Fall 2 Newsletter
Dear SBS community:

As the days grow shorter and the leaves turn color, my thoughts turn to TWO things you should all be doing, namely,

(1) Get your flu shots today. As you know, last year’s flu season was one of the deadliest in years. This year’s vaccine is quadrivalent – yes, you get protection from four strains for the price of one shot in the arm (actually it’s free). So stop procrastinating & get protected!

(2) Get a light box & treat yourself to some light therapy, especially if you’re like me & start to feel a bit blue as the day length grows shorter. Bathing in 10,000 lux for 30 minutes after you wake up does the trick. Our puppy dog loves it (see pic.)

Naturally, I would prefer to forget about the coming winter and look forward to the spring. To that end, I would like to alert you to some exciting new Spring courses added to our Department:

  • WGH 201: Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice taught by Elizabeth Janiak

  • SBS 202: Child Psychiatric Epidemiology taught by Henning Tiemeier

  • SBS 203: Program Planning and SBS 204: Program Implementation and Evaluation both taught by Rebekka Lee

Enjoy the fall, and don't forget to VOTE on November 6th!

Ichiro
Student Spotlight
Estivaliz Castro is a second year HSB-65 student interested in program planning, implementation and evaluation. In this Q&A she shares her experiences as a participant of the American Evaluation Association - Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI) and as a teaching assistant in the Leaders in Health program offered at the Harvard T.H. Chan School.
Arrivals
Jaime Mchunu has joined the Department to serve as the new administrator for the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness. Jaime has worked as an administrator and program manager with a number of organizations, including here at Harvard with the Defeating Malaria Initiative. Jaime has a Masters degree in Development Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and has deep experience with program management, cultivating collaborative relationships with relevant partners, and translating research findings for multiple audiences including students and the general public. As our new administrator, Jaime will be managing all aspects of Center operations and working closely with the Center directors.
Awards & Honors
Multiple SBS faculty members were nominated for the 2018 Outstanding Postdoc Mentor Award including Kirsten Davison, Laura Kubzansky, Glorian Sorensen, SV Subramanian, and Vish Viswanath - this is the most faculty nominated from any single department; >30% of all nominated faculty were from SBS!
Felton Earls , Professor of Human Behavior and Development, Emeritus, was the recipient of two recent awards: the 2018 Frances Bonner Award, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital (October 4, 2018) and the 2018 Leon Eisenberg Award, Boston Children’s Hospital (October 17, 2018.)

Research!America has named David R Williams the 2019 recipient of the Herbert Pardes Family Award for National Leadership in Advocacy for Research. Research!America is the nation’s largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority.
Marie McCormick: The Department celebrated both the long-standing training program in Maternal and Child Health (MCH), and the career of Dr. Marie C. McCormick with an afternoon symposium on September 27, 2018. Speakers addressed both the long history of MCH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, as well as the likely directions for the future. They also placed Dr. McCormick’s contributions into this historical stream. Watch a special video montage honoring Dr. McCormick!
Presentations
David R Williams will be the Opening General Session Keynote Speaker at the American Public Health Association 2018 Annual Meeting.
Cradock AL , Jeffrey J, Case S. Improving population health and reducing disparities in obesity: Cost-effective strategies to promote health equity. 12 th Annual Southern Obesity Summit. Charleston, WV. (October)

Cradock AL . Childhood obesity policy solutions: Findings from the CHOICES Project. The Obesity Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting. Nashville, TN. (November)

Gortmaker SL . Improving translation of research to policy and practice: Consideration of effectiveness, reach, cost, and cost-effectiveness . The Obesity Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting. Nashville, TN. (November)

Hswen, Y. 2018 The Digital Phenotype: Leveraging Novel Data Streams to Improve Population Health . 2018 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting. Chicago, USA. Oct. 2018.

Hswen, Y.   Applying Informatics Methods to Explore Inequities in Health Care among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LBGT) Twitter Users . American Public Health Association's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, CA, USA. Nov. 2018.

Krieger N . Spirit of 1848 Caucus: Passion, Politics, and Public Health (1994-2018) – the collective struggle for health equity. Invited presentation for the APHA Caucus Collaborative session “Equity rising: The role of APHA Caucuses in advancing health equity, in and outside of APHA,” American Public Health Association 146 th annual meeting, Nov 12, 2018, San Diego, CA.

Krieger N. Introduction to: “Taking on adversaries & creating new allies in the collective struggle for health equity: insights from initiatives across the public health rainbow.” Invited presentation for Spirit of 1848 session, American Public Health Association 146 th  annual meeting, November 13, 2018, San Diego, CA.

Rebekka M. Lee , ScD, Ra'Shaun Nalls, MPA and Hila Bernstein, MPH (presenting with community partner Sahar Lawrence of Urban Edge Housing Development) Leaders in Health Community Training Program: Building Capacity for Health Equity. American Public Health Association's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, CA, USA. Nov. 2018.
 
Rebekka M. Lee , ScD, Jessica L. Barrett, MPH, James Daly, Rebecca Mozaffarian, MS MPH, Catherine M. Giles, MPH, Angie Cradock, ScD and Steven L. Gortmaker, PhD
Training models for Implementation of Nutrition and Physical Activity Promotion Afterschool. American Public Health Association's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, CA, USA. Nov. 2018.

Erica Kenney, ScD, MPH, Angie Cradock, ScD, Michael Long, ScD, Jessica L. Barrett, MPH, Catherine M. Giles, MPH, Zachary J. Ward, MPH,  Jennifer Reiner, MPH  and Steven Gortmaker, PhD, Strategies to promote water consumption in schools: Impacts on population health, health equity, and cost-effectiveness .   American Public Health Association's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, CA, USA. Nov. 2018.

Schwartz, G ., Grindal, T. Are racial disparities in disability identification only driven by income?: Evidence from students in three states. American Public Health Association's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, CA. Nov. 2018.

Stelson, E.,  Kulkacek, L., Frasso, R., Hall, M., & Guevara, J. Perspective on breastfeeding from mothers with postpartum depression symptoms: A qualitative assessment.  American Public Health Association's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, CA, USA. Nov. 2018.

David R. Williams. The Impact of the Reduction of Health Care and Social Services on the Health of Vulnerable Populations. American Public Health Association's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, CA, USA. Nov. 2018.

Zatz, L.Y. , Bleich, S.N., Goldenberg, M., Hersh, E. Physicians' Political Ideology and Clinical Management of Obesity. ObesityWeek, Nashville, TN. Nov. 2018.
Publications
Hswen, Y ., Sewalk, K. C., Alsentzer, E., Tuli, G., Brownstein, J. S., & Hawkins, J. B. (2018). Investigating inequities in hospital care among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals using social media.  Social Science & Medicine 215 , 92-97.

Hswen, Y ., Naslund, J. A., Brownstein, J. S., & Hawkins, J. B. (2018). Online Communication about Depression and Anxiety among Twitter Users with Schizophrenia: Preliminary Findings to Inform a Digital Phenotype Using Social Media.  Psychiatric Quarterly , 1-12.

Krieger N. Foreword: For the People's Health - Why this Book Series of Small Books with Big Ideas? In: Beckfield J and Series edited by Krieger N. Political Sociology and the People’s Health . New York: Oxford University Press, 2018; vii-xiii.

Krieger N. Introduction. In: Krieger N. 역학 이론과 맥락  (Korean translation: Epidemiology and The People’s Health: Theory and Context). Paju, Korea: Hanul Books, 2018.

Krieger N , Huynh M, Li W, Waterman PD, Van Wye G. Severe sociopolitical stressors and preterm births in New York City: September 1, 2015-August 31, 2017. J Epidemiol Community Health 2018 (Oct 17);  http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2018-211077
Events
Immigration policy, separation of families with Jack Shonkoff
Mon, Oct 29, 1:00-1:50pm in Kresge G2
Join the MCH concentration for their weekly seminar series.

Reproductive health with Judy Norsigian Co-Founder and Chair of Our Bodies Ourselves
Mon, Nov 5, 1:00-1:50pm in Kresge G2
Join the MCH concentration for their weekly seminar series.

WGH post-election breakfast
Wed, Nov 7, 9:00-11:30am in Kresge 708

Challenges and Opportunities in American Indian/Alaskan Native Health
Wed, Nov 7, 1:00 -1:50pm, FXB G13
Dennis Norman, Faculty Chair of HUNAP will provide an introduction to the salient
issues and efforts through his Nation Building II course for hands-on projects to address health inequalities and inequities.

Effects of exposure to media coverage on cannabis on support for legalization, attitudes and cannabis use with Dr. Nehama Lewis
Fri, Nov 9, 1:00 - 1:50pm in Kresge G2
Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP by November 2: https://tinyurl.com/drlewislecture  

Political Sociology and the People’s Health book talk with Jason Beckfield
 Fri, Nov 16, 1:00-1:50pm in FXB G12

Behavioral Economics with Margaret McConnell
Mon, Nov 26, 1:00-1:50pm in Kresge G2
Join the MCH concentration for their weekly seminar series.

Women leading action against climate change with Gina McCarthy
Thurs, Nov 29, 1:00-1:50pm in Kresge G2 

Maternal and Infant Health with Neel Shah
Mon, Dec 3, 1:00-1:50pm in Kresge G2
Join the MCH concentration for their weekly seminar series.

Global Newborn Health with Anne Shee CC Lee
Mon, Dec 10, 1:00-1:50pm in Kresge G2
Join the MCH concentration for their weekly seminar series.
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue | Kresge Building
Boston, MA 02115
phone: 617.432.1135 | fax: 617.432.3123