2013), suggests that health care facilities machine called the Gesundheit II. should provide surgical masks for those suspected of having influenza, and that individuals with influenza can protect their friends and families by wearing a mask. MIAEH

ResearchAwards

Predicting and Preventing Adult Depression in Urban African Americans Research led by Kerry Green, assistant professor of behavioral and community health, showed that depression rates among urban African-Americans are higher than those found in national samples of African-Americans and more comparable to the rates found nationally among whites. The study also found that depression rates did not significantly differ by gender, in contrast to national findings of higher rates for women. These results suggest that national studies underestimate the extent of depression in some African-American urban communities. This study, published in the February 2013 issue of Journal of Urban Health, used the Woodlawn study, a well-established community cohort of 1,242 urban African-Americans between the ages of six and 42, to examine the prevalence of depression through mid-life and the childhood and adolescent risk factors for adult depression by gender. Results show that experiences as early as first grade can predict depression diagnoses into adulthood and provide evidence that risk factors differ by gender. Findings suggest that prevention and intervention programs early in the life course have the potential to reduce rates of depression in vulnerable communities. This studyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique design spans 35 years in the life course of an underinvestigated community population of urban African Americans. BCH

A sampling of recent research awards to individual faculty members. Grants awarded to research centers are included in the center news on pages 18-20.

Olivia Carter-Pokras, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, received an Innovation in Minority Health Award from the FDA-funded University of Maryland Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (UM-CERSI) to improve the health literacy and cultural competency of FDA consumer materials. Carter-Pokras, along with a multidisciplinary research team, will provide recommendations to the FDA to improve consumer education materials designed to help prevent HIV/AIDS. These recommendations will be based on an analysis of current FDA informational materials and how well people understand them, using health literacy scales and other tools. Other faculty team members include Linda Aldoory, director, Center for Health Literacy; Brad Boekeloo, director, Prevention Research Center; Bonnie Braun, professor of family science; and Jie Chen, assistant professor of health services administration. EPIB 8

Pamela Clark, research professor of beBrad Hatfield, professor of kinesiology, havioral and community health, received received $100,000 from Lockeed Martin a grant from the National Institutes of to study how stress, physical fatigue and Health for $1,131,861 to study the risks of information overload can affect the mental new smokeless tobacco products. Marketed readiness of certain military personnel. His for use in no-smoking settings, smokeless team is developing a series of cognitive tests tobacco products are now sold in many for fighter pilots and joystick operators of forms, yet little is known about their adarmed unmanned aerial vehiclesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both dictiveness and potential toxicity. Clark jobs that demand a high level of alertness and colleagues will perform a series of trials and the ability to make quick decisions. to systematically test some of the most KNES popular and unique smokeless Muhiuddin Haider, research associate products on the market. They professor, received a $67,742 grant will assess relief of craving from the Public Health Service and withdrawal symptoms Commissioned Corps Officers in regular users through Foundation for the Advancecomparisons of neuroment of Public Health to concognitive function before, duct an independent assessment during, and after the use on the performance and overall of various smokeless tobacco value of the Commissioned Corps to Dr. Muhiuddin Haider products, as well as medicinal American taxpayers. The assesment nicotine given as a lozenge (as the control). will provide a cost analysis on hiring pracBCH tices, examine the quality of the system, and recommend improvements. MIAEH University of Maryland School of Public Health

ResearchAwards, continued Sandra Hofferth, professor of family science, has been awarded $3 million to renew her National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Project Grant (R01) for the Time Use Data Access System project. This project will integrate, document, and disseminate individual-level data on how people allocate their time. Information about how people use their time, for what, and why and which consequences flow from these decisions could be used to unlock the complexities of household decision-making. FMSC Three profesors of famiy science, Sally Koblinsky, associate professor Leigh Leslie and Sandra C. Quinn, received a $421,941 grant from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to lead the Maryland Veteran’s Resilience Initiative (MVRI). This university-state partnership has already established a Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Council, conducted a statewide needs assessment of 3,050 behavioral health and primary care professionals to evaluate their knowledge in treating conditions that affect veterans, and their

specific training interests, administered statewide trainings, and established peer support services for state veterans. In March 2013, the MVRI held its first day-long training for more than 400 behavioral and mental health professionals at three sites throughout Maryland to increase knowledge of military culture and the strengths, challenges, and concerns of veterans reintegrating into civilian life. FMSC

program will provide insights valuable for implementing cancer interventions for other non-English speaking populations to address health disparities among immigrants. EPIB

Robert S. Gold, founding dean of the School of Public Health and professor and chair of epidemiology and biostatistics, was the recipient of the 2012 President’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the University of Maryland to faculty or staff. He was recognized for his work in transforming the College of Health and Human Performance into the School of Public Health in 2007 and his inspirational leadership in creating research initiatives in health equity, health literacy, and disease prevention, among others. Gold was also appointed chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics on March 1, 2013 and will serve in that capacity until June 2015. EPIB

Jie Chen, assistant professor of health services and administration, and Robin Puett, assistant professor, Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, were each awarded a Research and Scholarship Award for Summer 2013 from the Graduate School. Chen researches health disparities and health policy with a focus on identifying and quantifying the factors associated with racial and ethnic disparities in health care access, utilization, and expenditure. Puett studies the relationship between ambient air pollution exposure and chronic disease and mortality. HSA, MIAEH

Laura B. Wilson, professor and chair of health services administration, received a three-year, $5.7 million grant ($1.9 million annually) from the Corporation for National and Community Service (a federal Sunmin Lee, associate professor of agency) for The Legacy Corps for Health epidemiology and biostatistics, received a and Independent Living project. This $119,587 grant from Johns Hopkins Uniproject is focused on decreasing caregiver versity for a study training 600 community burden and stress and enabling veterans lay health workers (LHW) to promote liver to remain in their home communities by cancer prevention among Asian Ameriproviding caregiver support cans. These trained LHWs will recruit services to veteran and participants at community-based military families at 17 organizations and other health sites in 11 states. In events to receive a hepatitis B collaboration with test, complete a questionnaire leading veterans’ orand be notified for the screening ganizations, the Legacy results by mail. Infected persons will Corps will recruit 950 be referred to treatment and LHW-led volunteers to provide careeducation on vaccination will be provided Dr. Laura Wilson givers in military families to the unprotected. It is expected that this with respite and support services. HSA

Faculty&StaffNews Six School of Public Health faculty members were among 16 recipients of the 201314 Interdisciplinary and Engaged Research Seed Grants given by the UMD ADVANCE Program for Inclusive Excellence. These one-year awards support interdisciplinary projects that involve multiple partners and benefit the public good. Robin Puett (MIAEH), Amir Sapkota (MIAEH), Lori Simon-Rusinowitz (HSA), Jacqueline Wallen (FMSC), Mei-Ling Ting Lee (EPIB) and Yan Li (affiliate of EPIB) for being part of the teams that received these awards. MIAEH, HSA, FMSC, EPIB

Spring 2013 News

Faculty&StaffNews, continued Dr. Sandra Hofferth, professor of family science, was appointed to the National Institutes of Health Social Sciences and Population Studies’ A Study Section. She was also awarded the 2012 Distinguished Career Award in August 2012 by the American Sociological Association for her work on families. FMSC Jinhee Kim, associate professor of family science and family finance specialist for the University of Maryland Extension, was appointed to the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education Board of Directors. Dr. Kim was also awarded the 2012 Outstanding Conference Research Paper Award for Debt Burden of Young Adults in the United States for its great use to the profession. FMSC Mei-Ling Ting Lee, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and director, Biostatistics and Risk Assessment Center, was named co-director of the University of Maryland Cancer Epidemiology Alliance. She joins William A. Blattner, M.D., co-founder and associate director, Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. EPIB Kevin Roy, associate professor of family science, was named Deputy Editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family, which publishes research and theory, research interpretation and reviews, and critical discussion on all aspects of marriage, close relationships, and families. It is a journal of the National Council on Family Relations, the oldest multi-disciplinary professional organization that focuses on family research, practice, and education. Roy’s research focuses on low-income families and the roles of men, fathers, and social policy on these families. FMSC Stephen Thomas, professor of health services administration and director, Maryland Center for Health Equity, was 10

appointed to President Loh’s “Commission on UMD and Big Ten/Committee of Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Integration.” The Commission serves to strategically plan how the University of Maryland can maximize the advantage of its membership in the Big Ten and the CIC, the academic consortium of the Big Ten, to advance the University’s athletics; education, research and innovation; finance and business administration; and communications, fundraising, and marketing. HSA Damion Thomas, assistant professor of kinesiology and affiliate faculty of African American studies, published a new book, Globetrotting: African American Athletes and Cold War Politics. This book provides a transnational perspective on the study of domestic American racial affairs by examining how the U.S. government attempted to manipulate international perceptions of U.S. race relations by sending prosperous African American athletes overseas to during the Cold War. These overseas trips were designed to showcase African Americans as

the preeminent citizens of the African Diaspora, but began to foster African Diasporic cultural and political agendas as the athletes began providing counter narratives to those of the U.S. State Department. KNES Robin G. Sawyer, associate professor and associate chair of behavioral and community health, received the 2012 Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH)/Pfizer Award Dr. Sawyer and UMD President for Teaching Excellence at Wallace Loh the ASPH annual meeting held in San Francisco in October 2012. This award supports faculty who are outstanding in teaching and mentoring students toward distinction in public health research, teaching, and practice. Throughout his career at Maryland, Sawyer has received every teaching award offered at the University of Maryland, including most recently the Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award, presented by President Loh at the 2012 Faculty and Staff Convocation, also in October 2012. BCH

MARIAN MOSER JONES, assistant professor of family sci-

ence, published a new book “The American Red Cross, From Clara Barton to the New Deal,” which discusses the origins and underpinning ideals of the American Red Cross. The book traces the story of how Clara Barton developed one of the most well-established global humanitarian aid organizations. It discusses how the American Red Cross, her personal project at age 59, developed from its start as charitable organization in 1881 to a humanitarian aid organization during wars, natural disasters, and the Depression, and to a relief organization in the 1930s. The book highlights the racial, political, economic, and moral issues that challenged the American Red Cross’s founding principles of humanity and neutrality and sometimes led to disparities and inequities in Red Cross services. Watch an interview with Dr. Moser Jones about the book. FMSC University of Maryland School of Public Health

Amir Sapkota, assistant professor of environmental health, was a member of the expert working group on indoor and outdoor air pollution that contributed to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease (GBD 2010) Study. The GBD 2010 report is a comprehensive regional and global assessment that represents the largest systematic examination of disability and mortality from risk factors, injuries, and major diseases. It was published on December 15, 2012 in a special issue of The Lancet, the leading British medical journal. It marks the first time outdoor air pollution is among the top 10 risks worldwide and among the top five or six risks in the developing countries of Asia. This new analysis identified that developing countries of Asia have the highest air pollution levels in the world, and found that reducing the burden of disease due to air pollution in Asia will require substantial decreases in the high levels of air pollution in those regions. MIAEH

Erin McClure, coordinator and assistant to the chair of family science, received the Outstanding Exempt Staff Award from the President’s Commission on Women’s Issues on April 2, 2013. The Commission works to incorporate the diverse perspectives of all women at the University of Maryland, College Park, and this award is given to faculty and staff who have made outstanding contributions to this mission. McClure, who has nine years of administrative experience at the University of Maryland in both family science and public policy, is an intergroup dialogue facilitator for the Office of Diversity Education and Compliance, staff advisor for Alternative Breaks and Maryland Wishes, and trained Rainbow Terrapin Network Ally and Victim Intervention Assistant. The Committee recognized her dedication to supporting and promoting a diverse, inclusive and safe campus. FMSC

Marcio Oliveira, assistant dean for educational innovation and Stephen Roth, associate professor, associate chair, and graduate director of kinesiology, were both selected for 2012-13 Faculty Lilly Teaching Fellowships with the University’s Center for Teaching Excellence for their commitment to developing innovative teaching methods to enhance student learning and their leadership in support of this university effort. Past Lilly projects have had lasting impacts on undergraduate education and the culture of learning and teaching at the University of Maryland. As evidence of his leadership in innovative teaching methods, Oliveira was invited by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Teaching and Learning to give the keynote lecture for their 2013 teaching workshop in March. His talk was titled, Making Learning Un-Googleable: 21st Century Pedagogy that will Transform Education. SPH, KNES

Eva Chin, assistant professor of kinesiology, was recognized with the Invention of the Year Award in the life sciences category by the university’s Division of Research and Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) in April. Chin’s invention – A Method for Early Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – is an innovative strategy to identify early, pre-symptomatic indicators and molecular markers associated with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, a disease of the nerve cells or neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. While there is still no cure for ALS, patients diagnosed early can receive treatment that can alleviate symptoms and slow disease progression. Chin was recognized by Vice President for Research Dr. Patrick O’Shea and OTC Executive Director Dr. Gayatri Varma. KNES

Erin McClure (in center), surrounded by Family Science and SPH colleagues, friends and family at the 2013 Celebration of Women Awards Ceremony

Spring 2013 News

Teaching&LearningInitiatives SPH Launches New Academic Programs The School of Public Health is offering two new academic post-baccalaureate programs: the Executive Master of Public Health in Public Health Practice and Policy (EMPH) and the Certificate in Principles of Public Health (PHC). The EMPH is a 42-credit blended learning program designed for working health professionals. The program combines online courses supplemented by six weekends of on-site instruction, and can be completed in 18 months without leave from work. It provides students with the resources, knowledge, and skills they will need to successfully assume leadership positions to address current and future public health policy and practice issues. The PHC is designed to provide health professionals with a foundation in five core areas of public health. This 15-credit curriculum can be completed in eight months without leave from work and all credits can

be transferred to the EMPH. These two new programs, plus the 12-credit Global Health Certificate program, which provides a foundation in the issues, policies, and practices that promote effective global health delivery, are being offered at University of Maryland Shady Grove campus with online components.

K2PT Internship in Physical Therapy Research The School of Public Health is offering undergraduate Kinesiology students a new internship opportunity in physical therapy research. The three-credit Independent Study in Physical Therapy Research course, called K2PT, gives students experience as part of a research team with the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. This semester’s projects focus on assisting and rehabilitating stroke victims.

Responding to Domestic Violence in Italy Students travelled to Rome and Sicily over spring break 2013 for a 10-day course to learn about issues surrounding domestic violence. The course, HLTH389S, is an interdisciplinary learning experience that provides students with knowledge of domestic violence prevention and response in Italy. Students perform community service, aiding a local domestic violence shelter. They also explore resources at a local university and interact with community members and law enforcement officials. Stephanie Rivero, a 2012 graduate of the Couple and Family Therapy master’s program, is the co-instructor and assistant coordinator of the course. She serves as the assistant coordinator of the university’s Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Program (SARPP).

Designed for Collaboration: New Grants Support Improvements to SPH Spaces Over the next year, the large outdated and barren area at the basement level of the School of Public Health will be transformed into a informal, technology enabled learning space where students can gather to work and collaborate. Dr. Marcio Oliveira, assistant dean for educational innovation, secured a $40,382 award from the Campus Student Technology Fee Advisory Committee to create the School of Public Health Learning Concourse. The space will be designed with input from architecture graduate assistant Nicholas Tomaszewski. The redesigned “concourse” will include five new hightech collaborative tables which will seat six to seven students each, providing them with a large shared flat panel LED SMART display. Two new high-tech educational technology centers will accommodate 10 to 15 each. In these centers, students will be able to gather around a 46” flat panel LED SMART monitor while lounging on large couches and chairs. Twenty new mobile learning centers will enable students to move technology with them as needed throughout the school. Another new grant for $89,500 from Kaiser Permanente will support the redesign of the student services center into a learning “studio” which will better serve students and cultivate their academic and professional success. SPH 12 University of Maryland School of Public Health Artist’s rendering of the future School of Public Health Learning Concourse

Above left: The SPH and EWB team left to right: Nelson Quispe, Zack Lawrence, Addison Goodley, Lis Maring, Kevin Hogan, Maria Coelho, Kelly Latham, Graciela Jaschek Greg Raspanti, and Ed Miller Above right: Epidemiology doctoral candidate Graciela Jaschek (center) with residents of Compone, Peru.

Public Health Without Borders Through a new partnership between the School of Public Health and the University of Maryland chapter of Engineers without Borders (UMCP-EWB), students from the School of Public Health spent 10 days in Compone, Peru, a rural community in the Andean mountains of southern Peru, where UMCP-EWB students have previously implemented a water sanitation project. SPH representatives included: Lis Maring, director, Global Public Health Scholars program, and graduate students Graciela Jaschek, an epidemiology doctoral candidate, and Greg Raspanti, an environmental health doctoral student. The SPH team conducted public health interviews with community leaders and household members, while the UMCPEWB members focused on water quality testing and past project issues. SPH students spent time meeting the locals and learning lessons about engineering and local Peruvian life. This emerging partnership provides new opportunities for students to work in interdisciplinary teams solving public health challenges in developing countries. And though not for credit, these

Spring 2013 News

trips are great opportunities for Global Public Health Scholars and other undergraduate and graduate students to apply skills learned in the classroom.

Learning from German Public Health Systems Twelve to 14 graduate and undergraduate School of Public Health students will be traveling to Cologne, Germany for a new international public health opportunity in summer 2013. Coordinated by Elbert D. Glover, chair and professor of behavioral and community health, and Robert J. McDermott, professor of community and family health at the University of South Florida, this course requires taking daily seminars at the University of Cologne and visiting nearby public health-related sites, such as the Allgemeine Ortskrankenkassen (AOK) National Health Insurance Company Center for Worker Health. The trip will focus on the various aspects of health care, health promotion, environmental health, and health education in Germany. This course provides a rare opportunity for undergraduates to complete a health elective abroad.

Perspectives on Health in Northern India Mili Duggal, a maternal and child health doctoral candidate, and Lauren Messina, a family science doctoral candidate, will lead the third annual family science study abroad course to India, FMSC 498I: CrossCultural Perspectives on Health in India. First led by Lis Maring, the new director of the Global Health Scholars and a University of Maryland Extension specialist, this program focuses on cross-cultural examination of social determinants of health within a global public health and family systems framework. Students visit cities like Delhi, Jaipur, and Manali, and visit major attractions like the Taj Mahal, and partake in experiential learning activities that include visiting a hospital, interacting with local college students, spending time at an orphanage, and exploring a community health project. The course challenges students to enhance their research skills and to gain a cross-cultural awareness and understanding of life in India.

New Faculty & Staff MD Institute for Applied Environmental Health

Assistant Professor Ross Miller received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in 2010. Before coming to the University of Maryland, Dr. Miller worked as a research associate at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. His research centers on how the neural, muscular and skeletal systems interact to produce locomotion in health and pathology.

Charley Naney is a faculty research assistant with an MPH from East Tennessee State University and over 5 years of field training in boot strap methods. He played a critical role in the Department of Defense investigation of the first epidemiologically linked cluster of confirmed Novel H1N1 Influenza cases in Texas and the United States.

Instructor Adam Beissel is completing his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Otago, New Zealand. His project explores interconnections between football, Samoan identity, and historical and contextual power relations. Mr. Beissel is a member of the Physical and Cultural Studies Research Group.

Laura Dalemarre is program associate for the Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health lab directed by Dr. Sacoby Wilson. She previously interned at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration where she did rotations in both Pharmacologic Therapies and the Homelessness Prevention.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Associate Professor Hongjie Liu received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health in 2002. His research focuses on social and behavioral aspects of HIV/AIDS. His research has covered egocentric social and risk networks for HIV infection, sexual risks, non-injection and injection drug use, stigma, survey methodology, and advanced analytical techniques. Assistant Professor Shuo Chen received his Ph.D. from Emory University in 2012. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on developing statistical methods for complex high-dimensional biomedical data including neuroimaging and proteomics data using machine learning, Bayesian methods, and functional data analysis.

Department of Health Services and Administration Assistant Professor Jie Chen received her Ph.D. in economics from Stony Brook University in 2008. Dr. Chen conducts research to identify and quantify the factors associated with disparities in health care access as well as utilization and expenditures among different racial/ethnic groups and immigrant populations. She also investigates the efficiency and quality of the health care delivery system.

Department of Kinesiology

Research Associate Fenjie Liu received her Ph.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin where she studied molecular mechanisms underlying alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (a pediatric cancer). She is currently studying influenza virus transmission in humans and is involved in research on exhaled breath analysis to detect biomarkers for lung inflammation.

Maryland Center for Health Equity Business Manager LaShae Green oversees the administrative and business affairs of the center. She has over eighteen years of combined administrative and business experience and has been with the University System of Maryland for the past seven years. Administrative Assistant Cathy Pickles has over fifteen years of adminstrative experience, including for a medical residency program, a floral design training school and the U.S. Postal Service. The daughter of a career Public Health Service officer, she is passionate about being part of an organization working to address health care disparities. Study Coordinator Leah Curran received her Ph.D. from George Washington University. Her work is rooted in critical epistemologies, and considers how gender, race and class intersect to shape health behaviors and policies. As the vaccine study coordinator, Dr. Curran is involved in planning, administration, instrument development, data collection, analysis and writing.

Prevention Research Center Deputy Director Rachel Smith received both her BSc and MSc degrees in England at the University of Essex and City University of London, and an Executive Management Diploma from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management. Before coming to the University of Maryland, she was the Vice President of Development at the largest federally qualified health center in Prince George’s County where she more than doubled grant/donor revenues.

University of Maryland School of Public Health

Student Services Center

Office of the Dean

Academic Advisor Ron Padron works in the Student Services Center and advises students on academic probation. He has worked in higher education since 2006, serving as a peer advisor and graduate program assistant at the University of Central Florida before coming to UMD. He is a recent graduate of Nova Southeastern University, where he earned a master’s in college student affairs with an emphasis in conflict analysis and resolution.

Research Coordinator Iris Harrigan assists the SPH Director of Research Administration with the preaward grant application process for faculty members. Ms. Harrigan received her bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of the District of Columbia in 1993. She has worked for the University of Maryland since 1995.

Academic Advisor Zackary Hull works in the Student Services Center and advises public health student athletes. He has worked in higher education since 2007. In 2009, he earned his master’s degree from Michigan State University in student affairs administration. Mr. Hull previously worked at UC, Berkeley.

StudentNews Sam Allen, a kinesiology senior, and Thao Khuc, a community health senior, were both honored as 20122013 Merrill Presidential Scholars. The Merrill Presidential Scholars Program honors the most successful University seniors and their chosen university faculty and K-12 teacher mentors. The program highlights the importance of teaching and mentoring, and brings together the K-12 teachers and University faculty for a workshop. Allen named Dr. James Watson, a lecturer of chemistry and biochemistry, as his faculty mentor. Khuc named Dr. Donna Howard, an associate professor in behavioral and community health, as his faculty mentor. This is the fourth year in a row that Dr. Howard has been chosen as a faculty mentor by a Merrill Scholar recipient. KNES, BCH Doctoral candidates Erica Doxzen (Behavioral and Community Health), Laurén Doamekpor (Maternal and Child Health), and Jocelyn Smith (Family Science) have

Spring 2013 News

applicants for one of six administrative residencies awarded at the clinic. She will graduate with her Master of Health Administration this Spring. HSA

Donna Howard (left) with Thao Khuc and Thao’s elementary school teacher Mrs. Seidman

been selected as delegates to the CDC Millennial Health Leaders Summit. The Summit brings together a corps of graduate students who were nominated by their universities for their outstanding achievements, promise, and impact as future leaders in addressing and significantly eradicating health disparities in the United States.BCH, FMSC Sharon Auma-Ebanyat, a health services administration master’s student, was accepted as an Administrative Fellow at the Cleveland Clinic beginning in July, 2013. Sharon successfully competed against 200

Alyssa Todaro Brooks, a third year doctoral student in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, was selected for an NIH Clinical Center Director’s Award for creative leadership and evidence-based practice. This award is in the scientific/medical category and is being given for a nursing-led study on sleep and alcoholism. BCH Jennifer Fink, a community health major and military studies minor, launched the “Little CHAMPS (Child Heroes Attached to Military Personnel)” public health initiative. This national effort serves to provide children of military families with coping tools to help them face military-connected challenges, and to raise awareness among their civilian classmates, teachers, and neighbors to foster understanding between them. Jennifer co-authored the book The

Community Health major Jennifer Fink (left), and her mother, Debbie (center) wrote the book The Little CHAMPS: Child Heroes Attached to Military Personnel.

Little CHAMPS: Child Heroes Attached to Military Personnel that has been used by the USO at six military bases nationwide. The Operation CHAMPS: Mission 1606 campaign, led by Jennifer and three fellow students, was also one of the three finalist teams that competed in the university’s Do Good Challenge in April 2013. Follow their work to engage the local civilian community in giving back to the military families in the state of Maryland on Facebook. BCH Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, a PhD candidate in environmental health, won best poster in the category of Family, Community and Public Health at Bioscience Day on November 27, 2012 for a pilot research project which analyzed well water quality and provided education to well owners in rural Maryland communities. Rosenberg Goldstein will graduate this Spring. MIAEH

Maya Robinson and Zainab Hosseini were student commencement speakers for fall 2012. Maya, a family science senior, was the inaugural School of Public Health student commencement speaker. Her speech centered on the theme of diversity among the campus community and the student body. Zainab was the first family science student to speak at the university’s main ceremony. She shared memories of growing up in Iran as a child of both Iranian and Mexican heritage, and how she wants her career path to reflect the values she learned from her upbringing. FMSC

Dean’s Scholars Awards Ceremony Recognizes Outstanding SPH Students The School of Public Health’s best students were recognized for their academic excellence, service, and leadership at the Eighth Annual Dean’s Scholars Awards Ceremony and Dinner on April 11, 2013. Faculty mentors described the impressive accomplishments of more than 75 undergraduate and graduate students throughout the school. Hosted by Gloria Friedgen (M.S., ’73, Kinesiology), who is leaving her position as SPH Alumni Coordinator this year, and Dean Jane Clark, the event brought together families, friends, students, faculty and staff to celebrate student successes. View photos from the event on the SPH Flickr site.

Malina Howard, a freshman center and kinesiology major, has made both the All-ACC Women’s Basketball Freshman Team and the All-ACC Academic team. Howard was named to the all-ACC Freshman Team voted on by league head coaches. She was one of 15 honorees for this year’s All-ACC Academic team, which requires a GPA of 3.0 in the previous semester and 3.0 cumulative average in her academic career. KNES Sam Sondheim, a kinesiology senior, was selected as the Spring 2013 School of Public Health Commencement student speaker through a competitive process decided by a faculty selection committee. Sam is an honors student and an undergraduate researcher in the Cognitive Motor Neuroscience Laboratory, where he has contributed to the development of a prosthetic robotic finger. KNES Kathleen Ruben, a Ph.D. candidate in health services administration, was selected as the first recipient of the Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy’s Rima E. Rudd Fellowship in Health Literacy. Ruben’s doctoral dissertation will examine the health literacy of decisionmaking partners for individuals with dementia in the Arkansas Independent Choices program and the potential impact of low health literacy on this vulnerable population. Ruben hopes to empower families to make more informed care decisions by improving their health literacy. The Rima E. Rudd fellowship supports the next generation of researchers who advance the science of health literacy. Doctoral students from all backgrounds, disciplines and units in the University of Maryland are eligible.

Photo at left: The Dean’s Graduate Scholars honored this year were (clockwise from top left) Jennifer Villani (PhD), Stephanie Carey (MPH), Rachel Rosenberg-Goldstein (PhD), Natasha Paleau (MPH), Mariano Kanamori (PhD) , Mary Young-Ah Jung (MPH), Geok Yan Loo (MPH), Amber Wiest (MA), Kathryn Campbell Jackson (PhD), Nicole Ehlert (MS), Jocelyn Smith (PhD), and Kim Love-Piermatteo (MHA, not pictured).

University of Maryland School of Public Health

AlumniNews Ndidi Amutah, Ph.D., Maternal and Child Health, ’10, was named president of the Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues (SAAPHI). As president, she will focus on positioning SAAPHI within the larger governance of the American Public Health Association, recruiting and retaining younger public health professionals, strengthening collaborations and expanding the organization’s financial resources. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Montclair State University in New Jersey where her research focuses on health disparities, reproductive health, infant mortality and HIV/AIDS in ethnic minority populations. Joy Bauer, B.S., Kinesiology, ’86, was named New York Alumnus of the Year at the Alumni Association’s annual Maryland in Manhattan event in April. Bauer is the resident nutrition expert for NBC’s Today Show and hosts the program’s “Joy Fit Club” series.

Rebecca Rehr, M.P.H., Environmental Health, ’12, was one of nine graduates from the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) member schools selected for an ASPH/EPA Fellowship. She is training and working under the guidance of public health experts at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Children’s Health Protection from 2012-2013. Spring 2013 News

SPH Commencement Ceremonies Feature Distinguished Speakers Dr. Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), addressed School of Public Health graduates as the school’s first invited commencement speaker in Fall 2012.

Lauren Spigel (B.S., Community Health, ’10), completed two years as a Community Health Promoter in the Peace Corps’ Maternal and Child Health Promotion Project in Nicaragua. She was responsible for educating community members about preventive health practices and training volunteer community health promoters and midwives in techniques to reduce maternal and infant mortality. She led an educational campaign about cervical cancer in seven rural communities in La Dalia in partnership with the NGO Acción Médica Cristiana. She will be pursuing her M.P.H. at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health this fall. Kranti Vora, Ph.D., Family Science ’12, was hired as an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Public Health, the premier health institute in western India. She will also conduct a community-based research project funded by the European Commission to study access to maternal health in Gujarat, India.

Photos: Left – Joy Bauer (second from left) with her daughters and husband at the Maryland in Manhattan event in April. Above – Lauren Spigel (right) with the daughters of a neighbor family in El Barrio San Martin, Matagalpa, Nicaragua.

Dr. Koh was selected because of his tireless leadership in disease prevention, health promotion and the elimination of health disparities, and he inspired faculty members, students and parents alike. Among his many roles, Dr. Koh oversees the HHS Office of Public Health and Science, the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, and the Office of the Surgeon General. He also serves as senior public health advisor to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Senator Ben Cardin (D -Md.) will address School of Public Health graduates as the distinguished speaker for Spring 2013 commencement. Senator Cardin, driven by his belief that access to highquality, affordable health care is a right, has worked to expand access to health care via the Affordable Care Act and initiatives to erase disparities in minority health. He is a recognized leader with a record of legislative service and success, and has never lost an election.

SPH ResearchCenters

Maryland Center for Health Equity Increasing Minority Participation in Clinical Trials In March 2013, the Maryland Center for Health Equity (M-CHE) was awarded a new research grant from the University of Maryland Center for Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (MCERSI), funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to examine the extent to which the medical and pharmaceutical industries are including women and racial and ethnic minorities in clinical trials. The study explores trials on which drug or device approval applications are based. Researchers will conduct key interviews to understand and document current practices and their impact on the successful inclusion of women and minorities. From that data, they will tailor curriculum modules for the M-CHE training program, ‘Becoming a Self-Reflective Researcher: Successfully Engaging Minority Communities.’

Vaccine Study Explores Cultural Beliefs With funding from the new NIH-NCHMD Center of Excellence grant (details at right), Dr. Sandra C. Quinn, M-CHE senior associate director, is leading at four-year study to investigate the cultural factors responsible for differing rates of immunization among African Americans and whites. Focus groups with volunteers from several communities in Maryland are ongoing this spring. Information collected by the “Uncovering and Addressing Cultural Beliefs behind Vaccine Racial Disparities” project will be used to develop new materials to communicate with patients about the importance of routine and emergency immunization.

Fourth Annual Health Equity Leadership Institute In partnership with the Collaborative Center for Health Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, M-CHE offers offers an annual Health Equity Leadership Institute. The intensive weeklong “research boot camp” focuses on increasing the number of investigators, particularly minority investigators, engaged in health disparities/health equity research and supports their career development. Three UMD researchers, including Jie Chen, assistant professor of health services administration, Colleen O’Neal, assistant professor of counseling, higher education, and special education, and Thurka Sangaramoorthy, assistant professor of anthropology, were among the 26 selected to participate in this year’s HELI from June 9-14, 2013 in Madison, WI.

M-CHE Becomes NIH Center of Excellence With a $5.9 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), the Center For Health Equity has been designated a Center of Excellence (COE) on Race, Ethnicity, and Health Disparities Research. It joins a network of other NCMHD COEs across the country, and with increased funding, can expand partnership and collaboration on health disparities research. “The new COE will enable us to make a great leap forward in the movement to eliminate health disparities,” said Dr. Thomas, M-CHE director and professor of health services administration. “We have assembled a multidisciplinary team of faculty from across the School of Public Health and the University of Maryland to conduct intervention research designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes, asthma, hypertension, obesity, and vaccine preventable diseases.”

Civil War to Civil Rights: The Well-Being of a Nation The Center for Health Equity, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and the School of Public Policy are co-sponsoring the special event “Civil War to Civil Rights: The Well-Being Of A Nation” on September 5-6, 2013. This two-day symposium will highlight the anniversaries of the March on Washington and the Emancipation Proclamation and motivate students to contribute to the elimination of current inequalities. The symposium includes keynote lectures by Julian Bond and Marian Wright Edelman, 12-minute TED-style talks from a variety of scholars, community leaders, and students, and a roundtable discussion with Kojo Nnamdi, WAMU radio host. Following the symposium, Christian McBride and his Big Band, Washington DC’s Heritage Signature Chorale, and Harry Belafonte will perform a reincarnation of The Movement Revisited, a four-part suite dedicated to four major figures of the Civil Rights movement: Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

University of Maryland School of Public Health

SPH ResearchCenters University of Maryland

Prevention Research Center Seat Pleasant Health Education & Prevention Now in its fourth year, the UMD Prevention Research Center (PRC) continues to expand and develop collaborations that have the potential to influence better health outcomes in Prince George’s County. In September 2012, it celebrated the ground breaking of the future Health Education and Prevention Office in Seat Pleasant’s new City Center. The idea for this office emerged at the first annual Seat Pleasant Health Summit in 2010, which the PRC launched in collaboration with Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene Grant (pictured). This office will enable the PRC to place UMD students in Seat Pleasant, the most medically underserved community in Prince George’s County, where they can provide basic health education and connect residents with prevention services.

Expanding Collaborations The PRC opened an Office of Collaboration and Development in the School of Public Health (room 2302) in November, which includes a SMART Board, and provides space to host collaborators and community members. During the Spring 2013 semester, the PRC Advisory Committee launched a monthly seminar series with invited experts with whom they are exploring potential partnerships. Topics have included Hepatits C prevention and treatment; vision and eye health; and the effects of physical and social environments on the health and well-being of communities.

Performing artists led Seat Plesant high schoolers and senior citizens in a workshop focused on team building through creative expression and movement at the Fourth Annual Seat Pleasant Health Summit.

Funding New Projects with SIP Grants The PRC has a new line of funding available to its affiliated researchers, called Special Interest Projects (SIPS), a competitive supplement grant from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The first grant was awarded to support a study of wellness policies in two large low-income urban Maryland school districts. Maureen Black, professor of pediatrics and Erin Hager, assistant professor of pediatrics, both from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, will lead the study with Carolyn Voorhees, research associate in behavioral and community health. The study team will examine the barriers and enablers to implementing sustainable wellness policies in these schools. Spring 2013 News

CREATE FOR CHANGE:

Raising HIV Awareness Through the Arts Over the past year, a diverse group of University of Maryland faculty, staff and students have been meeting to explore ways to integrate art into projects being led by School of Public Health researchers. The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is engaging several artists well-versed in participatory art-making to complement and enhance the School of Public Health’s communitybased participatory research. This exploration has led to the launch of CREATE for Change, an arts-based, inter-generational project focused on raising awareness about HIV and STD prevention through creative expression in Prince George’s County, Md. CREATE stands for Community Redirection of Expectations through Arts Transformation Experiences. The Prevention Research Center and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center are partnering with the city of Seat Pleasant to train a group of high school students and senior citizens who will become CREATE leaders in their community and educate others about HIV. The Fourth Annual Seat Pleasant Health Summit on May 10, led by PRC Director Brad Boekeloo, along with other public health faculty members and students, several performing artists, and Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene Grant, was attended by 100 Seat Pleasant youth and seniors. Designed to cultivate these community leaders, the summit engaged participants in a process of self-exploration through creative expression around social and cultural influences on behavior. The hope is that the CREATE leaders will help community residents reduce their own HIV risk behaviors and ultimately change destructive social and cultural norms that may make community residents more vulnerable to HIV risks. Reducing STD risk is critical for the county and the state – Maryland ranks among the top 10 states for HIV/AIDS infection, and Prince George’s County has some of the highest rates in the state. Despite prevention efforts, those numbers are increasing, Mayor Eugene Grant said. “It can not continue to be ignored,” he said. “We have to find a creative way of addressing it.” The Prevention Research Center and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center are pursuing funding for a long-term project to engage Prince George’s County communities through creative expression with a goal of reducing HIV/AIDS. 19

SPH ResearchCenters Hershel S. Horowitz

Center for Health Literacy

New Training Guide Provides Tools for Educators The Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, published the Cultural Competency and Health Literacy Primer: A Guide for Teaching Health Professionals and Students in April 2013. The primer is a free resource guide for health professional educators responsible for training the current and future healthcare workforce. It provides teaching tools to improve cross-cultural communication skills, deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services to diverse populations, and develop programs and policies to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities. Download the Cultural Competency & Health Literacy Primer.

Increasing Health Literacy in Capitol Heights, Md. The Center is also partnering with the Prince Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s County Health Department to improve health outcomes in Capitol Heights, Maryland. The project is part of Marylandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Health Enterprise Zones (HEZ) initiative, which was created with the passage of the Maryland Health Disparities and Reduction Act of 2012. Linda Aldoory, Center for Health literacy director, was awarded almost $300,000 to develop, pilot and evaluate a four-year community-driven, culturally competent health literacy campaign to increase self-efficacy and health literacy, increase adherence to prevention measures, and lower risk of chronic disease in the community.

Health Literacy Pioneers Video Project In February 2013, the Center launched its Health Literacy Video Archive Project: Documenting Pioneers and Champions. The first two health literacy leaders featured include Cindy Brach, M.P.P., a senior health policy researcher at the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) and member of the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) Health Literacy Roundtable, and Bonnie Braun, professor of family science in the School of Public Health, who is currently leading a health insurance literacy campaign. View the video archive on the Health Literacy website.

Health Literacy Maryland Health Literacy Maryland, a statewide coalition established in June 2011 to foster collaborations between literacy research and policy, education, professional practice and community awareness, has created a Steering Committee and developed an organizational structure. Since February 2013, the committee has been working on a Situational Assessment to identify opportunities for action in Maryland. One example of recent collaboration is the partnership between the Center and the East Pines Pharmacy in Riverdale, Md. to create an informational brochure with the goal of improving health literacy in the community. An initial draft of the brochure has been created based on interviews with East Pines pharmacy staff and community members. Photo at top: Health Policy Researcher Cindy Brach Left: DO THE DOONYA! During National Public Health Week, the Center for Health Literacy hosted a Physical Activity and Health Information Event which included a Doonya class. Similar to the ever-popular Zumba, Doonya is a lively dance focused exercise that incorporates movements from Bollywood and South Indian culture.

University of Maryland School of Public Health

SPHInTheNews DR. DON MILTON • • • • •

Lab studies how flu spreads | CNN (Video) UM researchers study how flu is spread | Baltimore Sun Study provides more evidence that flu travels through the air | Baltimore Sun Study Finds Flu Is Mostly Spread By Airborne Droplets – CBS Baltimore University of Maryland study touts surgical masks to prevent flu spread | The Washington Examiner

DR. AMEILA ARRIA • • • •

Doctors Urge F.D.A. to Restrict Caffeine in Energy Drinks | New York Times Consumers Have Little Guidance On Energy Drinks | NPR Deaths Linked to Energy Drinks Could Prompt Action | USA Today FDA Probes whether deaths linked to energy shots | USA Today

DR. STEPHANIE GRUTZMACHER •

Five university officials travel to Afghanistan | Diamondback

DR. KAROLINE MORTENSEN •

DR. AMY SAPKOTA •

MRSA Found in Wastewater Treatment Plants | Huff Post

DR. ROBIN SAWYER •

Why Are Boomers Getting S.T.D.s? | New York Times

DR. J. CARSON SMITH • •

Exercise may have prolonged effect on stress | Baltimore Sun Exercise Could Relieve Anxiety Even After The Workout Is Over: | Huffington Post

MPOWERING THE STATE/ COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH • • •

UM launches joint public health program | Baltimore Sun MPower alliance results in innovative programs | Diamondback Research Matters: MPowering the State | UMD VIDEO

MARYLAND CENTER FOR HEALTH EQUITY •

UMD wins $5.9M to study health disparities | Balt. Business Journal

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University of Maryland bringing doctors to barber shops with federal grant | The Examiner

Compromise needed on the Affordable Care Act | Balt Sun

DR. JIE CHEN AND DR. KAROLINE MORTENSEN • •

Recession Drove Down Doctor Visits | US News Latinos’ Health Coverage Hit Hardest in Recession | ABC

UpcomingEvents May 20, 2013: School of Spring 2013 Commencement Ceremony at 4 PM in Cole Student Activities Building

Photo Captions here.

Spring 2013 News

School of Public Health Donors Many thanks to the generous donors who supported the School of Public Health over the past year. $50,000 - $100,000

Kaiser Permanente Glazer Family Foundation

$10,000 - $25,000

Myotherapeutics, LLC Zephyr Technology Corporation Jane Clark & Jill Whitall

$1,000 - 9,999

Beavers, Bonnie Benz, Robert & Marie Duffie, Justin C. Friedgen, Ralph & Gloria Gebhardt, Deborah L. Gold, Robert & Barbara Humphrey, Frances Krieger, Morton M. Mail, Patricia Davison Petraitis, Karel C. Phillips, Sally J. Richardson, Nancy Rydell Turner, Mark & Tracye Woods, IV, Edward Wrenn, Jerry & Betty Potomac Financial Group Ltd.

$100 - $999

Atwood, Janice L. Becker, Darrell M. Bradley, III, Richard R. Cibel, Nicholas J. Cohen, Josephine Cummings, Jay R. Day, Thomas C. Desrochers, David R. DeWolfe, Joanna M. Duvall, John E. Gallagher, Nancy J. Gallagher, Neil E. Gems, Gerald R. Gentry, Jacquelyn H. Hagberg, James M. Hanley, Elizabeth A. Hatfield, Bradley D. Henninger, David P. Henry, Malvery P. Hodges, Bonni C. Hubbard, James W. Jamali, Anmar A. Laffey, Mark J. Laug, Owen B. Libutti, Jean Monica Lucero, Juan J. MacDonald, Megan Virginia Mateik, Deborah J. McDade, Martha Melander, Darryl S. Miller, Richard W.

Milton, Donald K. Montgomery-Baisden, Elaine G. Ndiang, Kat O. Page, Christine A. Patton, Douglas A. Pflueger, Hazel G. Pohland, Robert & Kimberly Quinn, Sandra Crouse Reinlieb, Roger & Anne Reynolds, David A. Rose, Joy N. Roth, Stephen M. Scaffa, Marjorie E. Schindler, Michael Seipp, Marilyn McKay Sherry, Robert & Leslie Skirka, Nicholas Springfield, Vanessa Pham Greer Steffy, Jordan S. Taylor-Tolbert, Nadine S. Terrell, George & Carolyn Umbarger, Lloyd F. Vert, Richard F. Walton, Julie A. Weisbaum, Phyllis Werlinich, Carol A. Williams, Melvin H. Zeiger, Robyn S.

Up to $99

Abrams, Diane Anderson, Bryan P. Beeler-Smith, Lisa A. Benjamin, Jessica M. Boyle, Meleah D. Brinkman, Silvana C. Brown, Shirley S. Burton, Carole S. Cardillo, James A. Choudhuri, Rajani Cibotti, Morgane Clary, Regina B. Cobb, Marquita D. Cohen, Rachel Lynne Conrad, Terence M. Desrochers, Judith G. Dolce, Daniel J. Drukin, Marilyn L. Dubow, Esther L. DuVall, Douglas T. Easton, Cory E. Edelson, Susanne K. Edwards, Steven R. Ermoloff, Daisy A. Fairey, Marion C. Foley, Thomas Frelick, Talya Ruth Froehlich, George Gers, Janet L.

Goebeler, Robert P. Sr. Gomez, Evelyn M. Greenhall, Irene L. Greenstein, Lauri M. Grossman, Patricia A. Hartmuller, Virginia W. Hawkins, Anita L. Smith Hayward, Craig D. Hebbel, Melissa M. Helbing, Charles R. Herzstein, Joseph, N. Hexter, Joseph, A. Hook, Carol S. Jenkins, Patricia E. Ji, Cheng-Shuang Johnson, Ashley R. Jordan, Steven R. Kaczaniuk, Larissa A. Kayne, Monica Keenan, Frank & Angela Kivlighan, Mary S. Kopstein, Andrea Leager, Theresa E. Leatherman, JoAnne D. LeClaire, Louise Longanecker, Gerald W. Macy, Katharine L. Mahon, Anthony D. Marsh, Russell E. Martinez, Lilian S. May, Kaitlyn E. McCormick, William M. Miller, Harris L. Miller, Patricia D. Mnatzakanian, Peter A. Mulvey, P.J. Nalty, Richard F. Negron, Pamela A. Nelson, Tanner William Nelson, Judd O. Nichols, Matthew C. Nugent, William H. O’Connor, Anne V. Orcutt, Mitchell S. Padgett, Sharon Pellegrino, Anthony Peterson, Linda S. Pfeifer, Eric M. Pritzlaff, Charles P. Reed, Bryant Scott Reid, Betty A. Remley, Mary L. Reuben, Suzanne H. Rhyne, Nancy L. Sebastian, Polly R. Shultz, Barry & Peggie Silberman, Rebecca Miriam Silvetti, Bonnie K. Sims, Myra L. Skerpon, Joseph M.

Smith, Barbara A. Smith Hawkins, Anita L. Snyder, James & Shirley Snyder, Shannon J. Stratton, Anne K. Su, Bertina Suess, Anne Swann, Kenchasa N. Toltzis, David E. Tyler, Robert W. Underwood, Matthew Adrian Vadnere, Priya Madhu Veilleux, Mary Yvonne Lee Vlahov, Eric Voigt, Sara C. Waldman, Robert Welde, Timothy G. Winter, Timothy J. Wright, Kinnard C. Yeargain, James D. Yeck, Joseph E. Young, Leslie A.

Photos back cover, clockwise from top left: 1 - The SPH report “Transforming Health in Prince George’s County” was released in July 2012 (l to r): Brad Seamon; County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III; County Council Chair Andrea Harrison; Lt. Governor Anthony Brown; Dushanka Kleinman (SPH); Stephen B. Thomas (SPH); John W. Ashworth, University of Maryland Medical System; Dr. Alice Horowitz (SPH), Sandra C. Quinn (SPH), Min Qi Wang (SPH), Sylvette LaTouche Howard (SPH), Lori Rusinowitz (SPH), Karoline Mortenson (SPH), Mei-Ling Lee (SPH) 2 - The news conference announcing the move to create a collaborative SPH was attended by College Park and Baltimore faculty, students and staff 3 - Epidemiologists from College Park and Baltiomore held seminars to share expertise in 2012-3. Jay Magaziner, chair of Epidemiology and Public Health at UMB with Mei-Ling Ting Lee and Xin He at his seminar on hip fracture research. 4 - The 2013 UMD SPH Delta Omega inductees were recognized by Greg Raspanti (far left). Inductees pictured l to r: Dr. Paul Turner, Dr. Robin Sawyer, Jessica Oldham, Sue Lin, Dr. Xin He, Stephanie Carey, Dr. Kathy Sharp, Bryan Clift. Inductees not pictured include: Maushami Desoto, Dr. Sandra Hofferth, Dr. Angela PinzonRondon, Chenxue Zhang

University of Maryland School of Public Health

SPHPhotoGallery

4 1

9 Photos this page, clockwise from top left: 1 - The Maryland Center for Health Equity hosted a presentation on Public Health Critical Race Praxis with Chandra Ford (third from right) and Collins Airhihenbuwa (second from right) 2 - Georgetown University’s Lawrence Gostin gave a Grand Rounds lecture on the Affordable Care Act in September 2012. 3 - Dean Clark and Alumni Coordinator Gloria Friedgen at the 8th Annual Dean’s Scholars Awards Ceremony in April. Friedgen (‘73) is leaving her position with the school after 12 years of service. 4 - Joy Bauer (‘86), Veronica Jones, Terri Holley (‘87) during Homecoming Week 5- Former Senator Joseph Tidings (‘50) (at center) met with members of the MD Institute for Applied Environmental Health to discuss opportunities for research. 6 - University of British Columbia’s Patricia Vertinsky (who gave the 2013 Hult Lecture) and Shannon Jette 7 - The 2012 Maryland Minority Health and Health Disparities conference (l to r): Jane Clark, Health Sec. Josh Sharfstein, Stephen Thomas, HHS Asst. Sec. Howard Koh, Delegate Shirley Nathan Pulliam, DHMH’s Carlessia Hussein and unidentified person. 8 - Fourth Annual Seat Pleasant Health Summit (l to r): Jane Hirshberg (Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center), Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene Grant, PRC Director Brad Boekeloo, and Jeannine Bulbulia. 9 - Professor Emerita Joan S. Hult and Dean Jane E. Clark 10 - Johns Hopkins SPH Dean Michael Klag (right) gave a Grand Rounds Lecture in April on 21st century health trends. Pictured with Jie Chen.

Spring 2013 News

2242 SPH Building College Park, MD 20742 Return Service Requested ARE YOU AN SPH ALUMNUS? The University of Maryland School of Public Health Alumni Board is looking for new members to help with planning and working at our alumni and SPH events. If interested, please contact Veronica T. Jones, Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations at vjones2@umd.edu or 301-405-2918 .

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