mph.news

MPH Student Jean Bae Co-authors Paper in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:24:52 -0500

MPH student Jean Bae is co-author of a newly published article examining how ionizing radiation during pregnancy can negatively impact a fetus. Such findings are especially important in planning for possible future events such as the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan. The article was published by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

MPH student elected to serve as Councilor on the Mental Health Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA)

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:15:31 -0500

MPH student Ahmed Kassem (Global Health Leadership concentration) has been elected to serve as a Councilor in the Mental Health Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). The Mental Health section has a variety of purposes including: identifying issues adversely affecting the public's mental health; seeking solutions that enhance mental health; providing training, information and support; advocating public mental health needs; creating a mechanism by which interested individuals can participate in the programs, policies, and actions of the Association; developing and evaluating programs in conjunction with the APHA Program Development Board, Action Board, and other sections; serving the APHA through making interpretations and recommendations regarding public mental health concerns; and identifying opportunities for collaboration between professionals and other interested individuals.

Congratulations, Ahmed!

MPH Student Co-Authors Paper in Journal of Tropical Medicine and International Health

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:52:08 -0500

NYU MPH Student Jean Bae (Global Health Leadership concentration) is the co-author of a paper that has been published in the Journal of Tropical Medicine and International Health!

In the paper,"Scarcity of healthcare worker protection in eight low- and middle-income countries: surgery and the risk of HIV and other bloodborne pathogens", Jean and her colleagues evaluate the availability of five basic gears that are essential to protect surgical care workers from HIV and other bloodborne pathogens: eye protection, aprons, sterile gloves, sterilizers and suction pumps. Investigating 164 hospitals in eight low- and middle-income countries, the team found that there was a substantial deficiency of the basic protective gears. For instance, eye protection gears were available in only one hospital in Sri Lanka, and even in the most abundant country (Liberia), only half of the hospitals had them available. 76% of the hospitals in Afghanistan did not even have sterile gloves. Based on these findings, Jean and her colleagues call for donors' and governments' increased attention to the issue of healthcare worker protection.

Jean wrote the paper as part of an international and interdisciplinary team that included researchers from Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore, Abia State University in Nigeria, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Columbia University in New York City.

MPH Faculty Inducted as Fellow Into the New York Academy of Medicine

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:49:00 -0500

MPH faculty member Dr. Tony Vernillo was inducted as a Fellow into the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) at a special ceremony on November 9th. An independent organization since 1847, NYAM addresses the health challenges facing the world’s urban populations through interdisciplinary approaches to policy leadership, innovative research, evaluation, education, and community engagement.

Dr. Vernillo belongs to a newly created Section on Dentistry and Oral Health, a group that will likely address disparities in oral health care. Dental caries, for example, are classified as one of the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and have been placed on the WHO map in Geneva, giving it global dimension.

Dr. Vernillo has been a full time faculty member at New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) since 1984. His past research investigations focused on the role of connective tissue degrading enzymes in the pathological remodeling of bone and the inhibitory effect of tetracyclines on bone resorption. Dr. Vernillo’s clinical interest in Oral Medicine has focused on the dental management of patients with diabetes mellitus as well as its oral and systemic complications. He has received grant funding from the NIH and other sources; published in refereed journals and book chapters; and presented at national and international meetings and universities abroad. Dr. Vernillo has provided dental care in outreach programs to Tanzania. He has received numerous teaching awards, including the Distinguished Teaching Award from New York University in 2002, and induction into the New York University Academy of Distinguished Educators at the College of Dentistry in 2010. In addition to his DDS and PhD degrees, he holds a Master of Bioethics degree from the University of Pennsylvania and teaches Ethical Issues and Decision Making in the NYU MPH program.

Faculty Awarded $720,000 Grant to Study Obesity, Nutrition and Genetics

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:03:27 -0500

MPH faculty member Dr. Niyati Parekh has been awarded a $720,000 grant from the American Cancer Society for a project titled: The Cancer, Insulin Resistance, and Lifestyle (CIRCLE) Study.

The number of obese individuals has increased dramatically in the recent past, and cancer rates are increasing in parallel with obesity. Recent evidence suggests that obesity may be responsible for as much as half of all cancers in the US. Despite these dramatic staistics, the mechanisms through which carbohydrate nutrition and our genetic material work together in the development of cancer are currently not well understood and have not been adequately studied in humans. Understanding this connection is a critical control point for the prevention of cancers in which obesity is implicated.

To fill these knowledge gaps, the CIRCLE study will investigate the separate and combined impact of blood markers, genetic factors, and diet related to insulin and glucose metabolism in the development of obesity-related cancers (all cancers combined and for the three most common cancers in the US: colon, breast and prostate). This research will provide important information about missing links required to target prevention of obesity-related cancers.

Niyati Parekh is a nutritional epidemiologist who researches diet in relation with chronic diseases. She has made important contributions to the relationships of vitamin D to eye health among older adults, as well as in the area of obesity and cancer, for which she has received awards. Dr. Parekh seeks to investigate the impact of obesity and related metabolic abnormalities, lifestyle and genetic factors in relation to cancer development among American adults. Additionally, she is also interested in international health and issues related to immigrant populations in the US. In the past decade, Dr. Parekh has led numerous community outreach activities related to nutrition in disease prevention, in urban and rural settings in India and the US. She has authored several peer-reviewed scientific publications as well as popular press articles to communicate the intricacies of nutrition and health to lay persons. Dr. Parekh received her MS in Foods, Nutrition, and Clinical Dietetics in 1997, and is a credentialed Registered Dietitian from India. In 2005, she received a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Population Health, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has had 2 years of postdoctoral experience at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Cancer Institute of New Jersey, where she studied lifestyle and obesity in relation with cancer.

Dr. Deborah Padgett Talks About Her New Book on Qualitative and Mixed Methods in Public Health

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:03:41 -0500

Dr. Deborah Padgett, Director of the Global Health Leadership concentration of the NYU MPH, is author of the newly released Qualitative and Mixed Methods in Public Health. Designed to meet the needs of public health students, practitioners, and researchers, the book addresses two profound changes taking place in public health in the 21st century: the explosion of interest in global public health, and the growing reliance on community-engaged research methods. The book uses real-world case studies drawn from Dr. Padgett's funded research projects in breast cancer screening as well as homelessness and mental illness.

We sat down with Dr. Padgett to ask her about the new book.

How do you think this book contributes to the current global public health literature?

There has never been a greater interest in field methods that enable global health researchers to conduct their work in low-resource, culturally diverse settings. This text helps to fill that gap by providing readers with an understanding of the basics of qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviewing and ethnographic observation, along with public health-relevant techniques such as community-based participatory research and rapid assessments.

How did your experience teaching in the NYU MPH inform this book?

My experience in the MPH program is entirely responsible for this text. I recognized a “learning gap” early on in the global aspect of the curriculum and sought to fill it with a qualitative and field methods course. The next step was to find an appropriate text – one that would blend the social sciences with public health. Unable to find such a text, I decided to fully revise and adapt my previous text written for social work researchers at the urging of my editor at SAGE publications.

How do these approaches to qualitative inquiry reflect changes in the field of global public health?

Public health in general, and global health in particular, have undergone a profound transformation in recent years toward the embrace of qualitative and field methods. This needs has come “from the ground up” as public health practitioners and researchers have found traditional quantitative methods to have limitations when applied to low-resource settings.

The book is available online through SAGE Publications or at Amazon.

Faculty Authors Two New Publications

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:24:04 -0500

Dr. Renata Schiavo is the author of two new articles in the Journal of Communication in Healthcare.

The two articles, "Health equity and health communication: A new dawn?" and "Taking the pulse of progress toward preconception health: Preliminary assessment of a national OMH program for infant mortality prevention" are published in the July 2, 2011 issue.

Dr. Schiavo is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Health at New York University. In addition to her role at NYU, she is an adjunct associate professor at the CUNY School of Public Health and Founding President and CEO of the Health Equity Initiative. She is also the author of the book "Health Communication: From Theory to Practice" (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, April 2007).

Program Faculty Awarded PAHO Grant to Study Primary Care in the Americas

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:52:50 -0500

Dr. James Macinko, Director of the Global Health Leadership concentration for the NYU MPH, has been awarded a grant of $110,000 from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), regional office of the World Health Organization.

The grant will allow Dr. Macinko to lead a team of international experts to conduct assessments of primary health care systems and services in over 20 countries in the Americas. The project will be the first to collect internationally-comparable data on the organization, financing, and delivery of primary health care in low and middle income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The results of the assessments will be used to establish baseline measures for countries undergoing health reforms, aid in identifying characteristics of high performing primary health care systems, and inform in-depth surveys of health providers and populations of health service users in expected follow-up projects.

In addition to his role with the NYU MPH, Dr. Macinko is Associate Professor of Public Health and Health Policy in the NYU Steinhardt Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Global Health Leadership Student Authors Op-Ed in WHO Bulletin

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:07:49 -0500

Jean Bae, a student in the Global Health Leadership concentration of the NYU MPH, has co-authored an op-ed piece in the June 2011 Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

The piece, "Surgery as a public health intervention: common misconceptions versus the truth" emphasizes that surgery can and should be recognized as an important global health intervention but that to achieve this goal, it is critical to improve the local surgical capacity in low- and middle-income countries.

The full piece is available online at http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/6/11-088229/en/index.html

The Bulletin is one of the world's leading public health journals. It is a peer-reviewed monthly with a special focus on developing countries. The Bulletin is one of the top 10 public and environmental health journals with an impact factor of 5.4, according to the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI).

Program Faculty Authors Lead Paper in Lancet Special Series on Brazil

Wed, 11 May 2011 13:51:12 -0500

Program faculty member and Global Health Leadership concentration director Dr. James Macinko is the co-author of the lead paper in a recent Lancet Special Series on the health of Brazilians. Dr. Macinko is the only member of the author group who is not a senior faculty member from a Brazilian university.

The British journal The Lancet, one of the medical publishing world's most influential publications, is launching a series of six articles entitled "The Health of Brazilians" - a comprehensive review of the determinants and the health of Brazil's population. Based on an extensive review of existing documents, and original analysis of epidemiological data, a team of 29 specialists in public health prepared six papers that describe the history of health care in Brazil, with emphasis on implementation of the Unified Health System (SUS), as well as recent developments of the major health problems that afflict Brazil's population and its main determinants and risk factors.

Dr. Macinko co-authored the lead article in the series, "The Brazilian health system: history, advances and challenges."

The complete series with six articles can be accessed from May 9 2011 at:
http://www.thelancet.com/series/health-in-brazil

Student Wins Two Awards for Work Supporting NYU

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:26:00 -0500

Amanda Anjum, a Global Health Leadership student, was recently the recipient of two awards for her work supporting NYU's Bioethics program - the Give-A-Violet award and the Arts and Science Excellence Award. The Violet award recognizes employees who perform above and beyond the normal scope of their position and responsibilities, while the Excellence Award recognizes outstanding employees who have repeatedly contributed to the betterment of Arts and Science at NYU.

Student Publishes Paper in PLOS Medicine

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:20:43 -0500

Akanksha Gupta, a student in the Global Health Leadership concentration of the NYU MPH, is co-author of a paper recently published in PLOS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science.

The paper "Scaling Up Diarrhea Prevention and Treatment Interventions: A Lives Saved Tool Analysis" estimates the potential lives saved if two scale-up scenarios for key diarrhea interventions were implemented in the 68 high child mortality countries. The team concludes that using currently available interventions diarrheal deaths can be drastically reduced. Diarrhea remains a leading cause of mortality among young children in low- and middle-income countries.

The paper is available online here.

NY State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah Lauds the Launch of the NYU Master of Public Health Program

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:58:52 -0500

By Rob Poner, NYU

Marking a milestone in public health education, New York State Commissioner of Health Nirav R. Shah joined with New York University faculty, students, alumni, staff, and senior officials in celebrating the creation of the NYU Master of Public Health Program.

"It's a great honor and pleasure to be here this morning - congratulations on the launch of your newly reconfigured Master of Public Health Program," Shah declared at NYU Kimmel Center on April 6. "This new public health master's program will raise the bar for public health education in New York and the nation. I applaud your program's mission to improve the health of diverse populations at the local, national, and global level."

The new program brings together the long-established Community Public Health Program at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and the five-year-old NYU Master's Program in Global Public Health. It is a collaboration of NYU's College of Dentistry, College of Nursing, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, School of Medicine, Silver School of Social Work, and the Steinhardt School, and is led by the NYU Executive Vice President for Health Robert Berne.

Berne said the program has been redesigned to better reflect the ever-changing challenges of public health in an increasingly globalized society and the "interdisciplinary and inter-professional nature" of what is required to promote health, prevent illness, and fight disease.

"This will benefit everyone, encouraging our students to really use the University as a resource, our faculty to collaborate across University schools and disciplines, and will prepare professionals not bounded by the kinds of lines that academics tend to draw," he said.

Beth Weitzman, Acting Dean of the Steinhardt School introduced Dr. Shah (MD, MPH), who was confirmed by the State Senate on January 24, 2011. He is the 15th state health commissioner, and the youngest person ever to hold the post. In visiting NYU during National Public Health Week (April 4-10), he described his efforts to counter-act smoking, over-eating, and other risk behaviors associated with chronic illness such as Type-2 diabetes and heart disease. He noted that he worked as an assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine and was a National Research Service Award Fellow at the University.

The public health field is "where the action is. Our 21st-century public health challenges are increasingly complex and multi- dimensional. The collaborative nature of this program will enable you to be in the forefront of addressing these changes," said Commissioner Shaw.

Click here for the NYU news release.

MPH Student Wins Schoolwide Award for Service, Loyalty and Devotion

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:20:24 -0500

Anne Majsterek, an MPH student in the Public Health Nutrition track, is the recipient of the 2011 John W. Withers Award! This award is presented to one undergraduate and one graduate student in recognition of their outstanding scholastic attainment, and for upholding the highest ideals of service, loyalty and devotion to the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and their graduating class. The award carries with it a certificate and honorarium, which will be presented to Anne at NYU Steinhardt's Valedictory Celebration on Tuesday, May 17th.

MPH Student to Present Poster at Society of Behavioral Medicine Meeting

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:08:02 -0500

MPH student Dr. Tiffany Edwards (Global Health Leadership) will present a poster on "Exploring Health through Food: Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Context of Cuisine" at the 32nd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, which will be held April 27-30, 2011 in Washington, DC.

In the paper that the poster is based on, Edwards explores Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the prevalence, popularity, and knowledge/beliefs of TCM food cures in present-day cosmopolitan Hong Kong, including an exploration of mass-produced and marketed food, drinks, and remedies catering to a new generation of Hong Kong residents. In addition, she presents the results of a comparative analysis of the prevalence, popularity, and knowledge/beliefs of TCM food cures in New York City.

The results, based on visual and photographic observation and individual interviews, suggest that food cures within TCM are still very much believed in and practiced by those in the East and West. Edwards suggests that further exploration of the occurrence and influence of TCM food cures in modern society will provide additional pathways in which to explore and encourage healthy eating and lifestyle habits.

In addition to her MPH studies, Dr. Edwards is an instructor in the Program for Cancer Prevention and Control within the Department of Oncological Sciences at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.