2008 Selected News Archive
GA Health Foundation Renews IPH Grant
The Board of Directors of the Georgia Health Foundation has awarded the Institute of Public Health a second grant in the amount of $75,000 to continue its support of the Georgia Health Foundation Scholarship Program. This award will ensure that 15 MPH students over the next three years will receive $5000 scholarships. Read more about the Georgia Health Foundation here. View a complete list of current and past recipients.
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IPH Welcomes Rodney Lyn to Tenure-Track Faculty
Dr. Rodney Lyn has been promoted from Academic Professional to Assistant Professor in the Institute of Public Health, effective February 1, 2009. Dr. Lyn will continue to teach courses on Cultural Diversity, as well as additional courses in the Health Management and Policy track. Dr. Lyn directs the PLAY project (Policy Leadership for Active Youth) and recently authored an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on the importance of maintaining recreation programs for youth in Atlanta.
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Study shows racial disparities in the links between waist lines, triglycerides and risk for type 2 diabetes
A study conducted by a Georgia State University researcher and colleagues shows the need for public health messages specifically targeting African-Americans to help mitigate the increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. More >>>
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Researchers Investigate HIV Prevention Device in Africa
For some women in the poorest parts of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, being paid for sex is one of the few ways they are able to feed themselves and their children. IPH researchers recently investigated whether these women, and their male clients, would accept a potential method of preventing HIV/AIDS which allows women to take control of their own health. Please click here for more details.
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Public Health professor speculates on changes in U.S. health policy under new presidential administration
Russ Toal, associate professor and Distinguished Fellow in Health Policy at Georgia State University, recently spoke on the changes to healthcare policy under the Barack Obama administration.
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Public health Fulbright students honored
For Zakia Maroof of Afghanistan, studying at Georgia State University as a Fulbright Program student in the Master of Public Health program isn’t just an achievement for her professional advancement More >>>
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"Great Public Health Program"
Friday, October 17th's edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution announced the two finalists to serve as President of Georgia State University. Richard Tucker, Chairman of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, noted that it was no coincidence that both candidates have health backgrounds, and said, "But we do have a great public health program there' referring to the efforts of the Institute of Public Health. Read more about our Presidential finalists here.
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Grand Rounds Focuses on Public Health & Legal Rights
The Institute of Public Health's October Grand Rounds featured Professor of Law in the GSU Center for Law, Health & Society, Dr. Paul A. Lombardo. Dr. Lombardo discussed the Aiken Leper Case, an anomaly among public health cases, in which deference to local health authorities who act to restrict individual liberties was the norm. For more information on this case, click here.
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Georgia Health Foundation Scholars Honored
The 11 recipients of the Georgia Health Foundation Scholarship were honored recently at a luncheon hosted by the foundation's Board of Directors. College of Health and Human Sciences Dean, Susan Kelley and IPH Professor and Director, Michael Eriksen were also in attendance. This $5000 scholarship is awarded to students with a demonstrated commitment to the improvement of health and well-being in Georgia. More details on this scholarship can be found here. More information on the Georgia Health Foundation can be found here.
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IPH Holds Reception for Nine Fulbright Scholars
The Institute of Public Health was pleased to hold a reception honoring its nine Fulbright scholars. The reception was hosted by the Healthcare Georgia Foundation and IPH Board of Advisors Chair, Martha Katz. The Fulbright scholars hail from regions all over the world including but not limited to Cameroon, Haiti, Iraq, Indonesia, and Mongolia, and most of these students are medical doctors in their home countries. IPH is proud to have more Fulbrights enrolled in the MPH program than in any other department in the university. More details about the Fulbright program can be found here.
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Institute of Public Health Convenes Tobacco Task Force
In July, the Georgia Division of Public Health requested the Institute of Public Health to convene a Tobacco Task Force with the charge of making recommendations on the most effective way of reducing tobacco use in the state of Georgia. A Task Force consisting of representatives from federal, state and local health departments, voluntary agencies, public interest groups, university faculty and a practicing physician met three times during August and prepared their recommendations for a $20 million program. The report can be found here.
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IPH Grand Rounds Features John Lutzker
Dr. John Lutzker, Director of the new Center for Healthy Development and IPH visiting professor, was the featured speaker at IPH's first Grand Rounds of the 2008-09 academic year. Dr. Lutzker's talk entitled "Developmental Disabilities & Child Maltreatment Research & the Fit with Public Health" discussed the center's research efforts and collaborations. For more information on the Center for Healthy Development, click here and for more details on IPH Grand Rounds, click here.
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The Institute of Public Health Welcomes Largest Class Ever
The Institute of Public Health is pleased to welcome 32 new graduate students to our MPH degree program and 5 new students to our CPH program. This is the largest MPH class ever enrolled. These students were selected from nearly 200 applicants. The Fall 2008 class includes six Fulbright Scholars from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Haiti, and Myanmar. Click here for full size photo.
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MPH Student Co-Authors Two Major Publications
MPH student, Dr. Tiffany Colarusso, recently co-authored two papers. The first paper was featured in the "Journal of Pediatrics" and reports on the prevalence of heart defects in Atlanta from 1998-2005. The second paper, published in the "American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology" is a large analysis of diabetes and birth defects. Her research was recently reported online by ABC News and US News and World Report. This story is a follow-up to a group award from the CDC that Dr. Colarusso won for her work with the National Birth Defects Prevention Study on heart defects.
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IPH Hosts First Undergraduate McNair Fellow
The Institute of Public Health hosted its first undergraduate Ronald E. McNair Post-Bacclaureate Achievement Program Fellow, Yernia Preer, this summer. Yernia worked with Dr. Karen Gieseker over the summer on a research project titled, "Does Knowledge of Methods of Contraception Translate to Use in Tanzania?" and recently presented her findings both as a poster and as an oral presentation. More information about the McNair program.
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IPH Director Speaks at Israel Tobacco Control Conference
Professor Michael Eriksen, Director of the Institute of Public Health, recently gave the keynote address at the second annual national tobacco control conference in Jerusalem. Dr. Eriksen's presentation was reviewed in the June 8 issue of The Jerusalem Post.
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IPH Participates in HIV Study in Kenya
MPH student, Christine Kibui and Research Associate, Donna Smith traveled to Western Province in Kenya to collect pilot data for a planned sexual network study that will examine factors that drive the HIV epidemic in this region. In partnership with the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the University of Nairobi, Christine and Donna conducted in-depth individual interviews and focus groups with lower and higher risk populations in Bungoma and Webuye, two towns on the TransAfrican Highway, the major transportation artery of East Africa running across Kenya from the coastal city of Mombasa to Uganda and Rwanda. Preliminary analysis of their qualitative data suggests that the stigma associated with an HIV positive status is still very strong, anti-retroviral treatment has only become widely available in the last year, and deeply-held cultural traditions such as polygamous marriages, widow inheritance and male circumcision rites might present significant risk factors for HIV transmission.
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IPH Graduate Interviewed About MRSA Mortality
Kimberly R. Glenn, a 2007 graduate of the Institute of Public Health and CDC/CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow at the Tennessee Department of Health, was recently interviewed by Infectious Disease News about case fatality among invasive MRSA patients. Read the article here.
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IPH Associate Professor Monica Swahn Appointed CHHS Associate Dean for Research
Monica Swahn has been appointed Associate Dean for Research for the College of Health and Human Sciences by Dean Susan Kelley. Professor Swahn will assume her new responsibilities in August and will continue serving as a faculty member in the Insititute of Public Health. Congratulations to Dr. Swahn on this recognition of her research acumen.
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John Steward Showcased in Journal of Environmental Health
John Steward, faculty member in the Institute of Public Health and manager of the Partnership for Urban Health Research, serves as a Regional Vice President for the National Environmental Health Association. John's contributions to the Association are highghted in their current issue of the Journal of Environmental Health. Read the story here.
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Former Associate Director of IPH Named Interim President of Coastal Georgia Community College
Valerie Hepburn, a founding member of the IPH faculty, and who joined the faculty at the University of Georgia this semester, was just appointed Interim President of the Coastal Georgia Community College as it prepares to transition from a two-year to four-year college. Read more here.
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IPH Hosts International Visitors
In cooperation with the US State Department, the Institute of Public Health and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies jointly conducted a training seminar on avian flu preparedness for visitors from eight countries. Visitors from Bangladesh, China, Panama, Venezuela, Ghana, Hungary, India and Pakistan were part of the International Visitor Leadership Program sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department.
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Professor Eriksen, Director of Institute of Public Health, Receives Award
Michael Eriksen recently received The Gold Honorary Award from the Health Promotion Foundation of Poland for his contribution of building partnerships to develop comprehensive tobacco control policies in Eastern Europe. The award was given at the recently completed Summit of Tobacco Control Leaders from Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union Countries. The award was presented by Professor Witold Zatonski, President of the Health Promotion Foundation, on April 22, 2008.
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Dan Benardot Presented at the final Grand Rounds for the 2007-08 Academic Year
Dr. Dan Benardot, a faculty member in the GSU, Department of Nutrition, gave a presentation on "Assessing Within-Day Energy Balance as a Strategy for Obesity Reduction?" as part of the Institute of Public Health's Monthly Grand Rounds. Read more on Public health Grand Rounds.
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IPH Student Wins CDC Award
Tiffany Colarusso, a current student in the MPH program, recently won a group award from the CDC for her work with the National Birth Defects Prevention Study on heart defects. Tiffany will use this research toward her thesis defense. Learn more about this birth defect research.
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Nine MPH Students Recognized at College Honors Day
The annual College of Health and Human Sciences Honors Day recognizes students throughout the college for academic excellence and community involvement. Pictured with Dr. Michael Eriksen, Professor and Director of the Institute of Public Health, are Anna Rockett, Michelle Marcus, Jessica Howell, and Megan Reynolds. Michelle and Jessica received the Public Health Student Achievement Award voted on by IPH faculty. Anna and Megan along with Rachele Deveras, Ashley Edwards, Susan Henderson, Chris Jones and Bethany West received the Georgia Health Foundation Scholarship. Learn more about the Georgia Health Foundation Scholarship.
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IPH Student Evaluates Smoking Cessation Program for ACS
Jessica Howell, the Public Health Institute Student Association (PHISA) president and a second year student in the MPH program, is getting hands-on experience at the American Cancer Society headquarters in Atlanta by evaluating an employer-based smoking cessation program as part of her MPH practicum. To learn more about Jessica's internship experience, visit the Student Spotlight.
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Interdisciplinary Panel on Violence Research
at Georgia State
Faculty from four of Georgia State's six colleges presented their research at this interdisciplinary research panel, jointly sponsored by the Partnership for Urban Health Research (PUHR) and the Institute of Public Health. Julia Perilla from the Department of Psychology, Leslie Reid from the Department of Sociology, Monica Swahn from the Institute of Public Health, Jonathan Todres from the College of Law and Volkan Topalli from the Department of Criminal Justice presented their violence-related research and discussed opportunities for future collaboration.
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IPH Faculty Member Accepted as Research Participant at the Research Institute on Suicide Prevention
Monica Swahn, Associate Processor in the Institute of Public Health, was recently selected as a Level 1 participant in the Summer Research Institute on Suicide Prevention at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Learn more about this Institute.
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IPH Graduate Presents at the International Conference for Emerging Infectious Diseases
Kimberly R. Glenn, a 2007 graduate of the Institute of Public Health, will present on fatality rates of invasive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) patients. The study showed that invasive MRSA patients with bloodstream infections and patients who acquired the disease within the healthcare setting are more likely to die. Learn more about this conference.
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IPH Faculty highlighted in University of Denver Alumni Magazine
Karen Gieseker, Assistant Profesor in the Institute of Public Health, was recently showcased in the University of Denver Alumni Magazine highlighting her global health work in Tanzania. Read more about Dr. Gieseker's African work.
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IPH Awards Four Georgia Health Foundation Scholarships
The Institute of Public Health is honored to award Georgia Health Foundation Scholarships to four MPH students: Chris Jones, Susan Henderson, Ashley Edwards, and Rachele Deveras (not pictured). These four Georgia students started their MPH program in January and have committed themselves to advancing public health in Georgia following graduation. Learn more about the Georgia Health Foundation scholarship.
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Dr. Alawode Oladele, Medical Director, county-wide services, DeKalb County Board of Health
From 1981 - 2006, nearly 57,000 refugees moved to Georgia from all over the world. A majority (~65%) of those refugees resettled in DeKalb County, and 90% of those individuals passed through the DeKalb County Board of Health within their first 90 days of being in the US. Dr. Oladele, Medical Director, County Wide Services for the Dekalb Board of Health spoke about cross-cultural public health in DeKalb County at the Grand Rounds on February 20th.
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IPH Welcomes 15 New MPH Students
The Institute of Public Health held its Spring Orientation on Monday, January 7, 2008 and was pleased to welcome 15 new MPH students to the program. The students hail from all over the world, and among their ranks is a medical doctor, biologist, and physical therapist.
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Interdisciplinary Panel on Georgia State HIV Research
Faculty from four of Georgia State's six colleges presented their research at the first interdisciplinary research panel, jointly sponored by the Partnership for Urban Health Research (PUHR) and the Institute of Public Health. John Peterson from the Department of Psychology, Richard Rothenberg from the Institute of Public Health, Leslie Wolf from the College of Law, and Paul Farnham from the Department of Econonics presented their HIV-related research and discussed opportunities for future collaboration.