Welcome, new EHGES Students!

UTHealth Houston School of Public Health kicked off the school year with two days of orientation presentations, a student resource fair and a fun social to welcome all new and returning students. Check out more photos from our EHGES orientation sessions, please visit our Flickr page!

EHGES FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

New Research Highlights Need for Wastewater Surveillance Tracking for Pandemic Preparedness

EHGES Assistant Professor Fuqing Wu, PhD, has published new research highlighting the importance of wastewater surveillance in tracking COVID-19.

Wu and EHGES Assistant Professor Anna Gitter, PhD, Professor Kristina Mena, PhD, and graduate research assistant Jeremiah Oghuan, MPH, have collaborated with researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, recently published in Water Research.

This latest research advocates integrating wastewater data with dynamic modeling to better understand and predict viral disease outbreaks. This approach enhances pandemic preparedness and population health by providing a mechanistic understanding of infectious disease dynamics and enabling a predictive and responsive monitoring system.

Assistant Professor Awarded

NIH K01 Grant, New Publication

Assistant Professor Jemima John, PhD, has been awarded a $388,000 NIH K01 grant to utilize a systems-level perspective to examine the impact of a patient-informed (key informant interviews) Medical-Legal Partnership intervention on health-harming legal needs in pediatric families enrolled across UT Physicians multispecialty clinics with mentors EHGES Professor Shreela Sharma, PhD, Professor Thomas Murphy, MD, McGovern Medical School and Associate Professor Chuck Huber, PhD with Texas A&M Health Science Center.

John also published a qualitative research study with Sharma, that was a coalition-driven examination of organization capacity to address food insecurity in Greater Houston. The study was conducted as part of the Houston Health Equity Collective, a systems coalition consisting primarily of healthcare and social service organizations co-led by Sharma and Senior Project Manager Heidi McPherson, MPH.

You can read more from the recent study in Frontiers in Public Health.

EHGES Professor Designated Fellow by the Health Physics Society

EHGES Professor Robert Emery, DrPH, was designated as a Fellow of the Health Physics Society at their annual meeting at the National Harbor Center in Maryland on July 19, 2023. The Health Physics Society is the country’s most prestigious professional organization for radiation protection specialists. Emery, who also serves as Vice President for Safety, Health, Environment, and Risk Management for UTHealth Houston, was previously designated as a Fellow of the American Industrial Hygiene Association in 2008.

New Study Examines Learning Modality for Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Professor Sarah Messiah, PhD, Assistant Professor Gregory Knell, PhD, and EHGES student Casey Cox, MPH, published a recent study examining the association between various learning modalities and student quality of life. The pandemic shifted in-person learning to virtual/hybrid learning, potentially impacting children's development.

Read more of the study published in The Journal of School Health.

EHGES NEWS

Guillot-Wright Awarded Nearly $1 Million CDC Grant for Fishermen Research

EHGES Associate Professor Shannon Guillot-Wright, PhD was awarded nearly $1 million from the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

The grant, “Navigating the Waters of the US Healthcare System: Improving the Biopsychosocial Health of Fishing Industry Workers,” will support studying the bidirectional relationship between work-related injuries and substance use.

The 36-month study will investigate commercial fishermen who face dangerous working conditions, have limited sick leave benefits, and lack preventive healthcare access. Guillot-Wright’s team will implement and study the feasibility of using healthcare navigators to identify and address biopsychosocial factors that lead to increased injury and substance misuse, as well as evaluate whether and how participants use and access the healthcare navigators.

You can read more about the grant on the SWCOEH webpage here.

EHGES on Location

#EHGES on Location

At the National Birth Defects Prevention Network 2023, Assistant Professor Jenil Patel, PhD, presented key findings on racial/ethnic disparities surrounding congenital heart defects. His study brings to light important information that demands action on addressing social determinants affecting congenital heart disease mortality.

UPCOMING EVENTS

EHGES NOTES

Predoctoral & Postdoctoral Fellowships in Obesity-Related Cancer Research

Predoctoral Applicants $36,000 per year + benefits

• Enrolled full-time in a Ph.D. program in an obesity or cancer-related research discipline for their dissertation
• Completed doctoral comprehensive exams successfully

Postdoctoral Applicants - NIH NSRA stipend levels starting

• at $56,484 per year + benefits Must have a Ph.D. or other equivalent doctoral degree by fellowship start Demonstrated experience working in relevant research or describe the knowledgeable interest

The NCI U54 Acres Homes Cancer Prevention Collaboration Applications are accepted & and reviewed on a rolling basis.

Open to U.S. Citizens and permanent residents Up to three (3) years of salary support.

For more information please visit: www.CancerPreventionTraining.org or

email AcresHomesCPC@MDAnderson.org 

New film from TEPHI selected for screening at APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo. The film was selected from a large number of excellent submissions and was judged to be of high quality and interest. You can view the film here on YouTube.

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.