Program Highlight: The United Community Clinic

The Penn Current recently published a story on the United Community Clinic (UCC) highlighting the great work of Penn students to meet community health needs. Fellows Heather Klusaritz, Brian Work, and Anne Teitelman direct this great program. The full story can be found here.


MPH Alumni Spotlight

Tigist Hailu, MPH, has been named to the new Penn Memory Center position of Director for Diversity in Research and Education.

"A main focus of the position will be recruitment and retention of research participants. Her work will include efforts to expand African-American representation in the  National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center study, encouraging participants to participate in follow-up visits, and increasing contributions to MRI and PET databases."  This information was retrieved from the Penn Memory Center website. 


Announcing the Walk with a Future Doc Program

WWAD is a community walking group in West Philadelphia that brings together community members, Penn medical students, and Master of Public Health students. Our medical student led Walk with a Future Doc chapter will be one of the first. Nationwide, there are nearly 300 physician-led Walk with a Doc locations. 

Our goal is to promote health and well-being through education and exercise. Walks will be held this Spring at Kingsessing Recreation Center every 2nd and 4th Saturday at 10:00 am.


Next Wellness Walk for UPenn Employees: Friday, April 28, at 12:00PM 

We meet at the Ben Franklin statue in front of College Hall at 12 noon. The walk begins with stretching, followed by a 2 mile walk around campus and beyond.   This is a great opportunity to get away from your desk and walk with others. Plus- you'll receive points for Penn HR's "Be In the Know Campaign". 

The dates of the upcoming Wellness Walks, as well as other free activities for Faculty and Staff, can be found here. 


Women Also Know Stuff Website 

"The site is intended to provide an accessible database of female scholars in political science in a variety of areas. This site was created and is maintained by political scientists and, as such, focuses on politics, policy, and government, but also on methods in the social sciences. (We're certain that women know stuff in other fields too, though!). Currently there are   1238  experts listed on this website. If you are a scholar who would like to be listed as a scholar, please visit their signup page."

CPHI Events

The Intersection of Community, Academia, and Grantmaking
Friday, April 28, 2017 at 8:30 AM | Light Breakfast and Lunch Provided 
Claire M. Fagin Hall Auditorium

This Community Scholars symposium offers exposure to developing, pitching, and sustaining innovative project ideas that utilize community-academic partnerships.

Participants will:
1. Gain insights into the approaches of developing and sustaining successful community academic partnerships.
2. Learn from grantmakers, community organizations, and researchers effective strategies to advance ideas.
3. Observe a Shark Tank style pitch session where Community Scholars pitch ideas and receive feedback from a panel of funders and experts.
The symposium is part of the Community Scholar's Training Program, a partnership initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar's Program and the Center for Public Health Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania.





Keynote Speaker: Donald F. Schwarz
Vice President, Program
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation





MPH Student & Faculty Lunch Talk with Dr. Reddy (Public Health Foundation of India)
Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 12:00 PM | Lunch Provided 
John Morgan Wood Room (2nd Floor, John Morgan Building, right by rooms 239B and 239C)

Dr. Reddy is President of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and formerly headed the Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was appointed as the First Bernard Lown Visiting Professor of Cardiovascular Health at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2009. He is also an Adjunct Professor of the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University and Honorary Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney. PHFI is engaged in capacity building in Public Health in India through education, training, research, policy development, health communication and advocacy.


CPHI Fellows in the News

Emotion Regulation an Important Link to HIV/STI Prevention in Black Adolescents with Mental Illnesses

"Nearly half of all US adolescents aged 13 to 19 are sexually active. But black adolescents, who represent only 14 percent of that population, account for 63 percent of new cases of HIV among adolescents. In addition, it's estimated that more than 2 million adolescents, many of whom are sexually active, experience a major depressive episode.  Could unique psychological factors that hamper emotional regulation help explain differences in HIV/STI risk-related sexual behaviors among heterosexually active black youth with mental illnesses?" A new study by Bridgette Brawner investigates this question. 

Gender & Sexuality Policy Lab Bridges Gap Between Public, Private Institutions

"The  SexGen Policy lab, co-lead by founding SP2 faculty members  Amy Castro Baker, PhD, MSW, and Amy Hillier, PhD, MSW, aims to build and disseminate knowledge at the intersection of critical theory, gender, and sexuality with a distinct emphasis on applied policy, economic, and housing research." Find more information about this program here. 

Why this local researcher is compelled to march for science in Philly

"The lead organizers of the  March for Science Philadelphia  are a fusion of mostly  #womeninscience  (there is one man) who are scientists, science educators, science communicators, science advocates and friends of science. We are a group dedicated to making the March for Science PHL an awe-inspiring jawn, rich with support from a wide spectrum of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) fields. Marion Leary is behind this event taking place on April 22." Find out more! 

Care for Autism and Other Disabilities - A Future in Jeopardy

"The false belief that vaccines cause autism has been forcefully countered by the scientific community, 1,2  which recognizes that vaccines are among the most valuable medical innovations of our time. President Donald Trump's apparent openness to a long-debunked link between vaccines and autism risks encouraging Americans to stop vaccinating their children, posing a serious public health threat."  Read the full article by David Mandell here. 

Geographic Variation in Medicaid Acceptance Across Michigan Primary Care Practices in the Era of the Affordable Care Act

"Coverage and access have improved under the Affordable Care Act, yet it is unclear whether recent gains have reached those regions within states that were most in need of improved access to care. Karin Rhodes and collaborators examined geographic variation in Medicaid acceptance among Michigan primary care practices before and after Medicaid expansion in the state, using data from a simulated patient study of primary care practices." The full article can be found here. 

The Role of Community Health Centers in Reducing Racial Disparities in Spatial Access to Primary Care

"Racial minorities are more likely to live in primary care shortage areas. Researchers including David Grande, Daniel Polsky, and MPH alum Jane Seymour sought to understand community health centers' (CHCs) role in reducing disparities. They  surveyed all primary care practices in an urban area, identified low access areas, and examined how CHCs influence spatial accessibility." Full article here. 
Want to become a CPHI Fellow?
CPHI welcomes new voices and representations from various sectors related to health. 
To become a Fellow, please visit our website and apply!

Other Public Health Events

Global Health & Innovation Conference
April 22-23, 2017 | Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
14th annual conference

If you are interested in attending the Global Health & Innovation Conference, you may simply register online. For those interested in applying for the Social Impact Labs and the $10,000 and $5,000 GHIC Innovation Prize, please be sure to review the guidelines and submit the required 250-word abstract related to your current program progress. Based on the quality of the abstract submission, you may be invited to submit a video application.  

College of Physicians Public Health Grand Rounds
May 24, 2017 from 5:30-7:00 PM 
Mutter Museum |19 South 22nd Street

Poverty as a Public Health Issue
May 24, 2017 | 5:30-7:00pm

2017 Training Course in MCH Epidemiology
June 12-16, 2017 
Clearwater Beach, FL |  Wyndham Grand Hotel

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and CityMatCH will again offer a Training Course in Statistical MCH Epidemiological Methods as part of their ongoing effort to enhance the analytic capacity of state and local health agencies. The training course is an intensive program that combines lectures, discussion, hands-on exercises, and opportunities for individualized technical assistance. Two webinars prior to the training will set the stage for the onsite course and several post-course webinars will serve to build upon and extend the in-person training. More Information 

August 14-17, 2017
Bethesda, Maryland 

The program will feature lectures, mock grant review, seminars, and small group discussions on research relevant to minority health and health disparities. It will also include sessions with NIH scientific staff engaged in related health disparities research across the various institutes and centers.
 
The HDRI program is intended for early stage research investigators. Applications will only be accepted from post-doctoral fellows, assistant professors, or individuals in similar early stage research career positions who are engaged in minority health and health disparities research. Early career researchers from diverse backgrounds interested in the conduct of health research, within academic, community-based, non-profit, and other non-academic settings, are encouraged to apply.
 
The application process will be opening soon. The due date for application submissions is May 12, 2017, 11:59pm (EST).
Public Health Job & Fellowship Opportunities

Case Western Reserve University Transdisciplinary Fellowship in Primary Care Research

Calling clinicians and non-clinicians (e.g., social scientists, public health professionals, and others with doctoral degrees) to join a dynamic, interdisciplinary cohort of emerging leaders in primary care research. The program welcomes diversity in fellows' backgrounds and interests, and provides flexible training to accommodate this diversity. This prestigious 2-3 year full-time fellowship through Case Western Reserve University is funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). More information. 
Innovations and Resources in the Field

NIH Funding Opportunity for Community Partners: All of Us
DESCRIPTION:
From the National Institutes of Health (NIH):

"The National Institutes of Health has announced a new opportunity for organizations interested in helping engage volunteers in the All of Us Research Program, part of the Precision Medicine Initiative. This funding opportunity, open to national and regional organizations, as well as local community groups, will support activities to promote enrollment and retention in the All of Us Research Program across diverse communities.

All of Us is an ambitious effort to gather data over time from 1 million or more people living in the United States, with the ultimate goal of accelerating research and improving health. Unlike research studies that are focused on a specific disease or population, All of Us will serve as a national research resource to inform thousands of studies, covering a wide variety of health conditions. Researchers will use data from the program to learn more about how individual differences in lifestyle, environment and biological make-up can influence health and disease. By taking part, people will be able to learn more about their own health and contribute to an effort that will advance the health of generations to come."

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Go to  https://nnlm.gov/bhic/g52c

A Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) will be opening in Philadelphia in 2017.  It will  be located at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.  An FSRDC provides approved researchers with a secure environment to access restricted-use microdata from the Census Bureau, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, National Center for Health Statistics, and Bureau of Labor Statistics.  More information about the FSRDC network is available at  http://www.census.gov/fsrdc .

Penn Bike Commuter Reimbursements 
Beginning January 2017, Penn will reimburse all full-time benefits-eligible faculty or staff who bike to work more than half the time. Coverage will be up to $20 per month or $240 per year in reimbursements.This benefit will be on top of salary without being considered taxable income.  Read more. 

For those interested in beginning to bike to work, or switching up their route, The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia created several maps of bike lanes in Philadelphia, including one that shows all bus stops located within a quarter mile of the region's circuit trails.  Maps can be found here. 

Be sure to check out the  ASPPH Friday Letter  for News, Events, and Opportunities.  Click here  to sign up to receive the letter. 
Please send us news and events to include in this digest: cphi.upenn@gmail.com
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