EHGES Alumnus Alan Tita, MD, PhD, Awarded the prestigious David Sackett Trial of the Year Award from the Society of Clinical Trials

Alan Tita, MD, PhD, who received his PhD in public health with a focus on epidemiology from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in 2007, led the groundbreaking Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy (CHAP) trial, which was recently awarded the prestigious David Sackett Trial of the Year Award from the Society for Clinical Trials.

The CHAP trial evaluated the effects of prescribing blood pressure medication to pregnant women with mild chronic hypertension. Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2022 showed treatment improved pregnancy outcomes without compromising the baby’s growth and overall health.

Tita has served on the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Advisory Council, and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2022 he was also selected to lead the Coordinating Center of the P3 (Pregnancy and Postpartum/Postnatal) EQUATE (Enhancing Access and QUAlity to Achieve Equitable Maternal and Infant Health) Network – an American Heart Association Health Equity Research Network.

Regarding his many accolades, Tita said, “Besides my family and friends who keep me grounded, I’m thankful to my colleagues, mentors, and my own mentees from whom I have learned a lot. I look forward to more collaborations to improve health care and to continue to mentor others.”



Read more about Tita on the UTHealth Houston News website.

EHGES FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

New Phone App Offers Personalized Smoking Prevention and Cessation Services for Healthcare Providers

The diagnosis and continuous care of chronic conditions such as HIV infection present potential teachable moments for delivering smoking prevention and cessation interventions for patients.

Assistant Professor Irene Tami-Muary, DrPH, and a team of researchers created and tested the decision-T app that can potentially increase HIV-care providers’ engagement in offering smoking prevention and cessation behavioral and pharmacotherapy recommendations to their patients briefly and accurately.

You can read more from the study here.

Gitter Awarded Outstanding PhD Dissertation Award

Assistant Professor Anna Gitter, PhD, received the Outstanding PhD Dissertation Award in the field of Water Policy and Socioeconomics at the UCOWR/NIWR conference on June 14 in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Gitter was also honored with the JCWRE Paper of the Year 2022 award for her paper, "Total maximum daily loads and Escherichia coli trends in Texas freshwater streams," which she co-authored with Research Specialist Michael Schramm, MS, and Associate Director of Research - Physical Sciences Lucas Gregory, PhD, both with the Texas Water Resources Institute.

You can read the award-winning study published in the Journal of Contemporary Water Research.

New Study Finds

Volunteerism CanBoost

Well-Being in Kids

School of Public Health researchers recently published a study that found that US kids who volunteer in their community are healthier overall, have a more positive outlook on life, and are less likely to have anxiety, behavioral issues, and depression.

The study was led by Assistant Professor Kevin Lanza, PhD, Professor Steven Kelder, PhD, and HPBS Assistant Professor Ethan Hunt, PhD, and was published in the Jama Network Open.

Read more at UTHealth Houston News website.

New Pilot Study Found E-Health Obesity Model Feasible for Hispanic Families

Professor Sarah Messiah, PhD, published a pilot study to assess the effect of a bilingual e-health intervention for patient families, especially those from vulnerable backgrounds.

Dynamo Kids!, an e-health pilot intervention, demonstrates that e-health interventions may be feasible for some low-income, predominantly Hispanic families and may impact users by improving parenting behaviors and reducing BMI and child BMI, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can read more about the pilot study published in the latest issue of Childhood Obesity Journal.

SWCOEH Partners with National Center for Farmworker Health to Support Vulnerable Populations

A record-setting summer has wreaked havoc across Texas in the form of blistering heat waves. For Texans, exposure to the extreme heat warrants caution and public health intervention with the most at-risk populations, including outdoor workers—agriculture, construction, oil and gas, landscaping, and more. 

The Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, which supports health and safety in workplaces and communities, funds annual pilot projects to alleviate the hazardous factors affecting labor workers.

Recently, the Center collaborated with the National Center for Farmworker Health to develop bilingual educational materials about heat stress on outdoor workers to distribute to local clinics and community health workers. The Center's involvement in providing collateral to support farmworkers' health strengthens the role of public health by providing implementation strategies to support vulnerable populations. 

You can read more about the SWCEOH's important outreach here.

EHGES NEWS

AlHce Conference in Phoenix, Arizona

#EHGES Students On Location!

MPH student Ambereen Khan was invited to present her research study during the poster presentation at the AIHce 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The investigation tested various self-protection masks used by dental hygienists in the workplace. Working under Assistant Professor Wei-Chung Su, PhD, Interim Program Director of Industrial Hygiene, Khan and MPH student Shafali Patel are NIOSH trainees in the Industrial Hygiene program. Both students and Su are co-investigators of the new study.

Health Equity Collective Quarterly Meeting Wrap-Up

EHGES Center for Health Equity serves as the backbone lead organization for the Health Equity Collective, a systems coalition of over 200 organizations in the Greater Houston region focused on addressing social determinants of health needs by improving systems capacities for care coordination. Health Equity Collective quarterly meeting was held on June 20 with close to 150 attendees representing health systems, social service agencies and academic institutions. 

To join or learn more visit the Center for Health Equity website or contact Heidi McPherson.

Student Spotlight:

Ariana Garza, MPH

Registration for Fall 2023

is now open!

UPCOMING EVENTS

EHGES NOTES

Fall Practicum Opportunity - Health Equity Research Group with EHGES Associate Professor Irene Tami-Maury, DrPH

The Health Equity Research group will support research efforts to implement cancer prevention and control interventions for marginalized groups. They will apply epidemiological methods to various settings and situations in public health practice and have the opportunity to implement and assess mHealth-based interventions and can contribute to abstracts for scientific conferences and manuscript writing.

The deadline is Friday, August 11. Please submit your CV to HERG@UTH.TMC.EDU

Student InterCouncil (SIC) seeks international and member-at-large applicants

Applications due Monday, August 7  

Both new and returning students are invited to apply for the international and member at large member vacancies, which need to be filled for the 2023-2024 academic year. SIC at UTHealth Houston is your institutional student governance organization. SIC is responsible for allocating money to fund projects proposed by registered student organizations, awarding scholarships to deserving UTHealth Houston students, giving feedback to the administration, planning events, and, most of all, serving as representatives to all UTHealth Houston students. SIC is comprised of 24 student representatives – three from each of our six schools, three international students, and three members at large students. The student representatives selected will serve through April 30, 2024. Visit the SIC website to learn more about the organization, how to become involved, and how to join the SIC. 

For questions regarding the application process, contact Tanedra Booker, associate director.

Practicum Information - The Office of Public Health Practice and Engagement has several resources available on mySPH for students and faculty to assist with the practicum process. All students interested in enrolling for the Fall semester must submit a learning contract that outlines their project by August 21. The learning contract must be submitted and approved by the faculty mentor, preceptor, and practicum office before the Office of Public Health Practice and Engagement issues the registration code.

If you have any questions, please send an email to practicum@uth.tmc.edu. 

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Calling all EHGES alums! EHGES in the News would like to include alum updates and news to feature in our monthly spotlight! Please email Jana Satterwhite, Communications Specialist, to be considered for our upcoming newsletters.

Reminder: For more information on how to handle media requests, see the UTHealth Houston HOOP policy here. If you are contacted by the media, please call the UTHealth Houston Media Relations team on the hotline, 713-500-3030 - someone is available 24/7. Deb Lake is the designated School of Public Health contact. Always choose to call the hotline for immediate assistance.

SUBMISSIONS AND NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

All campuses are encouraged to submit items for consideration for the monthly EHGES newsletter. Please feel free to submit your items to sphehges@uth.tmc.edu.