Happy Spring!
Even though our Boston weather seems to be uncertain from one day to the next, we are excited in the SBS department to be officially in the season of Spring! The department is alive with activity as faculty sub-committees grapple with identifying the key priority areas for future junior faculty hires, how we can strengthen the mentoring of junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students in the department and how we can further enhance the culture of the department to be a welcoming and supportive place for every student, staff and faculty. Many of our students are attending multiple dissertation defenses as we all look forward to graduation which is just two months away. In addition, some faculty and staff are also busy interviewing candidates to fill the vacant department administrator position.
Similarly, faculty meetings have devoted time to discuss how we can quickly respond to student feedback by more strategic streamlining and sequencing our MPH courses and how we can best address the need of our advanced doctoral students to have dedicated space where they can pursue their research.
It was refreshing to hear from several alumni who welcomed receiving our department’s newsletter. Moving forward, we are looking for ways to have our alumni even more involved with our department and we welcome your ideas. We believe that our current students could greatly benefit from the insights, experience and wisdom of our alumni. One practical idea that we would like to try is to reserve an “Alumni Corner” in future newsletters. This would be a place where our alumni could share advice, opportunities, lessons learned, etc. that could benefit our master’s and doctoral students. We would like to start this with our next newsletter. Please send submissions, ideally limited to 150 words to
Whitney Waddell
for our Fall 1 newsletter that will be published in September. We are eagerly looking forward to hearing from many of you.
Even as we are focused inward, we maintain our historic gaze on what is happening in the world around us and how we all need to prepare ourselves, our communities and our world, not only to maintain our own self-care and well-being, but also to better understand and more effectively address all of the barriers to optimal health that are so prevalent in our society.
David R Williams
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Shoba Ramanadhan
, ScD, MPH, will join the SBS department as an assistant professor this summer. Currently she is a Senior Scientist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and a Research Scientist in SBS. She joined the Center for Community-Based Research at DFCI in 2009 as a Research Scientist and was promoted to Senior Scientist in 2015. Before coming to DFCI in 2009, she was an AHRQ Post-Doctoral Fellow at Yale School of Public Health. Dr. Ramanadhan is no stranger to the SBS department. She completed her doctorate at Harvard Chan in 2008 and has been an instructor in SBS, starting in 2012.
Dr. Ramanadhan is an implementation science scholar forging a unique program of research to develop scientific models to build capacity among community-based organizations (CBOs) to address health disparities in general and cancer disparities in particular. The importance of CBOs and community settings to promote evidence-informed if not evidence-based health promotion is an under-studied and under-appreciated area in the field. Dr. Ramanadhan is one of the few people who is developing a program of research in this area. Her research specifically examines the impact of developing an infrastructure for evidence-based practice in community settings to address disparities through community-based participatory research. She also studies the role of staff social networks and designs and tests interventions to increase staff capacity and leverage social networks to support the use of research evidence in community settings.
We welcome Dr. Ramanadhan to her new role in SBS.
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Farah Qureshi
is a doctoral candidate studying social epidemiology. Her research examines the interplay between young people’s social environments, emotional well-being, and cardiometabolic health. In addition to pursuing a career in research, she is passionate about teaching, and particularly exploring innovative pedagogies to improve public health education at both the graduate level as well as at the undergraduate and high school levels to foster early quantitative skills, analytic thinking, and general interest in issues of population health equity. She holds a master’s degree in child health and development from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University.
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Awards, Honors & Career Updates
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Bryn Austin
was
elected the President of the Board of Directors of the Academy for Eating Disorders, which is the largest professional society in the world for eating disorders clinicians and researchers. Bryn was also awarded as PI a new three-year research grant from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for the study “Military Veterans With Eating Disorders: Prevalence, Incidence, Patterns of Comorbidity, and Cost of Care.” For this study, I will be working with colleague health economist Mihail Samnaliev and colleagues based at the Jamaica Plain, MA, Veterans Administration research center, to generate a rigorous algorithm to identify eating disorders cases in the Veterans Healthcare Administration electronic health records system, then to estimate the health and cost burden of eating disorders for veterans, their families, and the Veterans Healthcare Administration system.
Edmund Lee
, SBS research fellow at the Viswanath Lab was awarded the Top Published Article Award 2019 from the Children, Adolescents, and Media Division of the International Communication Association. His paper entitled “
Explicating problematic social network sites use: A review of concepts, theoretical frameworks, and future directions for communication theorizing
” published in
New Media & Society,
reviewed the state of research in adolescents’ problematic social media use. His paper identified the weaknesses of existing theories in dealing comprehensively with addictive social media use, and proposed that scholars should move beyond looking at adolescents’ deficiencies, and to consider the broader impact of microsystem (e.g. parents and peers) and macrosystem (e.g. surveillance culture) on the developmental trajectory of problematic social media use.
Stella Lee
, SBS postdoc received a Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) Health Disparities Network Travel Scholarship to travel to the SRNT 2019 conference in February.
Marie McCormick
received the 2019 Gravens Award presented at the 32nd Annual
Gravens Conference
in Clearwater Beach, Florida, on March 6, 2019.
David Williams
will co-chair a new National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee on the Future of Nursing 2020-2030. The committee seeks to chart a path for the nursing profession to create a culture of health, reduce health disparities, and improve health and well-being.
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Giles, C.M.
, Jeffrey, J. “CHOICES: How to Pick the Best, Cost-Effective Strategies for Childhood Obesity Reduction.” Virginia’s Sixth Weight of the State Conference: Richmond, VA.
RE Kohler
, A Aguiar, JS Roncarati, P Chatterjee, C Henry, K Viswanath. Feasibility and Acceptability of Self-Sampling for Cervical Cancer Screening among Homeless Women. Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Symposium (March 1, 2019).
Krieger N
. Embodying injustice & the people’s health: an ecosocial analysis. Invited keynote presentation, LIFEPATH: Final Policy Meeting and Stakeholder Consultation, Geneva, March 26, 2019.
Krieger N
. Embodying injustice & the people’s health: an ecosocial analysis. Invited seminar, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal, May 10, 2019.
Kubzansky, LD
(May 17, 2019). Keynote Speech.
Hong Kong Family Welfare Society’s 70
th
Anniversary Symposium, Family Well-being in a Changing Society.
Hong Kong.
Lee, E. W. J.
, Han, Z., Aung, H. H., Aroor, M. R., Li, C., Seidmann, V.,…Theng, Y. L. (2019, May). Examining organizational, cultural, and individual-level factors related to organizational safety and health awareness and risks: A systematic review and metric analysis. Poster to be presented at the annual meeting of International Communication Association (Organizational Communication Division), Washington D. C., USA.
Lee, R.M.
, Cox, J. “OSNAP: Tools for Out of School Time Nutrition and Physical Activity.” 33rd National Child Nutrition Conference: Chicago, IL.
Lee SJ
, Sanders-Jackson A, Tan ASL. Emotions that mediate the effects of enhanced tobacco corrective messages on smokers’ intention to quit smoking. Poster presented at: Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 24th Annual Meeting; February 2019; San Francisco, CA.
Lee SJ
, Sanders-Jackson A, Tan ASL. Effects of current and enhanced tobacco corrective messages on smokers’ intention to quit smoking and intention to purchase cigarettes. Poster presented at: Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 25th Annual Meeting; February 2019; San Francisco, CA.
Lee SJ
, Liu J. Can dynamic framing of descriptive norms increase behavioral intentions when the norm is low?: Examining framing effects and its mechanisms. Abstract to be presented at: 69
th
Annual International Communication Association Conference; Washington, DC.
Lee SJ
, Sanders-Jackson A, Tan ASL. The role of emotions–anger, fear, and disgust–in the effect of enhanced tobacco industry corrective messages on intentions to quit smoking. Abstract to be presented at: 69
th
Annual International Communication Association Conference; Washington, DC.
Trudel-Fitzgerald, C.,
Kawachi, I., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2019, March) Do anger frequency and expression relate to cause-specific mortality risk in men? Oral presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Affective Science conference, Boston, US.
Kubzansky, L.D., Boehm, J.K., Allen, A.R., Vie, L.L., Ho, T.E.,
Trudel-Fitzgerald, C.
, Koga, H., Scheier, L.M., Seligman, M.E.P.
A health asset for primordial prevention: Optimism and risk of hypertension.
Oral presentation at the 76th annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society conference, Vancouver, CAN.
Trudel-Fitzgerald, C.,
Kawachi, I., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2019, March)
Death of anger: Anger frequency and expression, and cause-specific mortality risk.
Oral presentation at the 76th annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society conference, Vancouver, CAN.
Viswanath, K.
(May 17, 2019). Sharing Family Life Information through ICT and Family Wellbeing: Population-based Survey.
Hong Kong Family Welfare Society’s 70
th
Anniversary Symposium, Family Well-being in a Changing Society
. Hong Kong.
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Professor Nancy Krieger's letter to the Boston Globe about New Zealand's powerful response to the Christchurch massacre was published in the Sunday, March 28th issue.
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Austin SB
, Liu SH, Tefft N. Could a tax on unhealthy products sold for weight loss reduce consumer use? A novel estimation of potential taxation effects. Preventive Medicine 2018; 114: 39-46
Krieger N
. Foreword. In: Friel S and Series edited by Krieger N.
Climate Change and the People’s Health
. New York: Oxford University Press 2019; xi-xviii.
Feldman JM, Gruskin S, Coull BA,
Krieger N
. Police-related deaths and neighborhood economic and racial/ethnic polarization, United States, 2015-2016.
Am J Public Health
2019; 109(3):458-464.
James P,
Kim ES,
Kubzansky, L
.
D
.
,
Zevon ES, Trudel-Fitzgerald C, Grodstein F. Optimism and Healthy Aging in Women. American Journal of Preventative Medicine. January, 2019 Vol 56(1),
pgs. 116-124
Kreatsoulas C, Fleegler EW,
Kubzansky, L.D.,
McGorrian CM Subramanian SV. Adverse Childhood Events: A Potent Risk Factor of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Especially Among Young Adults. American Journal of Medicine. January, 2019
,
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2018.12.022
Hahn J, Gold DR, Coull BA, McCormick MC, Finn PW, Perkins DL, Rich-Edwards JW, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E,
Kubzansky, L.D.,
Prenatal Maternal Depression and Neonatal Immune Responses. Psychosomatic Medicine. Volume published ahead of print. February 13, 2019: doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000686.
Lee, E. W. J.
, Ho, S. S., & Lwin, M. O. (2017). Explicating problematic social network sites use—A review of concepts, theoretical frameworks and future direction for communication theorizing.
New Media & Society
, 19, 308-326. doi: 10.1177/1461444816671891
Sabbath EL, Boden LI, Yang GM, Hashimoto D, Dennerlein JT,
Sorensen G
. Paradoxical impact of a patient handling intervention on injury rate disparity among hospital workers. Am J Public Health 2019 Apr;109(4):618-625. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304929.
Kim, E.S., James, P., Zevon, E.,
Trudel-Fitzgerald, C.,
Kubzansky, L.D., & Grodstein, F. (2019) Optimism and healthy aging in women and men.
American Journal of Epidemiology
Yoshihara T,
Zaitsu M
, Shiraishi F, Arima H, Takahashi-Yanaga F, Arioka M, Kajioka S, Sasaguri T.
Influence of genetic polymorphisms and habitual caffeine intake on the changes in blood pressure,pulse rate,and calculation speed after caffeine intake: A prospective,double blind,randomized trial in healthy volunteers
.
J Pharmacol Sci.
2019 Feb 1. pii: S1347-8613(19)30011-8.
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Jerel Calzo's Talk on Gay Straight Alliances
Tues, April 9, 1-1:50pm, Kresge 502
Women, Gender, and Health Working Group Meeting
Wed, April 10, 1-1:50pm, Kresge 708
HCC Seminar Series Presents: Jane Allen of RTI International
Thurs, April 18, 1:00-1:50pm, FXB G11
#MeToo Panel
Thurs, April 18, 1-1:50pm, Kresge 200
SBS Student-Faculty Lunch hosted by Vish Viswanath
Fri, April 19, 1-2pm, Kresge 110
Comparing Survey-Measured Well-being across Groups
Mon, April 22, 1:10-1:15pm, FXB G13
Please join the Center for Work, Health, & Wellbeing in welcoming, Tushar Kundu, Project Specialist at the National Bureau of Economic Research. This talk is co-sponsored by the
Health Education and Research Center (ERC.)
LKS Seminar Series Presents: Dr. Suzanne Segerstrom
Wed, April 24, 1:00-1:50pm, FXB G13
Dr. Suzanne Segerstrom is Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Her research primarily addresses the influence of individual differences in personality, cognition, and emotion on psychological health and physiological functions.
HCC Seminar Series Presents: Bill Ryerson of the Population Media Center
Thurs, May 2, 1:00-1:50pm, FXB G11
Women, Gender, and Health Working Group Meeting
Wed, May 8, 1-1:50pm, Kresge 708
"I, A Black Woman, Resist” Film Screening and Discussion with SBS Alum, Sharrelle Barber.
Thurs, May 9, 1-1:50pm, Location TBD
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Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue | Kresge Building
Boston, MA 02115
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phone: 617.432.1135 | fax: 617.432.3123
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