Dear SBS family, after the ordeal of waiting for some 96 hours – hours of anxiety and uncertainty for some and fear and apprehension for others, Vice-president Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris have been declared the winners of the 2020 Presidential Election.

This momentous event offers lessons for our future.

First, I am assuming that although many of us are thrilled with the election results, I recognize that there are likely to be some who would have preferred a different outcome. This moment calls for a recommitment to our values of respect and understanding as we relate to each other. Let us seek opportunities to listen and learn. 

Second, this election implores us to pause, acknowledge and celebrate its historic significance. For the first time in the history of our democracy some 160 million Americans exercised their right to vote. Relatedly, the winning team received more votes than any prior presidential campaign in history. Also, for the first time in 28 years, an incumbent president was not re-elected. And, arguably, most strikingly, in this election, we witnessed the first woman, the first Black American woman, the first woman of Indian descent, the first Asian American woman, the first woman of immigrant parents to be elected as the vice-president of the United States.  

Third, Sen. Kamala Harris’ accomplishment reminds us of our need to speed up the work of improving health and achieving equity in health. It took 100 years after women were granted the right to vote for Senator Harris to smash this glass ceiling. One hundred years is a long time to wait, and we do not have the luxury of waiting that long to dismantle systemic inequities and to solve some of the pressing social and public health challenges that we face. So, in this moment, let us remind ourselves not only that the arc of the universe bends towards justice, but that it does not bend on its own! Using the best available science, let us all recommit ourselves to the work of bending the arc of justice, but let us also, with determined persistency, pursue this work with the fierce urgency of now.  

Stephanie Child joined the SBS Department in November 2020 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Child received her PhD in Public Health from the University of South Carolina and recently completed her postdoctoral fellowship from the UC Berkeley Social Networks Study. 

"SBS houses a lot of faculty whose work I deeply admire and respect, and whose work has helped to shape my own thinking about social determinants of health. My background is in Health Promotion and Behavior and my research primarily focuses on personal networks as a mediating variable between more upstream determinants and downstream outcomes such as health behaviors and outcomes. I am currently working on an extension of the UC Berkeley Social Networks study, which incorporates clinical data being collected by UCSF's Health eHeart study in a project that will examine personal network characteristics associated with cardiovascular disease and hypertension."

Learn more about Dr. Stephanie Child.

Elizabeth Perry, SM' 17 recently gave a talk to the Fall American Savings Education Council Meeting on October 14 about "Creating Paths of Least Resistance for Higher Savings Levels: New Models in Behavioral Science."

"When I attended HSPH originally, my family stayed in Washington, D.C., and I commuted back and forth each week. I would drop my young son at daycare early Monday morning and catch a shuttle flight to Boston. It was exhausting (and a lot for my husband and I to manage), but I knew the SM program was one-of-a-kind, and the SBS department at Chan was where I needed to be. I soon met other students doing similar balancing acts, and we—along with the wonderful administration in the SBS department—supported each other through a lot.

Especially right now, there are multiple demands on everyone’s time, and when we’re up late at night completing a paper or waking up early to take a final, it can sometimes feel like we’re stretched to our limits. My advice is to find your tribe. Reach out to students in your classes, look for student organizations based on interest (many of them are quite active even in a virtual environment), join class a few minutes early to get to know your professors, make appointments with administrators if you need support. Find your support system of people who care about you and want you to succeed. And lean on them. None of us are in this alone. Chan is full of brilliant and busy people, but in my experience—especially in SBS—they will almost always stop and help you when needed. So hang in there. Everyone wants you to succeed, and we're all just doing the best we can, making our way through this together.

Congratulations to the SBS staff, faculty, and academic appointees who have reached a key milestone at Harvard in calendar year 2020:

Teresa Bellone

Jaime Mchunu

Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald

Whitney Waddell

Rubimbura Rwakabuba

Nancy Krieger

Elizabeth Solomon

Loretta Alamo

Jarvis Chen in November has been promoted to Lecturer on Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Stephanie Child joined the SBS Department in November 2020 as an Assistant Professor.

Scott Delaney received a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Delaney’s research interests include childhood health, well-being, and social epidemiology.

Congratulations to Elaine Lynch who will be retiring at the end of December after 17 years of dedicated service in SBS! While her official title is Financial Coordinator, those who have worked with her know, she fills a much bigger role within SBS. She is the department's friendly face, the holder of departmental knowledge and history, a reliably friendly and sympathetic listener, the source of a good word and a clever quip, and the person to go to when we need help solving a problem. She will be greatly missed.

The Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity is delighted to announce a new addition to their team: Kevin Rhee. Kevin joins the Center as a Research Assistant II.

Kevin is a registered dietitian and received his Master of Science in Public Health degree in International Heath/Human Nutrition from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and History from Albion College.

On October 1, the Harvard Chan Committee on the Advancement of Women Faculty presented Karen Emmons with the Committee on the Advancement of Women Faculty Service Award for her service to the community of women in science at the School.

The Board of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice (formerly the American Orthopsychiatric Association) has awarded David Williams the Presidential Citation for Distinguished Contributions to Mental Health and Social Justice. Dr. Williams presented his Presidential Citation Award Address on October 7 during the Coming Together for Action 2020 virtual conference.

Boskey ER, Ganor O. “Self-Reported Sexual Orientation and Attraction in a Cohort of Binary- and Non-Binary Transmasculine Patients Seeking Gender Affirming Surgery.” 21st Annual Fall Scientific Meeting of SMSNA (Abstract Session 7 - Female Sexual Dysfunction and Transgender Medicine): Online, November 12, 2020.

Brown MJ. "CDC and the Blood Lead Level of Concern". Sigma Xi 2020 Annual Conference: Online, November 6, 2020.

Daly JG, Emmons KM, Johnson J, Ramanadhan S, Lee RM. “Exploring supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) recipient & retailer perceptions of strategies to support healthy eating.” American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo (A Discussion on Factors Affecting Federal Nutrition Assistance Program Participation, Reach, and Impact): Online, October 28, 2020.

Katz-Wise SL. "Development of an intervention to support families with transgender youth." World Professional Association of Transgender Health 26th Scientific Symposium (Innovative Interventions to Support Trans Wellbeing: Methods and Outcomes): Online, November, 2020.

Katz-Wise SL. "Longitudinal effects of gender minority stressors on substance use and related protective factors among transgender youth". World Professional Association of Transgender Health 26th Scientific Symposium (Bolstering Trans Youth Resilience and Wellbeing: Identifying Successful Strategies and Future Directions): Online, November, 2020.

Krieger N. "Structural injustice, COVID-19, and health equity." American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo (President-elect Session: COVID-19: A Case Study in Health Inequities): Online, October 27, 2020.

Krieger N. "The science of racism & COVID-19: the stories bodies tell." American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo (The Science of Racism: What have we learned at the clinical, community and policy level from COVID-19): Online, October 27, 2020.

Krieger N. "Introduction to 'US Census 2020, political power & resources: health equity implications of new differential privacy policy'." American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo (US Census 2020, Political Power & Resources: Health Equity Implications of New Differential Privacy Policy, Especially for Small Populations and Census Tract Data): Online, October 27, 2020.

Krieger N. "Epidemiologic theories & the people’s health." Society for Epidemiologic Research 2020 Conference (Moving forward: Theories, philosophies and histories for education in epidemiology): Online, December 17, 2020.

Pletta DR, Kant JD, Ehrensaft D, MacNish M, Cahill S, Katz-Wise SL. "How the 2016 United States presidential election affected families with transgender and nonbinary adolescents in New England: A qualitative study." American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo (LGBTQ Health Poster Session): Online, October 26, 2020.

Reisner SL, Pletta DR, Campbell J, Mayer KH, Potter J, Gonzalez A, White Hughto JW, Asquith A, Pardee D, Bhasin S, Keuroghlian A. "Methods to ascertain suicide attempts in adult transgender and nonbinary patients: Implications for suicide prevention interventions in community health centers." American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo (Health Equity and Suicide Prevention: A Focus on Marginalized Populations): Online, October 27, 2020.

Reisner SL, Pletta DR, Campbell J, Mayer K, Potter J, Gonzalez A, White Hughto JM, Asquith A, Pardee D, Radix A, Deutsch M, Keuroghlian A. "Suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary adult primary care patients in a community health center cohort." American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo (Health Equity and Suicide Prevention: A Focus on Marginalized Populations): Online, October 27, 2020.

Rosenfeld L. "Applying Health Literacy Principles to Transform Clinical and Community Practice". Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network - Children with Medical Complexity (Final Annual Learning Session): Online, October 28, 2020.

Rima RE. "Working Together to Support Health Literacy." Health Literary in Action - Health Literacy Annual Research Conference (Keynote Address): Online, October 19, 2020.

Trudel-Fitzgerald C, Zevon ES, Kawachi I, Tucker-Seeley RD, Kubzansky LD. "Does smoking explain the association between depression and lung cancer risk?" Society for Epidemiologic Research 2020 Conference: Online, December 16, 2020.

Bassett MT, Galea S. Reparations as a Public Health Priority. A Strategy for Ending Black-White Health Disparities. N Engl J Med. October 8, 2020. http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2026170.

Bassett MT. Tired of science being ignored? Get political. Nature. Vol. 586(7829), October 15, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02854-9.

Bassett MT, Chen JT, Krieger N. Variation in racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality by age in the United States: A cross-sectional study. PLOS Med. Vol. 17(10), e1003402, October 17, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003402.

Roy A, Singh AK, Mishra S, Chinnadurai A, Mitra A, Bakshi O. Mental health implications of COVID-19 pandemic and its response in India. Int J Soc Psychiatry. September 1, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0020764020950769.

Bekalu MA, Gundersen DA, Viswanath K. Beyond Educating the Masses: The Role of Public Health Communication in Addressing Socioeconomic- and Residence-based Disparities in Tobacco Risk Perception. Health Commun. October 15, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1831755.

Tabaac, AR, Jolly D, Boskey ER, Ganor O. Barriers to Gender-affirming Surgery Consultations in a Sample of Transmasculine Patients in Boston, Mass. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. Vol. 8(8), pp. e3008, August, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000003008.

Levin R, Zilli Vieira C, Rosenbaum M, Bischoff K, Mordarski D, Brown MJ. The Urban Lead Burden in Humans, Animals and the Natural Environment. Environ Res. October, 2020. In press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110377

Bruch JD, Zeltzer D, Song Z. Characteristics of Private Equity-Owned Hospitals in 2018. September 29, 2020. https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-1361.

Patel AI, Hecht CE, Cradock AL, Edwards MA, Ritchie LD. Drinking Water in the United States: Implications of Water Safety, Access, and Consumption. Annu Rev Nutr, Vol. 40, pp. 1345-373. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-122319-035707.

Brownson RC, Jacob RR, Carothers BJ, Chambers DA, Colditz GA, Emmons KM, Haire-Joshu D, Kerner JF, Padek M, Pfund C, Sales A. Building the Next Generation of Researchers: Mentored Training in Dissemination and Implementation Science. Acad Med. September 15, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0000000000003750.

Cook EE, Rosenberg SM, Ruddy KJ, Barry WT, Greaney M, Ligibel J, Sprunck-Harrild K, Holmes MD, Tamimi RM, Emmons KM, Partridge AH. Prospective evaluation of the impact of stress, anxiety, and depression on household income among young women with early breast cancer from the Young and Strong trial. BMC Public Health. Vol. 20(1), 1514, October 6, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09562-z.

Armenian SH, Lindenfeld L, Iukuridze A, Echevarria M, Bebel S, Coleman C, Nakamura R, Abdullah F, Modi B, Oeffinger KC, Emmons KM, Marghoob AA, Geller AC. Technology-enabled activation of skin cancer screening for hematopoietic cell transplantation survivors and their primary care providers (TEACH). BMC Cancer. Vol. 20(1), 721, August 3, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-020-07232-2.

Mefford MT, Mittleman, MA, Li BH, Qian LX, Reynolds K, Zhou H, Harrison TN, Geller AC, Sidney S, Sloan RP, Mostofsky E, Williams DR. Sociopolitical stress and acute cardiovascular disease hospitalizations around the 2016 presidential election. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Vol. 117(43), pp. 27054-27058, October 12, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012096117.

Charlton BM, Reynolds CA, Tabaac AR, Godwin EG, Porsch LM, Agénor M, Grimstad FW, Katz-Wise SL. Unintended and teen pregnancy experiences of trans masculine people living in the United States. Int J Transgender Health. October 13, 2020. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2020.1824692.

Bhattacharya N, Budge SL, Pantalone DW, Katz-Wise SL. Conceptualizing relationships among transgender and gender diverse youth and their caregivers. J Fam Psychol. In press. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000815.

Krieger N, Waterman PD, Chen JT. COVID-19 and overall mortality inequities in the surge in death rates by Zip Code characteristics: Massachusetts, January 1 to May 19, 2020. Am J Public Health. October 15, 2020, online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305913.

Krieger N. ENOUGH: COVID-19, Structural Racism, Police Brutality, Plutocracy, Climate Change—and Time for Health Justice, Democratic Governance, and an Equitable, Sustainable Future. Am J Public Health. Vol. 110(11), pp. 1620-1623, November 2020. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305886.

Roberts AL, Kubzansky LD, Chibnik L, Rimm EB, Koenen KC. Association of posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms with mortality in women: A 9-year prospective cohort study. JAMA Netw Open. In press.

Liu J, McLaughlin S, Lazaro A, Halpern-Felsher B. What Does It Meme? A Qualitative Analysis of Adolescents' Perceptions of Tobacco and Marijuana Messaging. Public Health Rep. Vol. 135(5), pp. 578-586, September/October, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354920947399.

Kidd KM, Sequeira GM, Paglisotti T, Katz-Wise SL, Kazmerski TM, Hillier A, Miller E, Dowshen N. "This could mean death for my child": Parent perspectives on laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents. J Adolesc Health. October 13, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.09.010.

White Hughto J, Pletta DR, Gordon L, Cahill S, Mimiaga M, Reisner SL. Negative transgender-related media messages are associated with adverse mental health outcomes in an online sample of transgender adults. LGBT Health. In press.

Boehm JK, Qureshi F, Chen Y, Soo J, Umukoro P, Hernandez R, Lloyd-Jones D, Kubzansky LD. Optimism and cardiovascular health: Longitudinal findings from the CARDIA Study. Psychosom Med. Vol. 82(8), pp. 774-781, October, 2020. http://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000855.

Hanage WP, Testa C, Chen JT, David L, Pechter E, Seminario P, Santillana M, Krieger N. COVID-19: US Federal accountability for entry, spread, and inequities – lessons for the future. Eur J Epidemiol. In press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-020-00689-2.

Trudel-Fitzgerald C, Tworoger SS, Zhang X, Giovannucci EL, Meyerhardt JA, Kubzansky LD. Anxiety, depression, and colorectal cancer survival: Results from two prospective cohorts. J Clin Med. Vol. 9(10), pp. 3174, October, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9103174.

Cooper LA, Williams DR. Excess Deaths From COVID-19, Community Bereavement, and Restorative Justice for Communities of Color. JAMA. Vol. 324(15), pp. 1491-1492, October 12, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.19567.

Tynes BM, English D, Del Toro J, Smith NA, Lozada FT, Williams DR. Trajectories of Online Racial Discrimination and Psychological Functioning Among African American and Latino Adolescents. Child Dev. Vol. 91(5): pp. 1577-1593. September/October, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13350.