EPID News ()

Department of Epidemiology Business Manager Announced

rgoetze@unc.edu (Robert Goetze) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:34:21 -0500

Victoria (Vicki) Moore joined the Department of Epidemiology as Business Manager on June 2, 2008.

Since 2003, Vicki Moore had served as senior contract specialist at the UNC Office of Sponsored Research. Prior to that, she worked for six years as associate director for administration at the International Training in Health (INTRAH) program in the UNC School of Medicine.

Vicki Moore replaced Gail King, who recently retired after 20 years of service to the department.

UNC School of Public Health to help UAE assess environmental health risks

cartwrig@email.unc.edu (Jay Cartwright) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:50:09 -0500

CHAPEL HILL, NC The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) has signed a contract with researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health to lead an assessment of health risks due to environmental factors in the country, one of the fastest developing nations in the world.

UNC researchers will partner with United Arab Emirates Universitys Department of Community Medicine and with the RAND Corporation, a global public policy research institution. This group will work with the Environment Agency Abu-Dhabi and its national partners, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment and Water, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and Health Authority Dubai.

UNC School of Public Health Dean Barbara K. Rimer signed a two-year contract today (June 9), agreeing to provide the environmental and health assessment. The contract is for $7.8 million, about $5 million of which will be earmarked for UNC School

UNC study firms up promise of potential new cervical cancer screening tool

kastlema@email.unc.edu (Linda Kastleman) — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:56:30 -0500

New research into the causes of cervical cancer appears to lend weight to the promise of a potential early detection method that could help prevent the disease.

According to a study involving scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, persistent infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) could be a useful clinical marker for increased risk of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Jennifer Smith, PhD, research assistant professor of epidemiology in the UNC School of Public Health, is senior author of the study.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can cause high-grade cervical lesions, increasing a womans risk of developing invasive cervical cancer.

Currently, Pap smear tests are widely used in screening programs aimed

UNC SPH Department of Epidemiology Faculty Member gets highest faculty award

rgoetze@unc.edu (Robert Goetze) — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:14:50 -0500

A UNC-Chapel Hill HIV/AIDS Doctor has received the school's highest faculty award.

Dr. Myron S. Cohen Director of the Center for HIV/STDs and Infectious Disease received the O. Max Gardner Award on May 9, 2008 from the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Cohen is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on the transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases.

He has been honored for his international leadership in advancing HIV research, treatment and prevention in countries around the world, according to a press release. The award was established in 1949 by the will of Gov. Oliver Max Gardner to recognize faculty who have "made the greatest contributions to the welfare of the human race."

It is the only award for which all faculty members

Poster presentations highlight student research

kastlema@email.unc.edu (Linda Kastleman) — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:32:58 -0500

Two April exhibits illustrated the wide range of research interests being investigated by students at the School of Public Health.

The Schools Office of Research, under the direction of Sandra Martin, PhD, associate dean for research and professor of maternal and child health, sponsored the April 10 Spotlight on Student Research, a School-wide event represented by all seven academic departments and the N.C. Institute for Public Health.

On April 21, students in the program assessment course in the Department of Maternal and Child Health, along with their mentors, presented findings from their evaluations of community programs. Anita Farel, PhD, professor in the Department, teaches the course.

Both events took place in the Michael Hooker Research Center atrium.

Presenters

Too much or too little weight gain poses risks to pregnant mothers, babies

kastlema@email.unc.edu (Linda Kastleman) — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:18:25 -0500

Women who gain more or less than recommended amounts of weight during pregnancy are likely to increase the risk of problems for both themselves and their child, according to a new report by the RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center.

Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, associate professor in the School of Public Healths epidemiology and nutrition departments, is a co-author.

The report, which was supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in partnership with the American Dietetic Association, is based on a systematic review of 150 studies that assessed the short- and long-term effects of maternal weight gain on pregnancy, mothers, fetuses and children. The studies were published in English between January 1990 and October

Mental disorders in parents linked to autism in children

kastlema@email.unc.edu (Linda Kastleman) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:32:25 -0500

Parents of children with autism were roughly twice as likely to have been hospitalized for a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, than parents of other children, according to an analysis of Swedish birth and hospital records by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher and colleagues in the U.S. and Europe.

The study, Parental psychiatric disorders associated with autism spectrum disorders in the offspring, appears in the May 5, 2008, issue of the journal Pediatrics.

We are trying to determine whether autism is more common among families with other psychiatric disorders. Establishing an association between autism and other psychiatric disorders might enable future investigators to better focus on genetic and environmental factors that might be shared among these disorders, said study author Julie

Better hygiene, antibiotics could wipe out most common form of infectious blindness

kastlema@email.unc.edu (Linda Kastleman) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:14:55 -0500

Trachoma, a bacterial infection that can lead to blindness if untreated, has been all but eliminated in the United States, Europe and other parts of the developed world. Now, theres hope that the disease can be controlled in developing countries as well, according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health adjunct epidemiology professor, Dr. Joseph A. Cook, MPH, writing in the April 24, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Trachoma is the worlds leading infectious cause of blindness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 55 million people worldwide are infected and 3 million are visually impaired or blind because of trachoma. Repeated infections can cause scaring and shortening of the upper eyelid. Lashes then scratch the cornea, causing

UNC wins grant to train HIV doctors in Africa

cartwrig@email.unc.edu (Jay Cartwright) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:24:31 -0500

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been awarded a training fellowship from the Gilead Foundation to provide doctors from the African nation of Malawi with postdoctoral training in internal medicine.

Among the poorest nations in the world, Malawi is the site of the UNC Project, a research, care and training facility in the countrys capital, Lilongwe. The facility is a collaborative venture between UNC and Kamuzu Central Hospital.

Malawi has the lowest physician per capita ratio in the world: Two physicians per 100,000 people. Not only are doctors hard to come by, but they are also woefully under trained, said Irving Hoffman, P.A., M.P.H., the Chapel Hill-based director of the UNC Project and director of international operations for the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases.

Kamuzu Central Hospital is a large facility with 1,000

Five new Gillings Innovation Labs address pressing public health needs

kastlema@email.unc.edu (Linda Kastleman) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:01:51 -0500

The UNC School of Public Health has announced funding for five new Gillings Innovation Labs (GILs), ranging from water testing in developing countries to mental health services in North Carolina.

The projects were among 36 proposals submitted earlier this year by School faculty, in collaboration with many other individuals and organizations. Proposals were reviewed by more than 100 subject-matter experts from around the country. Final decisions were made by the Schools senior leadership, including the dean, associate deans and department chairs. Funding is for a maximum two years.

We are delighted by the strong, innovative proposals we received for these, the first competitively awarded GILs, Dean Barbara K. Rimer said. They each address high priority public health needs. All have potential for significant impact. Three of the projects focus specifically on North Carolina, two others on developing countries around the world. Theyre all highly interdisciplinary