National Public Health Week Photo Contest! 



CPHI Seminars and Talks
Training dogs to detect malignant ovarian cancer - and using them to help produce an early-detection system
Thursday, April 19 at 12:00 PM | Light Lunch Provided 
Fagin Hall Auditorium

There is currently no early diagnosis system for ovarian cancer 
resulting in later diagnoses and poorer prognoses of the disease. T he Penn Vet Working Dog Center is training dogs to alert on malignant ovarian cancer when presented with plasma samples of human patients.  The  project aims to answer two questions.  First, can we train dogs on cancer cell lines to alert on cancer plasma? This would reduce the need for increasing numbers of plasma samples, one hurdle to get over when training cancer detection dogs.  Second, can we use dogs to inform us in our end-goal to make an early-detection system for ovarian cancer?

Together with collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania and Monell, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center is hoping to make an 'electronic nose' early detection system that can be used to diagnose ovarian cancer at earlier stages, when the disease has a significantly higher survival rate.

Come learn about this exciting, innovative, and life-saving project from Jennifer Essler, PhD from t he Penn Vet Working Dog Center and George Preti, PhD from Monell. 

Other CPHI Events
The Intersection of Community, Academia, and Grantmaking

This Community Scholars symposium offers exposure to developing, pitching, and sustaining innovative project ideas that utilize community-academic partnerships.
Participants will:
  • Gain insights into the approaches of developing and sustaining successful community academic partnerships.
  • Learn from grantmakers, community organizations, and researchers effective strategies to advance ideas.
  • Observe a Shark Tank style pitch session where Community Scholars pitch ideas and receive feedback from a panel of funders and experts.
M ore Information and RSVP 
Save the Date: CPHI Summer Institute on GIS and Mapping

The CPHI Summer Institute on GIS and Mapping is taking place on June 13-June 15 this year. Save the date and stay tuned for registration information. 

More information coming soon! 
Wellness Walks for Penn Employees 

Friday's from 12:00-1:00 beginning at College Green 

Spring 2018 Dates: 
April 13 (Indoor at Palestra) 
May 11 (Outdoor) 

We meet at the Ben Franklin statue in front of College Hall (except when indoors) 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" if you are a Penn employee. 
 
Visit the HR website to sign up.
 CPHI Fellow Highlights and Publications 

Jennifer Pinto-Martin
Penn Teach-In

Several CPHI fellows and faculty were featured during Penn's Teach-In last week. The Teach-In finale, a panel called "The University and the Community," was moderated by CPHI Executive Director,  Jennifer Pinto-Martin . The panel focused on the interaction between the university and the West Philadelphia communities, touching on topics such as technology, learning, and economic inequality.  Read More.  

County Jail or Psychiatric Hospital? Ethical Challenges in Correctional Mental Health Care

MPH Alumni Andrea Segal in collaboration with CPHI Fellows Rosemary Frasso and Dominic Sisti recently i nvestigated how correctional facility personnel reconcile the ethical challenges that arise when housing and treating individuals with serious mental illness. Read more. 

Women Veterans' Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-Partner Sexual Assault in the Context of Military Service: Implications for Supporting Women's Health and Well-Being

CPHI Senior Fellow   Melissa Dichter  and Adjunct Fellow Gala True learn of women veterans' experiences with intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual assault through in-depth interviews.

Reduce crime and gun violence and stabilize neighborhoods: A randomized controlled study

CPHI Fellows Douglas Wiebe and Charles Branas were featured in a recent press release detailing the results of a randomized controlled study to restore "vacant urban land and reduce violence and fear among residents."  

Application of a Framework to Implement Trauma-Informed Care Throughout a Pediatric Health Care Network

CPHI Senior Fellows Joel Fein and Flaura Koplin Winston collaborated with a team to evaluate a recent framework intended to implement trauma-informed care in a pediatric health care network. Trauma-informed care "aims to reduce the impact of emotional and psychological trauma on all participants within a system of care," including both patients and providers, who may experience compassion fatigue. 

Changes in School Competitive Food Environments after a Health Promotion Campaign

CPHI Senior Fellow   Karen Glanz  and colleagues explored the changes in competitive food and nutrition environments of schools participating in the Philadelphia Campaign for Healthier Schools. Competitive foods are defined as foods and beverages typically available a la carte during lunch or in vending machines or school stores. In other words, these are foods not provided in the general lunch nutrition program.  Read more.

Family food purchases of high- and low-calorie foods in full-service supermarkets and other food retailers by Black women in an urban US setting

CPHI Senior Fellow   Amy Hillier and colleagues tested the assumption that increased access to supermarkets is associated with healthier food purchases. This study used a sample of 35 Black women in Philadelphia, and the group looked for purchasing patterns in high-calorie, less healthy foods and lower-calorie, healthier foods.   Read more.

Study partners should be required in preclinical Alzheimer's disease trials

CPHI Senior Fellow Jason Karlawish and colleague comment on the requirement in Alzheimer's disease preclinical trials of dual enrollment of the participant and a study partner to act as a knowledgeable informant. The pair comment that despite limitations, the requirement should continue, as study partners ensure participant safety and data integrity.  Read more.

Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Does Not Decrease Survival or Reproduction of the Common Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius

CPHI Senior Fellow   Michael Levy and team investigated the survival and reproduction of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius uninfected and infected by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the causative agent of Chagas disease.  Read more.

Children with Short Stature and Growth Failure: Heightism, Gender and Racial Disparities

CPHI Fellow Terri Lipman and colleague explore gender and racial disparities in the treatment of children with growth disorders as well as investigate the implications of heightism, a form of prejudice against individuals based on their height. Growth disorders can indicate both acute and chronic conditions, and therefore, growth is considered to be "the single most important indication of the health of a child." 


Relationship Between Pregnancy Complications and Psychiatric Disorders: A Population-Based Study with a Matched Control Group

CPHI Senior Fellow David Mandell and colleagues investigated whether there exists a relationship between psychiatric disorder diagnosis and pregnancy complications. In this matched-pair analysis, the team compared women with a psychiatric disorder diagnosis prior to pregnancy to women without, for a total study population of nearly 10,000. 


Linking teen driving behaviors to ADHD, other mental health factors

CPHI Senior Fellow Catherine C. McDonald was featured in Penn News Today this month for her work in studying the driving habits of young drivers. Her research, which features collaborators from Penn Medicine, the Center for Injury Research and Prevention, CHOP, and Utah State University, has discovered an association between driving mistakes in young drivers with self-reported symptoms of ADHD and other mental-health disorders.   Read more here.   

Mentorship program introduces students of color to their Ivy League contemporaries

Penn News Today featured a piece on the HERstory/HIStory Mentorship Program, co-founded by CPHI Senior Fellow Robin Stevens in the 2016-2017 school year. The program pairs W.E.B. Du Bois College House students with African-American children at Samuel Powel Elemntary School in West Philadelphia. Read more

Who owns Chinatown: Neighborhood Preservation and Change in Boston and Philadelphia

CPHI Senior Fellow Domenic Vitiello and colleague comment on the role of ownership in urban ethnic enclaves, specifically Chinatowns. Such ethnic enclaves are significant urban elements influencing economic, social, and cultural factors, and historically, they have provided places of settlement and work for immigrants.  Read more.
The hottest Philly neighborhood no one is talking about

Domenic Vitiello was featured in WHYY this month in an article speaking of the diversity found in the north Philadelphia neighborhood of Olney. According to the article, the zip code that encompasses Olney is actually the most linguistically diverse zip code in all of the state of Pennsylvania. Vitiello comments, "Olney is very much a revitalized community, a place that has successfully weathered the economic transformations of the last few decades."   Read more here.

Here's Why Self-Driving Vehicles Will Forever Change the Traffic Safety Paradigm

CPHI Senior Fellow  Flaura Koplin Winston  recently shared a piece on the implications of self-driving vehicles, especially in regards to the inevitably-changing relationship between driver and vehicle. Self-driving vehicles may soon become a reality, as the California Department of Motor Vehicles has "issued 50 Autonomous Vehicle Testing permits to 50 companies," according to Dr. Winston. 


Self-reported major mobility disability and mortality among cancer survivors

CPHI Associate Fellow   Michael Harhay  and collaborators investigated the prevalence of self-reported major mobility disability among cancer survivors. Self-reported major mobility disability is characterized by difficulty or inability to walk 400 meters.  Read more.

Gender and Byline Placement of Co-first Authors in Clinical and Basic Science Journals with High Impact Factors

CPHI Fellow Ebbing Lautenbach and colleagues published a research letter in JAMA this month detailing a study of gendered placement of co-first authors in scientific journals. The research team analyzed articles with co-first authors of different genders published in 10 journals between 2005-2014.  Read more.

The Aldo-Keto Reductase Superfamily

CPHI Fellow Trevor Penning published a chapter on Aldo-Keto Reductases in Comprehensive Toxiocology. AKRs are considered a gene "superfamily," and there are 15 human AKR isoforms. According to Penning's chapter, "Many contain an antioxidant response element in their gene promoters suggesting that cancer chemopreventive strategies that target this element could also affect endogenous and exogenous substrate utilization." 


Other Public Health Events

College of Physicians Senior Health Forum lectures
College of Physicians at 19 S. 22nd St
 
Wednesday April 11, 2018 @12PM
Gail Scott-"Older People Don't Do/Use Drugs, Do They?"
 
Wednesday May 9, 2018 @12PM
Heather Claus-"What's All the Fuss About Vaccinations for Older People?"

Global Health & Innovation Conference: Call for Abstracts 
April 14-15, 2018 | Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
The Global Health & Innovation Conference at Yale on April 14-15, 2018, is the world's leading and largest global health conference as well as the largest social entrepreneurship conference, with 2,000 professionals and students from all 50 states and more than 55 countries. This must-attend, thought-leading conference convenes leaders, changemakers, professionals and students from all sectors of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship.  Register Here. 

Summer Institute in Mental Health Research
May 29-June 8, 2018 | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 
Are you a student or working professional interested in expanding your knowledge in the mental health field or interested in methods of public health generally, such as Propensity Score Methods in Non-Experimental Research in Mental Health? Then check out the upcoming registration for our annual Summer Institute. 

Classes are offered both in-person and online, and are taught by some of the foremost experts within the Hopkins Institutes of Public Health. Our courses cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from foundational methods in public health, including the use of mixed methods, linked data and mobile health tools, to overviews on mental health services and evaluation, and evolving hot topics in global public health. View the courses currently being offered:  
https://www.jhsph.edu/departments/mental-health/summer-institute/courses.html

Over the last decade, nearly 200,000 refugee children have resettled across the United States. Once resettled, our nation's comprehensive refugee health screening program helps ensure that refugee children and families are healthy enough to start school and successfully integrate into U.S. society. But health systems, public health researchers, and community organizations also have a role to play to ensure that refugee children and families do not face disparities - avoidable, harmful differences - in health due to social, economic, and geographic factors outside of their control.
 
For Minority Health Month, we're delving into these issues and our work on clinical solutions to better meet the health needs of refugee children and their families during a live webinar on Tuesday, April 3 at 2 p.m. EDT, and you're invited! Find the details and registration link below:
 
WHAT: A webinar examining refugee care upon arrival in the U.S. and how health systems and community partners can interact to bring about the best care for refugees. The webinar will focus on: the continuum of care from overseas to arrival in the U.S. for refugees, two common models of refugee health care in the U.S., how to standardize care for refugees, and steps for health systems and community partners to ensure the best care for refugees. 

WHO: PolicyLab researcher Katherine Yun, MD, MHS, and Minnesota Department of Health's Refugee Health Coordinator Blain Mamo, MPH.
 
WHEN: Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - 2:00 p.m. EDT

To register for the webinar, please visit the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/webinar-refugee-care-in-the-united-states-tickets-43730270416
 
Can't join us live? Visit the PolicyLab website on Wednesday, April 4 for a link to the archived video.
47,000 Enrolled in Six Months: Program Features Cardiovascular Research Innovator
Can our constant habit of checking our smartphones help to transform cardiovascular research? Recent work led by Michael V. McConnell, MD, MSEE, suggests we can leverage this newfound devotion to capture rapid, large-scale, real-time measurement of individuals' physical activity. Using the iPhone app MyHeart Counts, his team's study enrolled more than 47,000 participants in six months. Register now to be our guest as Dr. McConnell shares his insights at 1 p.m. on April 10, at the Smilow Center for Translational Research, 3400 Civic Center Blvd.

"Mobile Health Innovations for Research, Prevention and Clinical Care," this year's Brian L. Strom Visiting Professorship Lecture, is a highlight of our inaugural Research Day. Dr. McConnell leads Cardiovascular Health Innovations at Verily (formerly Google) Life Sciences and is a Clinical Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University's School of Medicine. He will speak to lessons learned via Stanford's mobile health research, outline how investigators can use similar approaches, and highlight Verily's precision medicine work-including the NIH's "All of Us" initiative.

Research Day begins at 9 a.m. with a look at our latest innovations in biostatistics, epidemiology and informatics. Find the full schedule here, and register today. Everyone who gets on board by March 19 can order a complimentary t-shirt! Questions? Contact Jennifer Forbes-Nicotera.


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: [email protected]