CURRENTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH
ABOUT THE WEBINAR SERIES
The Currents of Public Health webinar series is presented by the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. The goal of this series is to explore relevant public health topics with members of our community to discover how these ideas can positively impact communities.
Featuring Ike Okosun, Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences
School of Public Health
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, NOON
Ike Okosun is a Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences. His research focuses on investigating the epidemiology of metabolic syndrome, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia in populations of African origin.
UPCOMING CURRENTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH WEBINARS
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Terri Pigott is a professor at Georgia State University with a joint appointment in the School of Public Health and the College of Education & Human Development. Her research focuses on methods for meta-analysis, including power, missing data and individual participant meta-analysis.
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Carlos A. O. Pavão is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Undergraduate Program at the Georgia State University School of Public Health and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
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Dawn Seymore, who earned her MPH with a concentration in epidemiology from Georgia State in 2021, will discuss career opportunities in public health with Evalye Alexander, the School of Public Health’s Career Services Manager. Dawn is currently a K-12 COVID-19 Testing Consultant with the Georgia Department of Public Health.
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Dr. Freire’s research interests include violence prevention, dissemination & implementation science, and evaluation of complex public health strategies. Before coming to GSU in 2021, Kimberley worked at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention for 13 years, most recently as the Evaluation Lead in CDC’s Program Performance & Evaluation Office.
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Dr. Christine Stauber is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health and the Associate Chair for the Department of Population Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has over 15 years of experience in environmental health sciences.
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HIV-related stigma has been identified as one of the principal factors that undermine HIV prevention, treatment, and care in many countries, including Ghana. Understanding HIV-related stigma from the perspective of people living with HIV, medical practitioners, and community members can help inform the development of culturally appropriate and effective interventions to reduce and eventually eliminate the stigma associated with HIV.
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Dr. Karen Nielsen is an assistant professor of Biostatistics in the department of Population Health Sciences within the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. She has expertise in multilevel modeling and techniques for modeling time-intensive longitudinal data, including data resulting from physiological sensors and wearable technology.
This webinar will explore the intersection of aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and policy with a focus on how to capitalize on emerging research in precision medicine to advance public health.
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Jalayne J. Arias is an Associate Professor in Health Policy & Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. Prof. Arias’ research focuses on the policy, legal, and ethical questions that arise in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, aging, and neurosciences.
This is a panel featuring GSU-SPH alumni.
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Mike Lunney is a Senior Business Intelligence Developer at Piedmont Healthcare. He works on the Enterprise Services sprint team to develop analytics products to service the internal business owners and project managers
Karen Mujeyi-Chocho is a Product Owner for Clinical Data Quality at Anthem, Inc. She is an evidence-based outcomes-oriented public health professional and epidemiologist, experienced in clinical and population health IT domains, providing innovative solutions and excellent customer service and client satisfaction.
Nurez Madhany is the Chief Operations Officer for True Health. He provides leadership and technical expertise to the Quality Improvement and Care Coordination Programs Improving patient care by designing and implementing programs to help increase provider efficiencies and close patient gaps in care.
New Tobacco Marketing, Countermarketing, Economics & Policy: This webinar will discuss promotion of new tobacco products (“the rise and fall of IQOS on the Atlanta market”), how the tobacco industry capitalized on the themes of 2020 (COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter) to promote their products (marketing), and messages that can help explain potential FDA regulation to reduce nicotine in combusted cigarettes to minimally addictive levels. Also, e-cigarette marketing and the economics of and policies regulating e-cigarette use will be discussed.
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Dr. Lucy Popova’s research lies at the intersection of health communication and tobacco control, focusing on creating and evaluating effective messages that use emotion and information to reduce initiation and increase quitting of tobacco products. In her studies, she uses content analysis, quantitative (surveys, randomized experiments), qualitative (focus groups, in-depth interviews), and mixed methods. Two of her publications received Paper of the Year awards.
Dr. Jidong Huang’s research focuses on the economic analysis of substance use and abuse, and how prices, taxes, and other substance control policies affect the demands for tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. Dr. Huang’s current research involves examining the marketing and promotion of new and emerging tobacco products, particularly Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), and how policies and regulations affect use of ENDS. In addition, Dr. Huang has also conducted extensive research on the impact of tobacco taxes in reducing tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries.
A Conversation on Vaping and Smoking Cessation: The discussion will cover the issue of vaping among youth and whether vaping may or may not be effective in helping smokers to stop smoking. Interviewed by Brian Greer, the Director of Development for the School of Public Health.
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Dr. David Ashley is a Research Professor in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. He was appointed to this position in August 2017. Before that, he spent 33 years in the United States Public Health Service, retiring in 2016 at the rank of Assistant Surgeon General/Rear Admiral-Lower Half.
He was at the Environmental Health Laboratory of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health from 1983 until 2010. Starting in June 2010 he was the inaugural director of the Office of Science of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (FDA/CTP). In this role, he was instrumental in carrying out the regulatory authorities of the 2009 law which gave FDA authority to regulate tobacco products; this law requires that FDA base its decisions on science, including proposals to reduce the harm caused to those who smoke and to discourage youngsters from smoking. FDA CTP’s Office of Science is responsible for identifying, developing, and enhancing the science related to tobacco products, their use, and the resulting morbidity and mortality so that regulatory decisions will have the greatest impact on improving public health. To accomplish this goal, they provide the scientific support for regulations and guidance, review tobacco product applications, evaluate the knowledge basis for regulatory decisions, and carry out research to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge related to tobacco product regulation. Learn more about Dr. David Ashley.
Inequality and the COVID-19 Pandemic: How We Got Here and Where to Go Next: This webinar featured a lecture by Dr. Sandro Galea, a physician, epidemiologist, author, and dean and Robert A. Knox Professor at Boston University School of Public Health. He previously held academic and leadership positions at Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and the New York Academy of Medicine. He has published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature, and is a regular contributor to a range of public media, about the social causes of health, mental health, and the consequences of trauma. Interviewed by Dr. Rodney Lyn, Dean of the School of Public Health. Learn more about the Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity.
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Dr. Sandro Galea has been listed as one of the most widely cited scholars in the social sciences. He is past chair of the board of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health and past president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Galea has received several lifetime achievement awards. He holds a medical degree from the University of Toronto, graduate degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow. Learn more about Dr. Galea.
A Conversation with the School of Public Health’s Newest Epidemiology Faculty
Hear from the newest epidemiology faculty in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health. The professors will discuss their careers, passion for public health and research topics of interest. Interviewed by Brian Greer, Development Director in the School of Public Health.
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Suffering in Silence: Identifying Suicidal Behavior in Black Youth and Creating a Research, Policy and Practice Agenda: This webinar featured a lecture by Dr. Michael A. Lindsey, a noted scholar in the fields of child and adolescent mental health, as well as a leader in the search for knowledge and solutions to generational poverty and inequality. Suicide is preventable. For Blacks, stigma regarding mental health challenges and a common belief that Blacks don’t die by suicide add complexity to the challenge of saving lives. Sadly, the suicide death rate among Black youth has been found to be increasing faster than any other racial or ethnic group. Black adolescents are significantly less likely to receive care for depression with pervasive structural inequities, social determinants of health, stigma and mistrust of the healthcare system creating daunting barriers to treatment. What can we do to prevent these deaths? What can schools, funders, family members, health institutions and governmental entities do to provide the necessary investment and training to properly address the mental wellness needs of Black youth? Dr. Lindsey explored these complexities and the opportunities before us that can save lives. Interviewed by Dr. Rodney Lyn, Dean of the School of Public Health. Learn more about the John R. Lutzker Lecture Series.
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Dr. Michael A. Lindsey is the Executive Director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University (NYU), the Constance and Martin Silver Professor of Poverty Studies at NYU Silver School of Social Work, and an Aspen Health Innovators Fellow. He also leads a university-wide Strategies to Reduce Inequality initiative from the NYU McSilver Institute.
At the NYU McSilver Institute, Dr. Lindsey leads a team of researchers, clinicians, social workers and other professionals who are committed to creating new knowledge about the root causes of poverty, developing evidence-based interventions to address its consequences, and rapidly translating their findings into action through policy and best practices. Learn more about Dr. Lindsey.
A Conversation on Public Health Career Development: This webinar featured a discussion on a career in public health from School of Public Health alumnus Taylor Guffey, the Manager of Hospital and Acute Analytics, Kaiser Permanente. He shared his career journey and the lessons he learned from the various organizations he has worked. Interviewed by Jessica Pratt, Practice and Career Coordinator and Senior Academic Professional in the School of Public Health.
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Taylor Guffey is the Manager of Hospital and Acute Care Analytics at Kaiser Permanente. Learn more about Taylor Guffey.
Effects of COVID-19 on People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: This webinar featured a discussion on the findings from a recent mixed method study exploring the effects of COVID-19 on quality of life among Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the direct care workforce that supports them. Interviewed by Brian Greer, Director of Development for the School of Public Health.
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Dr. Erin Vinoski Thomas’s research focuses on disability health disparities, with an emphasis on identifying and promoting holistic health behaviors particularly among women and girls with disabilities. Prior to earning her Ph.D., Dr. Vinoski Thomas served as a Disability and Health Fellow with the National Association of County and City Health Officials; in this role, she supported a national program providing technical assistance to local health departments across the US to increase their inclusion of people with disabilities in their policies, programs, and services. Learn more about Dr. Vinoski Thomas.
How to Advance Professionally During a Global Pandemic: This webinar featured School of Public Health alumni who are currently serving in public health roles at the local and state level. Interviewed by Jessica Pratt, Practice and Career Coordinator for the School of Public Health.
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Engaging a Refugee Community to Address COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: It is critical to engage those most affected by COVID‐19, including vulnerable populations such as refugee, immigrant and migrant (RIM) communities, in developing effective health education campaigns so their lived experiences can inform contextually and culturally specific messaging. Georgia State Prevention Research Center researchers do not fully understand RIM population knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) about COVID-19 testing and the vaccine in the diverse community of Clarkston, Georgia. Additionally, the researchers do not understand how to effectively develop and disseminate messaging. There is no indication that the plethora of approaches and strategies including educational campaigns, contact‐based interventions, and peer services work with RIM populations. The Georgia State Prevention Research Center researchers work aims to gain a nuanced understanding about COVID-19 KAPs, identify best practices for implementing contextually and culturally appropriate health messaging that explicitly addresses COVID‐19 KAPs, and define a process for disseminating contextually and culturally appropriate health messaging that explicitly addresses COVID‐19 KAPs. Interviewed by Brian Greer, Director of Development for the School of Public Health.
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Dr. Ashli Owen-Smith is a behavioral scientist with research interests in health disparities, mental health (specifically serious mental illness, trauma and suicide), chronic pain, and complementary and alternative approaches for complex conditions with both mental and physical causes and manifestations.
Dr. Owen-Smith’s research aims to identify questions that are relevant and important to patients, and to prioritize the translation of research findings into clinical practice. Accordingly, she is interested in conducting patient-centered research and utilizing patient-reported outcomes. She works closely with patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders and is interested in employing qualitative and mixed methods. Learn more about Dr. Owen-Smith.
Why is Cooperation Essential in Public Health? A Discussion on the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout: This conversation will introduce the importance of cooperation in public health, using the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as the basis for discussion. Dr. Sarah McCool will discuss the benefits and challenges to cooperation in infectious disease response, and discuss what to anticipate as the vaccine rollout continues. Interviewed by Brian Greer, Director of Development for the School of Public Health.
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Dr. Sarah McCool is a Clinical Associate Professor at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. Dr. McCool has worked in global health in various capacities since 2010. She most recently worked to support a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)- funded child protection/anti-trafficking project in Haiti. She has worked extensively in the area of tuberculosis surveillance and prevention in Asia. She completed a USAID Research & Development fellowship in Indonesia and consulted for a Fortune 500 company on methods for reducing tuberculosis incidence among garment factory workers in South Asia. Dr. McCool was previously the Executive Director of a Haiti-based NGO that provides primary care to the rural southwest population. She has lived in Singapore, Indonesia and Haiti and has studied and learned—to varying degrees—French, Haitian Creole, Bahasa Indonesia and BCS (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian) as a U.S. Department of State Critical Languages Scholar. Learn more about Dr. McCool.
Building a Culture of Health – Institutionalizing Equity in Public Health Practice: Angela Glover Blackwell is Founder in Residence at PolicyLink, the organization she started in 1999 to advance racial and economic equity for all. Under Angela’s leadership, PolicyLink gained national prominence in the movement to use public policy to improve access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in the areas of health, housing, transportation, and infrastructure. Her Radical Imagination podcast debuted in September 2019, and introduces listeners to a world of talented, creative, progressive thinkers whose vision and determination are challenging the status quo to create the change we need. Interviewed by Dr. Rodney Lyn, Interim Dean of the School of Public Health. Learn more about the Kreuter Katz Lecture on Health Equity.
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Angela Glover Blackwell is Founder in Residence at PolicyLink, the organization she started in 1999 to advance racial and economic equity for all. Under Angela’s leadership, PolicyLink gained national prominence in the movement to use public policy to improve access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in the areas of health, housing, transportation, and infrastructure. Her Radical Imagination podcast debuted in September 2019, and introduces listeners to a world of talented, creative, progressive thinkers whose vision and determination are challenging the status quo to create the change we need.
Prior to founding PolicyLink, Angela served as Senior Vice President at The Rockefeller Foundation. A lawyer by training, she gained national recognition as founder of the Urban Strategies Council. From 1977 to 1987, Angela was a partner at Public Advocates. Angela is the co-author of Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future, and she authored The Curb Cut Effect, published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review in 2017.
As a leading voice in the movement for equity in America, Angela serves on numerous boards. She advised the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve as one of 15 members of its inaugural Community Advisory Council, and in 2020 was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to the state Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. She is the 2018 recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award, presented by the Independent Sector, and in 2017, she received the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award from the University of California, Berkeley. Learn more about Angela Glover Blackwell.
Primary and Secondary Prevention of Substance Use and Sexual Assault: Sexual assault and alcohol use often co-occur, yet prevention programs typically do not target these issues within one integrated prevention program. Dr. Gilmore discussed integrated primary and secondary prevention programs for sexual assault and alcohol use among diverse, high-risk populations. Interviewed by Brian Greer, Director of Development for the School of Public Health.
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Dr. Amanda Gilmore is a clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Mark Chaffin Center for Healthy Development and the Department of Health Policy & Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health. She is also affiliated with the Department of Psychology (Clinical and Community) and the Center for Research on Interpersonal Violence.
Dr. Gilmore’s research interests primarily focus on the development and testing of (1) integrated prevention programs for alcohol and drug use, sexual assault, and sexual risk behaviors among high-risk groups including adolescents, college students, and service members, (2) innovative technology-based interventions to improve the rate of treatment access and decrease treatment drop-out among underserved populations; and (3) secondary prevention programs for individuals who experienced recent sexual assault. Throughout her work she focuses on cultural factors related to gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity. She also focuses her work on reducing barriers to accessing treatment for underserved populations. Dr. Gilmore has served as a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Department of Defense, Office for Victims of Crime and the Department of Homeland Security as well as several internal grant mechanisms. She has more than 80 peer reviewed publications. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist with particular expertise in the treatment of substance use disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidal behaviors and she has founded and led clinics that have provided treatment to recent sexual assault victims, victims of crime with posttraumatic stress and suicidal behaviors using Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and integrated behavioral health care within an OB/GYN clinic. Learn more about Dr. Gilmore.
The Role of SARS-CoV-2 Serostudies for Monitoring Burden of Disease and Associated Risk Factors: Surveillance data from SARS-CoV-2 testing programs are being used to measure burden of disease and to compare disease burden across different types of populations. However, these data have shortcomings including differential access to, and use of, testing among population sub-groups, for example by race/ethnicity. More complex measurement methods are needed to understand how burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection differs across population sub-groups, and SARS-CoV-2 serostudies offer one promising solution. Dr. Heather Bradley discussed the role of serostudies in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, including current challenges in fielding such studies in the U.S. Interviewed by Brian Greer, Director of Development for the School of Public Health.
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Dr. Heather Bradley is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. She is an epidemiologist whose main research interests include HIV prevention and treatment outcomes, surveillance methodology, and the intersection of infectious diseases with the U.S. opioid epidemic.
Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia State, Dr. Bradley worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in various divisions, including the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention and the Division of STD Prevention. From 2016-2018, she was the Associate Chief for Science for the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, where she oversaw the training and research of more than 50 epidemiologists in the Behavioral and Clinical Surveillance Branch.
Dr. Bradley also worked a senior research associate for the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health from 2005 to 2010. During that time, she managed a multi-site research study evaluating integration of family planning and voluntary HIV counseling and testing services in Ethiopia.
Making the Most of an Academic Program and Careers at CDC: Learn the ins and outs of federal employment, contracting, and fellowships from School of Public Health alumni working at CDC. The graduates will share tips for making the most of an academic program and applying for jobs and fellowships at CDC. Interviewed by Jessica Pratt, Practice and Career Coordinator for the School of Public Health.
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CONTACT
For more information on the Currents of Public Health webinar series, please contact [email protected].