The first term of the Fall semester has gone by rapidly. As we enjoy an extra hour of sleep this weekend due to the end of daylight savings time, let us use this as a reminder of the critical importance of good sleep to our health and the health of the populations that we serve. We have learned from research that inadequate sleep is associated with poorer metabolic functioning, immune functioning, mood, cognitive performance, moral judgment, quality of life, academic performance and public safety. Short sleep duration is even associated with increased risk of obesity and mortality. SBS researchers have also documented that how we treat others can affect how long and how well they sleep. For example, Lisa Berkman’s research has documented that employees with supportive managers sleep longer at night. Similarly, some of my own research with SBS alum Natalie Slopen, has found that experiences of discrimination are associated with shorter sleep, more sleep difficulties, and contribute to racial disparities in sleep. So I wish you all productive days in which we contribute to the good sleep of others and restful nights that provide adequate health-enhancing sleep!

David R. Williams

What piece of advice would you offer students in the SBS Department?

“Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” Margaret Mead

 

Dr. Jeff Blander, SD '08 , was raised by his grandparents starting at the age of six. “My grandmother firmly believed that kindness is the most important virtue to make the world a better place. I have carried this lesson with me across the globe whether working in remote villages in Tanzania to improve primary health services or on Wall Street to strongly advocate for impact investing approaches that go beyond traditional shareholder value models.

  

With over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, researcher, educator, and most recently serving in the U.S. Department of State as Chief Innovation Officer and Managing Director, Epidemic Control Teams (ECTs) for the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), I have had the opportunity to call many SBS alumni both colleagues and friends. 

 

As I reflect on this extraordinary group, J.K. Rowling’s words from the 2008 Harvard Commencement come to mind: “We do not need magic to transform the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.” Whether through conducting cutting-edge research or creating innovative partnerships, I believe that as a network we are poised to lead through our collective conviction and advocacy to do better.”

In November, Mary Bassett will receive the 2019 Stephen Smith Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Public Health from the New York Academy of Medicine. The award is given for lifetime achievement in public health to an individual who has “lead or significantly contributed to work that effected a significant change in public health policy or practice to improve population health, including work on the broad determinants of health, with a special emphasis on eliminating health disparities.”

In December, Ichiro Kawachi will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the Australian National University, for his “exceptional contribution to research, conceptualisation and integration of social science, health and inequalities and [his] invaluable role as a mentor and global leader."

Henning Tiemeier will receive the 10th Annual Leon Eisenberg Award established by the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital in the Department of Pediatrics. As part of the award, he will deliver the Ludwik Szymanski Lecture at the Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds at Boston Children's Hospital on December 4.

Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald , Research Scientist, received one of ten travel awards to attend the Resilience and Reserve in Aging workshop, supported by the American Federation for Aging Research and the NIH Institute of Aging.

In November, David Williams will receive the Harvard Faculty Humanitarian Award from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. This award is given annually to a Harvard University faculty whose work aligns with that of the recipient of the Elisabeth B. Weintz Humanitarian Award. This year’s Weintz awardee is Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy . 

Daly , J.G. , Gortmaker, S.L., Mozaffarian, R.S., Lee, R.M., Kenney, E. “A mixed-methods investigation of how drinking water access and quality concerns influence student health in a large urban school district.” American Public Health Association Annual Meeting: Philadelphia, PA.

Emmons, KM. “ Implementation Science Methods to Achieve Optimal Patient-Centered Outcomes”. International Society of Quality of Life Research. Oct 22, 2019: San Diego, CA.

Godwin EG  and Moore LB. “Navigating (Un)Familiar Terrain: Experiences of Adolescent Siblings of Transgender Youth.” Canadian Professional Association of Transgender Health Biennial Conference: Montreal, QC, CAN. [Nov 1]

Charlton BM, Brown C, Godwin EG , Jonestrask C, Coles M, Agénor M, Katz-Wise SL. "Healthcare providers’ perspectives on factors related to sexual and gender minority adolescents’ experiences of reproductive healthcare visits." American Public Health Association Annual Meeting: Philadelphia, PA. [Nov 5]

Kim, E.S. ,  Shiba, K. , Rimm, E.,  Kubzansky, L.D.  (November, 2019). "Sense of purpose in life and health behaviors over time." Gerontological Society of America Annual Conference: Austin, TX.

Kim, E.S. , Ryff, C., Hassett, A., Brummett, C., Yeh, C., Strecher, V. (November, 2019). "Sense of purpose in life and reduced likelihood of future drug misuse." Gerontological Society of America Annual Conference: Austin, TX.

Krieger N. Introduction to: “Passion, politics, & public health: celebrating 25 years of the Spirit of 1848 – for radical science & health justice.” Presentation for Spirit of 1848 session, organized by Krieger, at the American Public Health Association 147 ^th annual meeting, November 5, 2019, Philadelphia, PA.

 

Krieger N. A brief history of the Spirit of 1848 Caucus – 25 years of fighting forward for

radical science & health justice. Presentation at special session organized by Krieger for the Spirit of 1848 Caucus, American Public Health Association, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2019.

Koh, K., Roncarati, J.S. “Health Care Spending and Utilization in Unsheltered and Sheltered Homeless Individuals.” 15th annual International Street Medicine Symposium. October 22, 2019.

 

Roncarati, J.S. , Tachick, R., Tiemeier, H. , Vanderweele, T. , O’Connell, J.J. “Housing Boston’s Chronically Homeless Rough Sleepers: 14-Years Later.” 15th annual International Street Medicine Symposium. October 23, 2019.

 

Kohler, R.K. , Aguiar, A., Roncarati, J.S. , Chatterjee, P. , Henry, C., Viswanath, K. “Barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer prevention among homeless women.” 2019 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo. Philadelphia, PA, November 5 ^th , 2019, 4p. Session #4323.0. Caucus on Homelessness.

 

Roncarati, J.S. , Tachick, R., Tiemeier, H. , Vanderweele, T. , O’Connell, J.J. “Housing Boston’s Chronically Homeless Rough Sleepers: 14-Years Later.” 2019 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo. Philadelphia, PA, November 4 ^th , 2019, 1-2p. Session #3191.0. Caucus on Homelessness.

Smith, C. Liberation Medicine: Strategies for health worker activism from the border, immigrant detention centers, the exam room, and the classroom. 2019 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo. Philadelphia, PA, November 5 ^th , 2019,

Stelson, E.,  Bolenbaugh, M., Woods-Jaeger, B., Branch, C., & Ramirez, M.R.  Why does (or doesn’t) this work? A qualitative exploration into how Research Engagement Consultants provided critical feedback for a pediatric mental health clinical trial.  American Public Health Association 147 ^st  Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. (Accepted for Nov 2019).

Tan ASL , Hanby E, Sanders-Jackson A, Lee SJ, Viswanath K, Potter J. Inequities in Tobacco Advertising Exposure Among Young Adult Sexual, Racial, and Ethnic Minorities: Examining Intersectionality of Sexual Orientation with Race and Ethnicity. In: 2019 NIH Tobacco Regulatory Science Meeting . Bethesda, MD; 2019.

Tan ASL , Rees V, Agudile E, et al. E-Cigarette Vaping in Advertising Portrayals and Behavioral Outcomes Research (E-Vapor Study) - a Randomized Controlled Experiment Among Young Adult Dual-Users. In: 2019 NIH Tobacco Regulatory Science Meeting . Bethesda, MD; 2019.

Lee SJ , Sanders-Jackson A, Tan ASL. Do vaping portrayals in e-cigarette ads normalize vaping and smoking behaviors among young adults? Findings from a randomized controlled experiment. In: APHA 2019 Annual Meeting and Exposition . Philadelphia, PA; 2019.

Tan ASL , Hanby E, Lee SJ, Carter-Harris L, Itofukunaga M, Potter, Jennifer. Lung Cancer Screening Awareness, Utilization, Intentions, and Perceptions among Screening-Eligible Sexual and Gender Minority Older Adults. In: APHA 2019 Annual Meeting and Exposition . Philadelphia, PA; 2019.

Vázquez-Otero, C., Martinez Tyson, D., Vamos, C., Romero-Daza, N., Beckstead, J., Daley, E.M. “Using the Multiple Streams Theory to understand the adoption of an HPV vaccine school-entry requirement in Puerto Rico . ” 147 ^th American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.

Vázquez-Otero, C., Martinez Tyson, D., Lockhart, E., Vamos, C., Romero-Daza, N., Beckstead, J., Daley, E.M. “Policy-based strategies to prevent HPV-related cancers: The HPV vaccine school-entry requirement in Puerto Rico.” 147 ^th American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA

Dubale BW, Friedman LE , Chemali Z, Denninger JW, Mehta DH, Alem A, Fricchione GL, Dossett ML, Gelaye B. Systematic review of burnout among healthcare providers in sub-Saharan Africa/ BMC Public Health. 2019 Sept 19. 1-20 . PubMed PMID: 31510975.

https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7566-7

Geller AC , Keske RR, Haneuse S, Davine JA ,  Emmons KM , Daniel CL, Gibson TM, Marghoob A, Mertens AC, McDonald AJ, Robison LL, Howell RM, Whitton JA, Coroiu A, Leisenring WM, Armstrong GT. Skin Cancer Early Detection Practices among Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer Treated with Radiation. J Invest Dermatol. Vol 139(9), pp. 1898-1905, September, 2019.

Kim, E.S. , Tindle, H.A., Kubzansky, L.D. , Liu, S., Duncan, M.S., Manson, J.E., Springfield, S., Salmoirago-Blotcher, E., Shadyab, A.H., Liu, B., Grodstein, F., & DeVivo, I. (in press). The relation of optimism to relative telomere length in older men and women. Psychosomatic Medicine .

Kim, E.S.  (co-1st author), James, P. (co-1st author), Zevon, E.,  Trudel-Fitzgerald, C. ,  Kubzansky, L.D. , & Grodstein, F. (in press). Social media as an emerging data resource for epidemiologic research. American Journal of Epidemiology. 

 

Kim, E.S. ,  Delaney, S. , &  Kubzansky L.D.  (in press). Sense of purpose in life and cardiovascular disease: underlying mechanisms and future directions. Current Cardiology Reports.

Kohler RE, Elliott T, Monare B, Moshashane N, Chatterjee P, Morroni C, Ramogola-Masire D. HPV self-sampling acceptability and preferences among women living with HIV in Botswana. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2019. Epub doi: 10.1002/ijgo.12963  

 

Kohler RE, Elliott T, Monare B, Moshashane N, Ramontshonyana K, Muthoga C, Wynn A, Howett R, Luckett R, Morroni C, Ramogola-Masire D. Performance of vaginal self-sampling for HPV testing among women living with HIV in Botswana. International Journal of STD & AIDS 2019. Epub doi: 10.1177/0956462419868618

Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Poole, E.M., Sood, A. K., Okereke, O. I., Kawachi, I., Kubzansky, L. D., Tworoger, S. S. Social integration, marital status, and ovarian cancer risk: A 20-year prospective cohort study. Psychosomatic Medicine . October, 2019.

Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Zevon, E., Kawachi, I., Tucker-Seeley, R.D., Grodstein, F., & Kubzansky, L.D.  The prospective association of social integration with lifespan and exceptional longevity in women . The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. September, 2019.   

Lee, L.O., James, P., Zevon, E., Kim, E.S., Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Spiro, A., Grodstein, F. & Kubzansky, L.D.  Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in two epidemiologic cohorts of men and women . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , Vol. 116 (37), pp. 18357-18362, September, 2019.

 

Rozanski, A., Bavishi, C.,  Kubzansky, L. D. , Cohen, R.  Association of Optimism With Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis . JAMA Network Open, Vol. 2 (9), September, 2019.

 

Roberts, A. L., Huang, T., Koenen, K. C., Kim, Y., Kubzansky, L. D. , Tworoger, S. S. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Is Associated with Increased Risk of Ovarian Cancer: A Prospective and Retrospective Longitudinal Cohort Study . Cancer Research, Vol. 79 (19), pp. 5113-5120, October, 2019.

Tan ASL , Bigman CA, Mello S, Sanders-Jackson A. Trends in the Prevalence of Exposure to e-Cigarette Aerosol in Public Places Among US Middle and High School Students, 2015 to 2018. JAMA Netw Open . 2019;2(8):e1910184-e1910184. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.10184

Selected media coverage: 

 

Wang SY, Tan ASL, Claggett B, Chandra A, Khatana, SA, Lutsey PL, Kucharska-Newton A, Koton S, Solomon SD, Kawachi I. Longitudinal Associations Between Income Changes and Incident Cardiovascular Disease: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. JAMA Cardiol. October 2019. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2019.3788

SBS Seminar: Cost-Effective Strategies to Prevent Child and Adult Obesity, Improve Population Health, Reduce Health Disparities and Improve Health Equity

Thurs, Nov 7, 1-2pm, Kresge G2

Health Communication Concentration Fall Reception

Tues, Nov 12, 4-5:15pm, Kresge 202A

WGH Working Group Meeting

Wed, Nov 13, 1-2pm, Kresge 204

 

Positive Health Interest Group - 3rd Meeting: Resilience and Climate Change

Thurs, Nov 14, 1-1:50pm, Kresge 708

 

Thinking causally about genders & sex-linked biologies – a critical interdisciplinary dialogue for population health sciences (with Sharon Schwartz and Sarah Richardson)

Tues, Nov 19, 1-2pm, Kresge G2

Happiness Center Seminar Series - George Bonanno: Resilience, Loss, and Trauma

Wed, Nov 20, 1-1:50pm, Kresge G2

Health Communication Concentration Speaker Series: Dr. Danielle Blanch Hartigan

Tues, Nov 26, 1-1:50pm, Kresge 502

WGH Working Group Meeting

Dec 4, 1-2pm, Kresge 708

Beyond LARC Promotion: A Community-Engaged Approach to Reproductive Health Agenda-Setting for States with Aisha Chaudhri, Reproductive Justice Manager at EverThrive Illinois

Fri, Dec 6, 1-2pm, Kresge 200