Diabetes is a global epidemic that requires a patients with asthma and diabetes. institute to support policy formation and interventions for diabetes. …
SPRING 2008
n o m at t er w h at l a nguag e yo u spe a k ,
diabetes
is a g lo b a l pro bl e m r sph re se a rch er s a re bu il d ing a wo rl dw ide coa l i t i o n to f in d
a global solution
Ecology and Public Health | Big Picture Thinking | A Community of Scholars
Contents
no matter what country, diabetes is a global epidemic the languages on the cover are clockwise from top left urdu pakistan, hindi northern india, chinese china and tamil southern india
15
7 A Family Affair 10 A Global Solution for Diabetes 15 Ecology and Public Health
How humans treat the planet is changing the way the
SPRING 2008
Contents
A new scholarship honors RSPH founding father David Sencer
CovEr STory | Page 10
Epidemiologist KM Venkat Narayan engages experts from South Asia and around the world to contain a global problem
A Global Solution for Diabetes
Editor
pam auchmutey
Art Director
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
erica endicott
Director of Photography
bryan meltz
Photo Contributors
ann borden, cdc, kay hinton, Jack kearse, Xiah kragie, laurie helzer, Jon rou, pankaj shah
Editorial Associate
10
approaches the environment
18 Building Public Health Capacity
in India
Four physicians take on their nations future as new fellows in the RSPH
kay torrance
Senior Production Manager
20 Big Picture Thinking
The MD/MPH program offers students a society-wide perspective on health
carol pinto
Production Manager, Emory Creative Group
stuart turner
Executive Director, Health Sciences Publications
23 A Community of Scholars
The Public Health Academy brings students together for interdisciplinary conversation and real-world experience
karon schindler
Associate Vice President, Health Sciences Communications
Jeffrey molter
Associate Dean for Development and External Relations
in every issue Deans message 2 in Brief 3 aLumni neWs 26
kathryn h graves, 93mph
Public Health is published by the rollins school of Public Health, a component of the Woodruff Health sciences center of emory university Please send class notes, observations, letters to the editor, and other correspondence to: editor, Public Health, 1440 clifton road, suite 318, atlanta, ga 30322 or call 404 712-9265 or email pam auchmutey@emory edu to contact the office of Development and
external relations, send email to kgraves@sph emory edu the website of the rollins school of Public Health is www sph emory edu to view past issues of the magazine, visit www whsc emory edu/_pubs/ph/publichealth/
laurie helzer, 05mph, and her brother lee hike near a glacier in alaska, where laurie leads an effort to reduce substance abuse in the anchorage native community
28
cLass notes 30
23
spring 2008 public health magazine 1
From the Dean
growing health in india
Chances are you know someone who has diabetes With dietary and physical activity pattern changes, obesity and diabetes have rapidly increased in much of the world Diabetes is a global epidemic that requires a global response, beginning right here at the rsph and led by KM Venkat Narayan, one of the worlds leading experts on diabetes epidemiology Last year, Narayan launched the Global Diabetes Research Center, a part nership with the Madras Diabetes Research Center in India By combining their respective strengths, researchers will find new ways to combat diabetes in South Asia, the United States, and elsewhere The Public Health Foundation of India phfi was formed to create excel
lent schools of public health in India and provide public health training for thousands throughout the country I have the privilege of serving on the phfi board, and four of their faculty researchers are receiving postgraduate With dietary and physical activity pattern changes, obesity and diabetes have rapidly increased in much of the world Diabetes is a global epidemic that requires a global response, beginning right here at the RSPH training at the rsph currently Upon returning to India, they will grow the nations public health workforce by teaching others In this issue, we recognize several people for their accomplishments, in cluding former Humphrey Fellow Pankaj Shah His organization received a 2007 MacArthur Foundation award for reducing maternal mortality rates in more than 160 villages in India Just recently, the rsph honored former cdc director David Sencer with a scholarship named in his honor and appointed Paige Tolbert as chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupa tional Health In their inimitable ways, they serve as role models for us all in making lasting contributions to public health Sincerely,
In Brief
A first in biomedical imaging statistics
A new
center in the RSPH is the only one in the nation dedicated to bio medical imaging statistics Directed by DuBois Bowman, the Center for Biomedical Imaging Sta tistics cbis helps Emory researchers improve disease prevention, diag nosis, treatment, and public health cbis drives research and patient care by developing specialized statistical techniques tailored for the data col lected through biomedical imaging studies of the body It includes two other core faculty members–John Carew and Ying Guo–several affili ate members, and doctoral students in biostatistics When Bowman joined the Depart ment of Biostatistics in 2000, he was the lone statistician dedicated to the nascent field of biomedical imaging Once I began to work in this field, I quickly realized that the de mand at Emory exceeded my capac ity, he says Initially, Bowman worked with medical researchers on imag ing studies of the brain His col laborations grew to include cardiac imaging, liver imaging, and cancer applications, breast and prostate imaging in particular Breast imag ing has come to be a special area of interest, given the American Can cer Society recommendation that women at high risk for breast cancer be
screened with magnetic reso nance imaging mri in addition to mammography Bowman is working with experts at the Emory Winship Cancer Institute and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop a screening method for breast cancer based on the data captured during functional mri What we are trying to do is develop statistical algorithms that can help us identify characteristics of a medical image that may be indica tive of breast cancer and to local ize specific areas of concern, says Bowman Biopsy is still the gold standard, but our methods will help method to other psychiatric disor ders such as depression cbis is using a similar but ex panded methodology to study cardiac perfusion and function in heart patients and those with liver disease Researchers are compar ing data captured a week and a
dubois bowman directs the center for biomedical imaging statistics at the rsph cbis develops specialized statistical techniques for data collected through imaging studies of the body
James W Curran, MD, MPH Dean
better identify women who are likely candidates for breast cancer Bowman, Guo, and Emory psychiatrist Clinton Kilts hope to develop a predictive algorithm for schizophrenia by
creating a model to predict changes in brain pattern activity in patients following treat ment We are developing a model to pinpoint areas of concern in the brain, identified by using baseline functional scans along with any rele vant patient history to predict how someone is likely to respond to treat ment, Bowman explains Eventu ally, we might be able to extend this
year after heart attack to see which areas of the heart have improved Also, researchers are investigating new methods to detect liver diseases based on perfusion properties of tracerenhanced mri In Bowmans view, the lines between medicine and public health overlap in cbis Were working on problems that are major pub lic health concerns such as mental illness, Alzheimers disease, heart disease, and cancer The bottom line is that were trying to mitigate the burden of those illnesses through our research
spring 2008 public health magazine 3
2 public health magazine spring 2008
In Brief
In Brief
the community as patient
Joyce Essien is one of three physicians in the nation to receive the 2008 Pride in the Profession award, presented by the american medical association foundation the foundation honored essien for her
longtime efforts to help underserved patients with asthma and diabetes essien tackles health issues on a number of fronts as director of the center for Public Health Practice at the rsph and an officer with the u s Public Health service she also leads a team in collaboration with the vermont-based sustainability institute to support policy formation and interventions for diabetes through the center for Public Health Practice, essien works with government public health offices to help them become flagships for reform within the national health care debate the center helps improve the design of health offices and encourages joint research involving universities and public health organizations essien also co-founded zap asthma, a consortium that trains community health workers who help the families of inner-city children with asthma manage the disease most recently, essien established a nonprofit foundation for the carver early college school, the first small-school concept implemented by the atlanta Public schools
National study targets childrens health
A landmark study is taking aim at the environment to find out what part it plays in childrens health Emory is one of 22 new
centers that will examine the effects of environmental and genetic factors on human health The National Childrens study–the largest such study ever conducted– will follow 100,000 chil dren from pregnancy to their 21st birthday Emory was awarded 255 million for its part in the study, a response to the 2000 Childrens Health Act The rsph and the School of Medi cine, along with Morehouse School of Medicine and Battelle Memorial Institute, will manage recruitment of 2,000 women and data collection Emory will enroll participants equally from DeKalb and Fayette counties because of their diverse populations The study arose out of concern that environmental factors are af fecting childrens health and that when we look at the causes of child hood illnesses, they go back to preg nancy and even before, says rsph epidemiologist Carol Hogue, one of the studys Emory site leaders Hogue and her collaborators say the study will help shape policies and interventions in the areas of sudden infant death syndrome, au tism, asthma, obesity, heart disease, and schizophrenia If we can prevent disease before a baby is conceived or in the womb, weve done a huge public health service, Hogue says She is in
charge of recruiting 1,000 women and collecting data in DeKalb County, aided by rsph colleagues Barry Ryan, Carey Drews Botsch, and Lance Waller They have five years to enroll women During that time, the remaining 105 US study locations are expected to open, making the full study extend well into the future Thats one reason we are so excited about this research, Hogue says Its an opportunity for stu dents and junior faculty to work with a population for decades
spring 2008 public health magazine 5
Joyce essien
a cadre of cancer experts
Epidemiologist Pamela Mink is one of seven emory faculty members named as 2008 Distinguished cancer clinicians and scientists by the georgia cancer coalition gcc she joins a growing cadre of gcc researchers committed to reducing cancer-related deaths statewide mink is also among the newest faculty members at the rsph she formerly was a senior managing scientist with exponent inc in Washington, D c much of her research focuses on factors that may increase or decrease risk of cancer, including obesity and body fat distribution, diet and nutrition, exercise, family history of cancer, menopausal hormone therapy, as well as the mechanisms that may
underlie these assocations in particular, she has studied hormonally related cancers in women and men thus far, the gcc has named 47 Distinguished scholars at emory, including nine from the rsph in addition to mink, they include Jack mandel, roberd Bostick, and Paul
Letter to the Editor
The Fall 2007 issue of Public Health included a story on the Global Elimination of Maternal Mortality from Abortion gemma Fund Established by global health Professor Roger Rochat and his wife Susan, the fund supports publication of student research to eliminate maternal deaths from abortion Here is Dr Rochats response to the article The article A Legacy Beyond Controversy had the subscript: Roger and Susan Rochat reach out to students studying the lives of women broken apart by abortion The intent of the gemma Fund is to prevent maternal deaths from unsafe abortion, but the subscript may have misled readers to think that all women having abortion have their lives broken apart Recent studies report that 42 million abortions were induced in 2003 About 48 of all abortions worldwide were unsafe, and more than 97 of all unsafe abortions were in developing countries Ac cording to an article in The
Lancet
4 public health magazine spring 2008
2007, safe abortions are defined as those that are performed in countries where abortion law is not restrictive, and b that meet legal requirements in countries where the law is restrictive Most abortions are safe in countries where the pro cedure is legally permitted under a broad range of criteria Pregnancies terminated early have an associated maternal mortality rate of 1 per mil lion procedures who defines unsafe abortions as those done either by people lack ing the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimum medical standards, or both Where abortions are highly
restricted by law, abortions are fre quently done by unqualified provid ers, are selfinduced, or are done under unhygienic conditions The maternal mortality rate from unsafe procedures may be as high as 3 per 100 procedures Unsafe abortion can still cause ma ternal death in the United States In the early 1990s, a college student in the Southeast became pregnant de spite using contraception She made an appointment for an abortion at a health care facility When she went for her appointment, she was de terred by protesters, went home, and used a coat
hanger to induce abor tion She developed an overwhelm ing infection, was hospitalized and had a hysterectomy, but died A better subscript to the Public Health article would have been, Roger and Susan Rochat reach out to students studying the lives of women broken apart by unsafe abortion
pamela mink
terry in epidemiology; Karen glanz and Jo ellen stryker in behavioral sciences and health education; Joseph Lipscomb in health policy and management; andre rogatko in biostatistics; and Kyle steenland in environmental and occupational health all are helping position emory and the state as national leaders in cancer research
In Brief
A Family Affair
rob stephenson karen glanz alan hinman david sencer
Profile
a new scholarship honors rsph founding father david sencer
by pam auchmutey
a host of family members–both personal and professional–who recently honored their father at the rsph Now 83, David Sencer directed the cdc during the 1960s and 1970s and led the New York City Health Department during the aids crisis in the 1980s He is also a founding father of the rsph who helped launch Emorys master of community health program For these accomplishments, the rsph created the David
J Sencer md, mph, Scholarship Fund with support from the Sencer family The endowment provides scholarship support for an mph student who personifies the characteristics that Sencer demonstrated throughout his 36year career Scholarships will be awarded to state and local public health professionals who exemplify leadership and service in the field This scholarship is a way to help someone in local public health, notes William Foege, Presidential Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the rsph and successor to Sencer s children, Steve Sencer and his sisters often heard some unusual dinner table conversation Our dad would talk about schisto somiasis, malaria, and other diseas es, says Steve, now deputy general counsel at Emory Other dads had a ceramic Georgia Bulldog on their coffee table Ours had a twofoottall smallpox idol, which scared the day lights out of my friends It was great All kidding aside, Steve and his sisters Ann and Susan were among
Faculty earn association honors
Three faculty members in the rSPH received honors in conjunction with professional meetings last fall Among them is Karen Glanz, who received the 2007 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award during the Society
for Public Health annual meeting Presented by the James F and Sarah T Fries Foundation, the award recognizes a health educa tor for advancing the field of health education or health promotion As director of the Emory Preven tion Research Center eprc, Glanz has built successful partnerships to reduce the burden of cancer across the country, and more recently in rural Southwest Georgia To moti vate people to improve their health, she has developed and tested ways to encourage adults to eat properly, get teens to avoid taking up smoking, teach children to protect themselves from the sun, and urge adults to be screened for colon cancer Glanz also believes in paying it forward, donating a portion of her 25,000 award prize to support the Deans Council Scholarship Fund for rsph students It seemed natural to follow the example set by the Fries
6 public health magazine spring 2008
Foundation as supporters of public health and health education by giv ing something back to the rsph, she says The school has provided a wonderful home for my research, teaching, and health programs over the past four years
All in the family
Two other rsph faculty members received honors during the American
Public Health Association apha annual meeting Alan Hinman, adjunct professor of epidemiology and global health, received the 2007 apha Executive Directors Citation for longest service as speaker of the associations Governing Council Hinman served as speaker from 1995 until he stepped down last fall Serving with apha has been a family affair for Hinman His father and fatherinlaw were career public health workers and longtime apha members Both Hinman and his brother Ed served as assistant sur geon generals with the US Public Health Service Hinmans daughter, Johanna, 98mph, and her partner, Lisa Carlson, 93mph, now serve on the Governing Council Johanna also
serves as senior project director with the eprc I have had the rare privilege of sharing hotel rooms at apha meet ings with my father, my brother, and my daughter, says Hinman, a senior public health scientist with the Task Force for Child Survival and Devel opment The apha has very much been part of our family, and we have been part of the apha family
A love for teaching
Similarly, teaching has been a labor of love for global health assistant professor Rob Stephenson He was honored at apha as the first recipient of the Early
Career in Public Health Teaching Award, presented by the Association of Schools of Public Health and Pfizer Inc Stephenson, who taught and devel oped courses at Johns Hopkins and for health professionals in several countries, stopped teaching for a time, only to discover how much he missed it Joining the rsph in 2004 filled the void The more I work with students, he says, the more my eyes are opened to looking at things in new ways
support for the scholarship named for david sencer second from right comes from his family: steve left, susan, Jane, david, and ann
rsph dean James curran left and david sencer worked together during the early days of the aids epidemic in new york city
spring 2008
public health magazine 7
Profile
david sencer directed the cdc from 1966 until 1977 during his tenure, the cdc expanded to include global programs, including smallpox eradication sencer also partnered with emory to help establish the master of community health program, precursor to the rsph
He eventually joined the US Public Health Ser vice, where he discovered the rewards of working with groups of people as opposed to individual patients Sencer transferred to Atlanta in 1960 as assis
tant director of the cdc– known then as the Com municable Disease Center In 1966, he was appointed director of a 20yearold agency that until then was only national in scope During his first year as director, the cdc inherited a global program–its first–to eradicate malaria The agency revamped the effort, shifting the focus from eradication to con trolling death and morbidity That same year, the cdc agreed to be the US leader in eradicating smallpox and control ling measles in o n l i n e: to view a slide show about david sencer, visit wwwwhscemoryedu/multimedia_sencercfm 20 countries in West and Cen to come fresh out of one degree pro tral Africa The last case of small pox in West Africa was reported in gram and into another We wanted 1970–a year ahead of schedule and to make sure they had experience in under budget getting their hands dirty We wanted People say that our father was them to learn about management famous, or notorious, for walking and policy around the cdc and knowing what Change of heart everybody was up to, says Steve Those who worked hard appar Sencer acquired those traits himself ently liked that because he knew early on When he entered medical what was going
on and he cared Dr school, he had his eye on entering Foege says that when he was in West private practice That changed dur Africa working on the smallpox pro ing a nearly twoyear recovery from gram, my dad never declined a re tuberculosis I read, listened to quest for staff or supplies That put the radio, and developed more of a pressure on Dr Foege to ask only for social conscience, he says
8 public health magazine spring 2008
as cdc director Thats where their knowledge and training funnel into another individual and then into an other Thats how Daves truth goes marching on The scholarship embodies the same philosophy David Sencer had in mind for the community health program in the mid1970s Sencer was among those who devised a program to educate people to per form as leaders and problem solvers in community health and health care delivery Once the program was formed, Sencer asked Kathy Rufo, an edu cational specialist at cdc, to join Constance Conrad, an assistant professor in the medical school, in developing a curriculum for the mas ter of community health program One of the things we insisted on was that everyone who enrolled had to have worked in public health, Sencer says
We didnt want people
CDC/Betty Loy
things that he really needed In contrast to its dramatic entrance into global health, the cdc broad ened its domestic programs gradually to include family planning a contro versial move at the time, maternal and child health, surveillance of noninfectious diseases and the sub sequent discovery of small clusters of birth defects, and nutrition In the early 1970s, the Smoking and Health Program and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health became part of the cdc, broadening the agencys foundation in health communications and prevention Sencer remained steadfast in advocating cooperation between the cdc and state and local public health departments Health is a state rather than federal responsibility, he says A case in point is the swine flu vaccination program in 1976 The
federal government provided funds and vaccines, but the states did the planning and work The states did a great job, considering all of the problems that occurred, says Sencer They vaccinated 43 million people in two months Sencer led the cdcs response to a number of major outbreaks and investigations But none stirred up more controversy than the swine flu
program Difficulties ensued, including the risk of GuillainBarré syndrome, for which the vaccination program was halted Washington officials subsequently asked for the cdc directors resignation From the beginning, Sencer was prepared to take full responsibility for the swine flu program, which he knew would be difficult The buck did stop with him, says Foege Not long ago, a friend of Sencers sent Steve a newspaper clipping of an
percy chastang Jr second from left is the first recipient of a sencer scholarship celebrating with him are april madden left, melanie chastang, carolyn chastang, and percy chastang sr
interview with his father two days af ter he stepped down from the cdc in 1977 At that point, despite all the attention focused on him personally, he emphasized how important it was for the cdc to continue its work, says Steve He kept the institution in mind and remained devoted to state and local public health officers After Sencer became New York City health commissioner in 1982, he happened to drop in on an epi demiologist who told him about 20 cases of a new disease that came to be known as aids New York proved to be both a dif ficult and wonderful city to practice
public health For one, Sencer spent three days testifying in court before an unfriendly judge so that children with aids could remain in public school He also convinced city of ficials that distributing clean needles to drug addicts would prevent the transmission of aids He brought up the subject with Mayor Ed Koch more than once Recalls Sencer, One night Ed called me at home and said, David, Ive been thinking about it If youre willing to be the goat, you write me a memo, and Ill leak it Lets get it out on the table and let people start ventilat ing The next day, we wrote him a memo, he leaked it, and everybody
jumped on it We eventually got a program started, and its now the largest in the country
What next?
After serving four years in New York, Sencer traveled the world as a public health consultant and eventu ally returned to Atlanta He and his wife Jane live near Emory, where he has taught in the rsph and the medi cal school His daughters work in the health field–Ann as an oncology nurse practioner at Emory Crawford Long Hospital and Susan as a pedi atric oncologist in Minnesota Two summers ago, their father took part in a reunion of the cdcs West Africa Smallpox Program The
reunion inspired him to begin building an archive on global disease eradica tion, with help from the rsph, Em orys Woodruff Library and Global Health Institute, and the cdc We have oral histories, pictures, artifacts, seminar proceedings, and more, say Sencer We want to make sure they arent just preserved but are available for people to use Percy Chastang Jr conducted some research of his own when he learned he had been selected as the first Sencer Scholar I found a visionary and a trailblazer, he says of Sencer Chastang coordinates adolescent health programs in Valdosta, Geor gia As a public health professional, Chastang sees himself as part of something larger I belong to this wonderful family of public health, he says Its good to know there are so many people standing behind me If I can do a quarter of what Dr Sencer did in his career, then I think I can do a remarkable job
spring 2008 public health magazine 9
a global problem
epide mi o log is t k m V enk at n a r aya n is eng ag ing e X per t s f rom a ro u n d t h e wo rl d to f in d a glo ba l so l ut i o n
no m at t er w h at l a nguage you spe a k , di a be t e s is
I
b y Va l e r i e g r eg g a n d pa m a u c h m u
t e y n the right landscape, a river flows along, gathering momentum, carrying soil and seed to places where they will flourish And when two rivers intersect, something bigger, faster, stron ger, and wholly new is created Science has been much the same kind of force for KM Venkat Narayan, one of the worlds foremost experts on diabetes epidemiology A global citizen–having lived in five countries on three conti nents–and a physician with masters degrees in public health and business, Narayan is a prolific scientist and author who joined the rsph in 2006 as the Ruth and OC Hubert Professor in Global Health and Epidemiol ogy He came to Emory from the cdc, leaving a posi tion as chief of the Diabetes Epidemiology and Statistics Branch of the Division of Diabetes Translation The rsph, he says, provided an opportunity to build some thing big and something global The school offered immense potential–the vision, energy, and genuine support to build a chronic disease research program, says Narayan, who also holds a joint appointment as professor of medicine The sense of positive energy, all the way up to Emory President James Wagner, showed me a commitment to global health And the timing
was good, as I had become very interested in globalization and how it affects the world Diabetes is among the worlds most daunting public health challenges in the 21st century Worldwide, 240 million people have diabetes cdc experts believe that number will double by 2030 The statistics are sobering in the United States as well An estimated 9 of the US adult population has diabetes at any given time In a startling paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2004, Narayan estimated that lifetime risk for diabetes among Americans is one in three and even higher in certain subgroups For example, Latino women living in the United States have a one in two risk Narayan and his colleagues also projected that 50 million people will have diabetes by 2050 in the United States alone Tack ling the diabetes epidemic–nationally and globally– requires extraordinary efforts Lessening the burden of chronic disease is always complex, Narayan says It is ironic that prosperity
can be hazardous to the health of citizens of develop ing countries As these countries become more affluent, westernized, and have higher standards of living, some markers of health improve, and
some–like chronic diseases–grow For the first time ever, more people in the world are overweight rather than underweight Obesity is a large factor in the diabetes equation but not the only one Ge netics also may play a role Native Americans, Hispanics, and some other nonwhite groups have up to 10 times the rate of diabetes as Caucasians Changes in diet, activity, and envi ronment are also factors To complicate matters, diabetes risk varies from subgroup to subgroup and among nativeborn citizens and immigrants from other countries Learning more about diabetes in populations worldwide is crucial to helping scientists identify genes and new risk factors for study and translat ing research in ways that benefit those populations All have policy implica tions for diabetes preven k m Venkat narayan tion and use of resources at home and abroad More and more, Ameri cans will be affected, Narayan says There are about 40 million foreignborn people in the United States, and this number is growing Something like 20 of people under 18 years are first or secondgeneration immigrants, and in some places 40 to 50 of Americans will have parents who are foreign born We are not isolated
resilience,
and creative adaptability as an individual It is just a part of who I am A voracious reader as a child, Narayan enjoyed study ing theoretical subjects like abstract physics, literature, and mathematics When he was accepted at one of the most prestigious medical schools in India at the age of 18, he felt compelled to attend I cant say I enjoyed it very much or performed particularly well, he says When professors said to do
in a startling paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2004, narayan estimated that the lifetime risk for diabetes among americans is
one in three
A healthy skeptic
Born and raised in Bangalore, India, Narayan has a unique take on the global situation, indeed on life in general His father died before he was born, and he con tracted polio just as he was learning to walk My right lower leg has mild residual weakness, he says It left me with a limp, but it has not bothered me much It has given me a better perspective on life, greater
thus and so in the case of myocardial infarction, I asked them: Why? They always answered: Because the book says so That was never enough to satisfy me I wanted to know how specific knowledge became part
of the text–how they arrived at these conclusions His mindset prompted him to pursue a masters degree in epidemiology and public health, which led to a ten ured faculty position at the Grampian Health Board and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland before age 32 He became a British citizen, thinking he had procured a dream job for life There he collaborated on research showing that cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death among people with diabetes in Scotland But in 1992 came the opportunity to work in Ari zona with Peter Bennett, an nih epidemiologist doing
spring 2008 public health magazine 11
10 public health magazine spring 2008
the rsph and the mdrf are laying the groundwork for new research, including a national representative survey of 100,000 people in india to help explain
rsph dean James curran right met with Viswanathan mohan in india last fall mohan codirects the global diabetes research center
regional differences in diabetes
groundbreaking diabetes research with the Pima Indians, a group with the highest diabetes prevalence rates in the world Narayan added the United States to his citizen ship list and narrowed his focus to the study of diabetes
respects, Chennai and the rsph represent how two rivers of science can merge to become even more powerful Last year, Emorys Global Health Institute awarded a seed grant to the rsph and the Madras Diabetes Re search Foundation mdrf in Chennai to establish the Global Diabetes Research Center The partnership com bines resources and expertise to expand research and training for scientists in the United States, South Asia, and throughout the world India offers a special window into the study of diabetes As of 2007, 409 million people there had diabetes–the highest number of cases in the world In Chennai alone, diabetes increased by more than 70 from 1989 to 2005 Through the Global Diabetes Research Center, the rsph and the mdrf are combining their respective strengths to better assess the diabetes burden, test cost effective treatments, shape health policy, and–most important–delay or prevent disease onset Much of the partnership is virtual The rsph and mdrf conduct monthly meetings via teleconferencing Last fall, the center launched a mentoring program for researchers to expand study of the causes of and solu tions for diabetes Epidemiology professor David Klein baum conducts his
ActivEpi course for 32 researchers who are located 10,000 miles away in Chennai The mdrf–led by Viswanathan Mohan, who co directs the Global Diabetes Research Center with Narayan–has a lot of offer: a strong research base, a 150bed hospital, a new 20,000squarefoot research building with space for Emory investigators, and the
largest electronic medical record system of diabetes patients in the world Together, the rsph and mdrf are laying the ground work for new research, including a national represen tative survey study of 100,000 people to help explain regional differences in diabetes and a study of metabolic differences in pregnant women and how those differ ences may affect their children, both in India and in the United States Researchers also are looking to prevent and treat diabetes through lifestyle intervention Doc
toral student Mary Beth Weber, 02mph, is developing a randomized study involving 700 people in India As part of the study, Weber and others will teach lifestyle trainers there how to coach study participants and other people after the study is complete We want the pro gram to be culturally appropriate and sustainable, says Weber The interventions we develop
will also help prevent other diseases in addition to diabetes Ensuring that diabetes treatments are readily avail able and affordable is also a center priority India has worldclass pharmaceutical companies that are able to produce drugs at very low cost, says Narayan So the question is, are there versions of drugs or vaccines that can be produced inexpensively? Are there lessons we can learn about innovations in mass delivery? How can we in public health get those innovations to the masses and not just to those who can afford it? Those solutions could be applied in the United States as well The rsph and the mdrf plan to look more broadly at the South Asian population, both in and outside of the United States People from these countries–some 15
Merging two rivers of science
When Narayan joined the rsph, he dreamed of bringing researchers together on a global scale to better under stand and solve the problems associated with diabetes Bringing disparate groups, opinions, and people together is one of Narayans favorite occupations, in science, philosophy, conversation, and life in general It helps me think, and its good fun, he says While at the cdc, he brought ideas and experts to
gether to create a team of internationally respected dia betes epidemiologists, statisicians, economists, and other
o n l i n e: to hear narayan discuss diabetes, view the slide show at wwwwhscemoryedu/r_venkathtml
Diabetes around the world
some of the oldest references to diabetes are found in ancient texts from 3,000 years ago in india and egypt in sanskrit, the word for diabetes means sweet urine the language has 25 words that describe the disease in the united states, 21 million people suffer from diabetes according to cDc estimates, that number will rise to 48 million by 2050 approximately 95 of u s cases are type 2 While china has the largest population in the world, india has the highest number of people with diabetes as of 2007, chinas population of 1 32 billion included 39 8 million people with diabetes in india, 40 9 million of the nations 1 1 billion people live with diabetes By 2025, 69 9 million people in india and 59 3 million people in china will have diabetes
chinese
public health experts He is applying the same formula at the rsph His philosophy: Connect good ideas to good people, and good things will happen Since joining the rsph, he has hired three
postdoctoral students, one a Rhodes Scholar and the other two gradu ates of the University of Pennsylvania He also works with six PhD students, several postdoctoral students and clinical fellows, two research coordinators, and a host of faculty across Emory, nationally, and worldwide He advises several mph students and has sent three of them to Chennai, India, for summer field experiences In many
12 public health magazine spring 2008
tamil
Hindi
urdu
niH researchers began studying the Pima indians in 1964 after observing a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes in this population of 11,000 in arizona Pimas rarely marry outside their group, making it possible to study the disease in multiple generations today, 4 of girls and 5 of boys develop type 2 diabetes by age 19
type 1 diabetes is more prevalent among white children up to age 9 type 2 diabetes is more common among american indian, asian, black, and Hispanic children ages 10 to 19 Worldwide, type 1 diabetes is rising by 2 5 a year across all populations researchers have yet to understand why
spring 2008
public health magazine 13
billion worldwide–have a very high risk of developing diabetes They tend to be more in
sulin resistant, prone to adiposity, and develop diabetes and heart disease at a younger age Scientists have yet to discover why With time, future study results can be applied to South Asians, including those in Georgia, where the Indian population alone stands at 80,000 Weber is looking to launch we need to target a diabetes intervention program for South Asians in Atlanta to promote exercise Folk dancing is a tradition in India and the most other countries People love to dance at –km Venkat na rayan festivals and celebrations Its something that CDC/Chris Zahsner people feel comfortable with and are likely to cine, and Joe Lipscomb, professor of health policy and do Weber hopes to develop a dvd of folk dances in management, to evaluate innovative screening methods collaboration with an Atlanta trainer who operates a for prediabetes and diabetes gym geared toward South Asians They will first test the A larger challenge is how diabetes affects US im dvd in focus groups to ensure that it is culturally appro migrants in general For her dissertation research, Rena priate and appealing We want it to be something that OzaFrank is working with Narayan to analyze nine the community takes
ownership of, says Weber years 1997 to 2005 of data from the National Health During the past 60 years, researchers have noticed an Interview Survey Her data sample includes more than alarming trend 30,000 foreignborn and 170,000 nativeborn people among US im Their health is going to have an enormous impact on migrants Most the nations health care, says OzaFrank Its impor arrive healthy tant to determine their level of risk and target prevention As they adapt in this subgroup to their new A registered dietitian, OzaFrank is shifting gears pro culture, their fessionally to focus on diabetes research Like Narayan, health habits she is a former clinician He understands diabetes from change They start catching up all perspectives, says OzaFrank Narayan receives much in return from OzaFrank and with the main other students Being surrounded by young minds adds stream popula a tremendous force to our work, he says tion within 15 Thus, the rsph is a good fit for a scientist like Narayan, years in terms who studies and writes poetry–when the inspiration of obesity, says Narayan Were hits me–and reads classic English literature to his narayan and his daughter sarayu share a 10yearold
daughter at bedtime His wife and he named trying to figure healthy meal at home sarayu is named for a tributary of the ganges river Sarayu after the beautiful tributary of the Ganges River out what can Just recently, Narayan received word that the rsph be done to prevent that We need to target children and was awarded a grant to establish a Center of Excellence young people the most Hence, Narayan and Julie Gazmararian, associate pro for Prevention and Control of Diabetes and Cardiometa bolic Diseases in South Asia The center, one of eight in fessor of health policy and management, are developing the world, involves multiple partners: the Public Health intervention programs for schools to encourage children Foundation of India, the All India Institute of Medical to eat properly and exercise more Other intervention Sciences, mdrf, and Aga Khan University in Pakistan programs will target minority groups, such as African Whatever we do, says Narayan, the fruits of our Americans who use Grady Memorial Hospital Narayan also works closely with Larry Phillips, professor of medi research have to be available to people everywhere
Ecology and
Public Health
children and young people
How
humans treat the planet is changing how the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health approaches the environment By Sherry Baker and Pam Auchmutey
O
n far too many hot, muggy Atlanta days, the view from Paige Tolberts corner of fice at the rsph is obscured by haze Its a reminder of one of Tolberts research passions– how air quality affects health And in a larger context, it also illustrates the challenges the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health eoh faces as the city and the planet move toward a future for paige tolbert, atlanta is the where public health is increasingly perfect laboratory for studying the effects of air quality on affected by climate change, grow health the city has the highest ing environmental degradation, and number of vehicle miles driven urban sprawl per day in the nation Classical environmental health looks at chemical exposures and that means globally, it changes the entire distribution of very specific health outcomes Its what a lot of us do a number of infectious diseases that are vectorborne, and what the department will continue to do, says says Tolbert That includes diseases like West Nile virus Tolbert, who became eoh chair
last fall But we are and malaria As the climate warms, the distribution of broadening our thinking about the impact of all human the mosquito population changes Similarly, deforesta activities, such as deforestation and polluting our water tion can impact vectorborne illnesses and air around the globe As the department moves forward, well be hiring new faculty who focus on these wider areas Atlanta as laboratory Public health ecology–how planetary changes result ing from human behavior affect health–is the wave of What humans do to the air they breathe and the ef the future in environmental studies Climate change and fects on health have long fascinated Tolbert Atlanta is deforestation, for example, influence health as new pat an ideal laboratory for studying air quality and health, terns for disease emerge given the oftenvisible haze produced by emissions If you think about a shift of one degree and what from vehicles and coalburning power plants Tolberts
spring 2008 public health magazine 15
14 public health magazine spring 2008
during the hot summer months, atlantas poor air quality sends many metro-area residents to the emergency room for treatment of heart and respiratory
problems
Tolberts research includes the largest study to date examining the relationship between Atlanta emergency room visits and air pollution
tine Moe is looking at gastrointestinal illness from the ED data in relation to Atlantas drinking water As the sophia study progresses, so will the body of evidence to further shape environmental policy Our study is a key contributor to the epas development of air quality standards, says Tolbert The agency comes to us for our latest results because they provide key evidence So our studies are contributing to the develop ment of changes in air quality standards The department recently turned its attention to the repercussions of Chinas vast environmental transforma tion As part of a new collaboration with China, Tolbert and other eoh researchers will study how living near major roadways may lead to development of asthma The study, to be funded by Emorys Global Health Institute, is just one arm of a continuing 20year study involving hundreds of thousands of people and led by Chinese and cdc researchers This study will set the stage for more work on the impacts of the environmen tal changes taking place in China drawing card For faculty
involved in climate change work, collaboration with Georgia Tech researchers, who are already looking at projections of severe weather events in the future, is a great advantage, says Tolbert Students stand to benefit in other ways eoh plans to offer a PhD program in environmental health sciences beginning in the fall of 2009 The program will raise the profile of the department and the school and enhance recruitment and retention of faculty Global Environmental Health, a joint program between eoh and the Hubert Department of Global Health, attracts students interested in global environ mental questions We are in need of mentors who can identify and supervise projects for these students and offer them additional courses, says Tolbert Thats another strong motivation for bringing in more faculty and for building our doctoral program Together, Tolbert and Uriel Kitron, the new chair of environmental studies in Emory College, are launching a fiveyear bs/mph program this fall Students will com plete their undergraduate studies and begin taking public health courses during the first four years and complete their studies in eoh during the last year Last fall, the department introduced an
interdisciplin ary course on the built environment and public health This is another emerging area, says Tolbert We are interested in expanding our research about issues such as urban sprawl, the benefits of green space, and the health impacts of land use–which can range from the very acute motor vehi 
cle trauma to the long term obesity, cancer, heart disease What else does the future of eoh hold? Student inter ests reveal part of the answer They are increasingly con cerned and excited about the big planetary issues Instead of feeling hopeless and helpless about the future, there is a movement toward taking action on a personal level in addition to striving to change policies at the national and international level, Tolbert says And there is an under standing that at the local level we have to plan responses and adaptation to problems like climate change More and more, environmental health is being recognized as multilevel, from local to global, in terms of the kinds of action that need to happen Its a very important time–and very exciting time–to be part of this work and this department
spring 2008 public health magazine 17
research includes the largest study to date examining
the relationship between emergency room visits and air pollution Funded by the nih and the US Environ mental Protection Agency epa, her study uses some of the most detailed pollution data ever collected using measurements taken by the Georgia Institute of Technol ogy and other partners rsph researchers Mitch Klein, Jeremy Sarnat, Stefanie Eblet Sarnat, Dan Flanders, and Lance Waller also are collaborating on the study We went to each Atlantaarea hospital and collected data on more than 10 million emergency department ED visits, says Tolbert This research has never been done before, and it provides us with an incredible re source that I think of as natural experiments going on around us that we can study The Study of Particles and Health in Atlanta sophia examines the associations between daily air quality and daily ED visits for heart and respiratory problems, based on data from 41 hospitals dating back to 1994 The study looks at outcomes such as ischemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper respiratory infections, and pneumonia It is well established that particulate pollution is re lated to these
outcomes This study allows us to extend our understanding and look at questions about what aspects of particulate matter appear to be the most haz ardous, Tolbert says Were using detailed air quality data that a number of researchers are developing, includ ing our Georgia Tech collaborators It allows us to go beyond what previous studies have done, which gener ally relied on routine air quality monitoring of the usual air pollutants that the epa regulates
16 public health magazine spring 2008
Poised for growth
For instance, study evidence implicates particles from motor vehicle exhaust as being important for cardiac outcomes The sheer size of the study allows more robust assessment of the doseresponse relationships of interest, she adds While there is a strong body of evidence linking air pollution with cardiorespiratory problems, the links between air pollution and other health outcomes are less clear In other work relating to sophia, Tolbert, epide miology professor Michele Marcus, and cdc researchers are looking at birth outcomes, including preterm births, small for gestational age birth defects, and cardiac birth defects Jonathan Langberg, director of cardiac electro
physiology at Emory University Hospital, is analyzing data from people implanted with heart defibrillators to determine if heart arrhythmias increase when air pollu tion is high Emergency medicine physician Jeremy Hess has a special interest in the heat index and how it can be used to project the health impact of climate change In another sophia offshoot, rsph sanitation expert Chris Given the scope of her research, Tolbert already had a full plate when she became acting chair of eoh in 2005 But the leadership role soon opened her eyes to the departments potential and what needed to be done to achieve that potential Atlantas appeal as a hub for studying environmental and occupational health and the schools plans to open a second building with stateoftheart laboratory space make the department and the rsph ripe for growth The department plans to double its faculty from 10 to 20, bringing in experts to build on existing strengths and create new ones Current strengths range from the global to the molecular, with expertise in pesticide exposure, toxicology, occupational cancer, air pollution and urban sprawl, and global environmental health issues Plans call for broadening expertise in
laboratorybased mecha nistic work, including biomarkers and geneenvironment research, and adding faculty who specialize in public health ecology, the built environment, childrens envi ronmental health, environmental medicine, geographic information systems, and more The opportunity for collaborative research is a strong
Building public health capacity in
four physicians take on their nations future as new fellows in the rsPH
by robin tricoles
the phfi is addressing the severe shortage of public health professionals in india to help reduce the burden of disease in rural and urban areas
CDC/Chris Zahniser
INDIA
alka singh
Vivek singh
Veena murlidhar
ashish rai
B
efore beginning his doctor ate in epidemiology at the rsph, Vivek Singh served as a physician in Bombays slums It was there that Singh went house to house con ducting polio surveillance and later helped plan a largescale immuniza tion program to counter spread of the disease The prevalence of polio, tuberculo sis, and other infectious diseases, the dramatic increase in chronic diseases such as diabetes, and the growing need for routine health care have strained Indias public health re
sources to the core Singh is
now part of a national effort to address these challenges through the Public Health Foundation of India phfi Estab lished in 2006 by the Indian govern ment, the phfi involves public and private partners intent on strengthen ing the nations public health infra structure through training, research, and policy development A top priority of phfi is expand ing public health departments by establishing eight institutes of excel lence to train thousands of public health professionals The first three institutes are slated to open in 2008
The institutes faculty members will include physicians like Vivek Singh who complete the Future Fac ulty Program ffp, a fellowship pro gram to train health professionals for academic careers in phfi institutes Since 2006, more than 40 candidates have received fellowships for gradu ate programs in public health at 30 schools in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom Collaborators include Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Oxford, McGill, and the rsph When the foundation was formed, there were no public health
learn and form new partnerships and collaborations so I can return to India and teach people who are already working in public
health but need to be trained The ffp, through Indias new insti The prevalence of polio, tuberculosis, and tutes of excellence, other infectious diseases and the growing will make public health more broad need for health care have strained Indias based and not just public health resources to the core limited to physi cians, Singh adds schools in India, says rsph Dean For the first time, we will have ex James Curran, who serves on the perts in diverse fields coming together phfi governing board There are under one roof many opportunities for public health For Veena Murlidhar, a physician training and research in India, and who worked as a medical officer at the formation of these schools is in a busy urban health center, the ffp tegral to that process The goal is to program has made it possible for her establish eight schools in five years to study various health care systems Alka Singh is also among the There are many questions as to four ffp fellows who will teach in what type of care is needed in rural India after completing degrees in and urban India, says Murlidhar the rsph A pediatrician who has In rural areas, the volume of avail studied and taught public health in able
health care is small compared to India, Singh is using her ffp fellow what is needed And in urban areas ship to gain the practical knowledge we need more hospitals, ones that she felt she needed She is now are affordable But how do we make working toward a masters degree in this happen? global epidemiology The professional ties that future What I was bringing to the faculty form with experts at the classroom was based on my clinical rsph and other schools of public experience, she says I could talk health will help strengthen Indias about vaccinations and such, but I public health system, Murlidhar did not have management experi notes These widespread connec ence I was going to the villages, I tions give us an entire worlds per was meeting the population, I was spective, which we can use to make working with public health workers, changes when we return to India but none of it was very effective, and Like Murlidhar, Ashish Rai is that was dissatisfying I came here to committed to improving Indias
public health system but with a different bent The way policies are formulated is very intriguing to me, says Rai, a pediatric neurolo gist and former research officer in the United
Kingdom As a medical student, Rai often heard public health policies dis cussed in class, but his instructors rarely told how those policies were created I learned later that those making policy often dont have field experience, he says Instead, poli cies tend to be formulated by admin istrators, which isnt effective Once back in India, Rai intends to change that by combining the knowledge he gains in the rsph with his own field experiences as a physician After conducting polio surveillance in Bombay, Vivek Singh worked at a rural health center monitor ing national health programs aimed at malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases It was the ex perience and interest that I gained at that time that led me to the Future Faculty Program, he says Im grateful for the opportunities the program and the rsph have provided me Im learning about standardized teaching methods and how a public health graduate program works More and more, Singh has also come to value interdisciplinary col laboration and research When I return to India, I want to emphasize how important they are to public health, he says Im sure there will be a lot of great opportunities to improve public health in
India The key is developing good collabo rations and proposals to generate grants that sustain our public health programs and research
spring 2008 public health magazine 19
18 public health magazine spring 2008
students enrolled in the md/mph program are among emorys best medical students, say coordinators John mcgowan left and bill eley
big Picture
thinking
hitney Milligan plans to study newborn mortality rates in developing countries Elizabeth Lutz would like to practice as an ob/gyn and conduct public health research And Larissa Thomas hopes to fashion a career combin ing clinical practice, advocacy education, and communi tybased interventions to reduce health disparities Milligan, Lutz, and Thomas are fourthyear medical students in Emorys dualdegree md/mph program A collaboration of the rsph and the School of Medicine, the program trains a different kind of physician–one with clinical expertise combined with a societywide perspective on public health To date, the 12yearold program has graduated 56 students, and 28 more are enrolled as mph or fourthyear medical students The joint md/mph program, in which students com plete their mph course work in 11 months between their
third and fourth years of medical school, attracts some of the best and the brightest Many are Woodruff schol ars or hold other distinctions The students who come to Emory with the dual degree in mind tend to be some of our very best students in medical school, says Bill Eley, 83m, 90mph, who oversees medical education and student affairs in the
20 public health magazine spring 2008
Through the MD/MPH program, students gain a societywide perspective on health
By Martha Nolan McKenzie / Photos by Bryan Meltz
School of Medicine They are outstanding academically, but they are also involved in the community and increas ingly well traveled outside the country Many have done work in public health before they get here Consider Thomas In the year between college and medical school, Thomas enrolled in AmeriCorps in Berkeley, where she worked with homeless youth, connecting them with medical and social services and helping start a free clinic to serve them Since coming to Emory, Thomas served two years as president of Health Students Taking Action Together Healthstat, a statewide coalition of health science students founded by Emory medical students in 2001 Healthstat engages in advocacy,
education, and service in areas of health disparities, hiv/aids, and childhood obesity Healthstat also coordinates the Grady is Vital Campaign, advo cating to state and county government and the local business community to save Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlantas financially strapped public hospital I think its great that the medical school recognizes how valuable the public health program is in attracting new applicants, says Thomas Its a huge selling point for a new generation of students who are interested in combining public health and advocacy with medicine
In fact, the RSPH and medical school are so commit ted to offering public health studies to medical students that they provide significant scholarship funds for the mph year One example is the Thomas F Sellers Jr, MD, Scholarship, provided by the RSPH and named for the physician who was instrumental in building Emorys community health program and the precursor to the rsph The medical school and the rsph supplement such funds with additional awards, which are divided equally among the students Just recently, the School of Medicine doubled the amount of scholarship support it provides for md/mph students We know an extra year
of tuition is a big burden, says Eley These students are going into fields where theyll probably make less money than their counter parts who did the straight MD We dont want the cost to stand in the way of pursuing their interests The tuition support was a deciding factor for Demetrius Woods, a fourthyear student and recipient of a Deans Scholarship from the medical school and an AdoptaScholar Award from the rsph After my first year of med school, I did a public health research project on chronic disease prevention, and that got me interested in pursuing my mph, says Woods, who intends to practice as an ob/ gyn and research health disparities and access to care The help with that years tuition was definitely a factor in my decision to get the dual degree
vidualistic, so they appreciate the opportunity to pursue innovative pathways Thats exactly what Jeremy Hess, 03m/mph did Hav ing worked on aids prevention programs in the Philip pines and Thailand, investigated a toxic waste accident in Cambodia, and studied the effectiveness of a food aid program to childheaded households in Rwanda–all before his year in the rsph–Hess knew the degree he wanted to pursue–global environmental
health The fact that the school didnt formally offer that degree at the time didnt deter Hess or the rsph faculty They let me put together my own curriculum, and I sort of piloted that program, says Hess, who now teaches emergency medicine and global health at Emory and researches global climate change and human health The school formally launched that concentration the following year
Unparalleled health experiences
Students such as Woods are drawn to the dualdegree program by the unparalleled as an md/mph student, Jeremy hess piloted his own curriculum in global experiences it offers During their public environmental health health year, students can choose from a vari ety of traditional and nontraditional degree Emory also offers students unequalled research oppor concentrations We offer a number of concentrations beyond what is usual for a school of public health, says tunities through its local partnerships with the cdc, The Carter Center, care, and the American Cancer Society epidemiologist and infectious disease physician John The Carter Center, for example, offers opportunities McGowan, who coordinates the md/mph program at the rsph Not only do we have the Hubert Department
to work in a disease eradication program that students cant find anywhere else, says McGowan These part of Global Health, which is fairly unusual, but we offer nerships help us attract some of the finest practitioners degree concentrations in global environmental health in the field and global epidemiology Our students tend to be indi
spring 2008 public health magazine 21
during their year in the rsph, demetrius woods gained a deeper appreciation for how hospitals operate, while larissa thomas learned from health experts in other countries
Elizabeth Lutz took advantage of the cdc partnership during the sum mer between her first and second years of medical school to see if public health was something she was truly interested in pursuing I was interested in the concept of public health, but I really didnt know what you would actually do in the field, she says At the cdc, Lutz worked in a division charged with infection surveillance She collaborated with cdc epide miologists to develop systems to track hospitalacquired infections That summer at the cdc solidified my interest in public health, she says After that, I knew I wanted to pursue the dual degree md/mph students also can
take advantage of summer electives, including the global field experience gfe and the cdc elective rotation fellowship Through the gfe, students apply what theyve learned in the past year in realworld settings across the globe Milligan and Lutz spent a summer in the Ukraine working with unicef Milligan worked at a neurosurgical hospital in Kiev, gathering data on the prevalence of neural tube defects in newborns, while Lutz studied iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women at a clinic The experience was eye opening Everyone talks about how hard it is to do research in ternationally, but until you get over there, its impossible to understand, says Lutz Youre dealing with another language, foreign customs The most valuable lesson I learned is that its impossible to plan in this situation, so you have to give up some control and go with the flow The cdc elective rotation fellowship gives students a chance to see applied field epidemiology in action, both domestically and abroad When possible, students can go out into the field and participate in a cdc investiga tion of a public health issue
A broader perspective
After completing their year of study in the rsph,
22 public health
magazine spring 2008
students return for their final year of medical school, forever changed by the experience The public health year gave me the opportunity to do research that will improve patient care in a nonclinical role, says Woods Toward the end of his public health year, Woods began to study a new practice model for ob/gyn called obstetric hospitalists This model addresses the issue that is keep ing more and more students from pursuing a specialty in ob/gyn–unpleasant work hours Instead of one physician trying to manage both a private practice and hospital deliveries, obstetric hospitalists would work only in the hospital, on shifts much like emergency medicine physicians The work hours of the hospitalists are pre dictable, and practicing ob/gyns can focus on outpatient care without having to constantly leave their office The public health year gave me a much better per spective on how hospitals run and how medicine is practiced outside the point of view of the clinician, says Woods I believe having a public health background will make me a better clinician and having a medical back ground will make me a better hospital administrator Thomas agrees During the public health
year, you are exposed to a different type of thinking–more big picture thinking–and you interact with completely different kinds of people, she says I studied global epidemiology, and I met physicians and people from ministries of health in other countries It was amazing to be able to sit down with them and hear their perspective Then when you come back to medical school, you tend to see everything that happens in clinical encounters in terms of the bigger picture
by pam auchmutey photos by bryan meltz
A Community of Scholars
dents read Pathologies of Power by Harvard physician Paul Farmer, longtime health and social justice advocate Gehardstein, a second year student in environmental health, recom mended Farmers book as well
The Public Health Academy brings students together for interdisciplinary conversation and real-world experience
N
ot long after epidemiologist Devra Davis published The Secret History of the War on Cancer last year, Newsweek rated the book a must read Several rsph students thought the same and selected it as this years book club choice for the Public Health Academy Ben Gehardstein was among the students who suggested Daviss book, which describes how
industrial, political, and scientific leaders have focused less on preventing cancer and more on making money by treating symptoms and allowing sales of tobacco, asbestos, and other carcinogenic products Last year, the stu
discussing books such as The Secret History of the War on Cancer helps students look at issues from multiple perspectives and stay current on topics related to their profession
spring 2008
public health magazine 23
Beijing appears to have actional levels of arsenic in the air My project looks at reduction of exposure
–XiaH Kragie
last summer, public health academy member Xiah kragie examined air quality in beijing above right she credits atsdr faculty mentor James durant with teaching her the skill set she needed to conduct her research
Our book discussions have been the best way for the academy group to simultaneously create community and learn, he says Thats just what academy organizers intended when they established the group in 2006 to bring merit scholarship recipients together to better prepare them for careers in public health These scholars in action work together to organize and lead group and schoolwide activities and also study individu ally
with a faculty mentor, who guides them through a research assistantship guaranteed for four semesters Led by Associate Dean Kathy Miner, the academy is designed to promote a sense of community and interdisci plinary discussion The idea behind the book club was to start a conversation among students from different departments, says Miner Throughout the conversation, they start looking at issues and learn to keep current as part of their profes sional obligations Paul Schramm, a firstyear student grounded in chemistry, geology, microbiology, and public policy, values listening to students from different backgrounds They have degrees ranging from anthropology to biochemistry,
work experience in everything from the epa to field hospitals, and many have lived abroad for some time, he says Interacting with them helps diversify my experience here at Rollins
Honing leadership skills
Like most aspiring leaders, Xiah Kragie is growing accustomed to thinking on her feet, having moderated the academys book discus sion with Davis via speakerphone She first learned to push beyond classroom boundar ies at the University of Maryland, where she earned undergraduate degrees in engineering and
economics As a founding member of a student chapter of Engineers Without Borders, she helped build a small sanitation center in Thailand At the rsph, she is learning how to better apply her engineering skills at large Water and sanitation are technically easy to learn, but the larger issue is making those systems work in the developing world, says Kragie, a secondyear student in global envi ronmental health I came to Emory to focus on the application and delivery of services Kragie tested her public health skills in China last summer Working with researchers at Tsinghua University, she examined air qual
and applying it in a realworld setting to discover what it is you need to keep learning Having that practical experience allows you to identify areas of interest you might not have known about so you can come back and learn more about it For her assistantship experience, firstyear student Carolyn Vance took a programmatic approach to her health policy major by intern ing with the Atlanta Feminist the public health academy provides carolyn Vance with opportunities Womens Health Center Before to explore her passion for reproductive health she hopes one day to she enrolled at the
rsph, Vance operate a clinic like the atlanta feminist womens health center lived in North Carolina, where she worked in health services re search The experience piqued her ity in Beijing as the city prepared to host the interest in reproductive health 2008 Summer Olympic Games I have a passion, but until now Ive not had I learned that Beijing appears to have the opportunity to learn which populations actionable levels of arsenic in the air, primarily seek services and why, how laws may affect from coal, she says Arsenic levels in Beijing vital services, or how certain areas may be were higher than those allowed in the United stigmatized, says Vance of her work with the States Chronic exposure to such pollutants is womens center At the same time, I hope to known to cause cancer learn what makes a grassroots organization ef My project looks at reduction of exposure, fective, how management responds to stimuli, Kragie adds China could make a couple of and how traditional advocacy may or may not policy changes in its coal process that would be effective for the populations targeted reduce arsenic exposure My goal is to provide With the experience she gains and her protection within
the realm of engineering participation in the Public Health Academy, She gained skills and insight for her project Vance hopes one day to operate a womens by working with faculty mentor James Durant, reproductive health clinic Kragie is weighing an environmental health scientist with the her options after graduation this May She cdcs Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis fully intends to volunteer again with Engineers ease Registry Durant taught her the intricacies Without Borders I see opportunities for im of air dispersion modeling and data reduction provement from a public health point of view as they worked together to evaluate the public and not just an engineering point of view, health implications of emissions released by says Kragie of the group a chemical plant in Mississippi Durant has As the Public Health Academy matures, made it a professional goal to provide learning Miner believes the program will help set the opportunities for students like Kragie rsph apart from other schools She sees other There are a lot of challenges that you face benefits as well Over time, these students in doing public health, says Durant One is will stay connected to us and each other after
taking what you learn in the academic setting they graduate
spring 2008 public health magazine 25
24 public health magazine spring 2008
Alumni News
Alumni News
Aiding Alaskas Native Population
Epidemiologist Laurie Helzer honored for reducing substance abuse
The past year has been nothing short of remark able for Laurie Helzer, 05MPH She bought her first home in Alaska She trained for a half marathon ski race She got engaged She published her first journal article And she received the Living of Values award, the highest honor presented by the Southcentral Foundation scf, an Alaska Native health corporation The foun dation coowns the Alaska Native Medical Center and provides primary care for Alaska Native and American Indian people living in the Cook Inlet Region of Alaska A senior researcher for scf executive and tribal ser vices, Helzer was recognized for leadership in reducing substance abuse in the Anchorage Native Community She leads an epidemiology work group for the project and is credited with bringing together four partners– scf, the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, the United Way, and the Municipality of Anchorage–to develop exten sive data to document substance abuse in
Anchorage Developing the data in language that each partner could understand was essential to reaching consensus on how to use funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Ms Helzer has helped us find ways to sort through and prioritize information that otherwise would have overwhelmed us, says Cristy Allyn Willer of the Cook Inlet Tribal Council When called upon to present these documents and findings to a broader population, she showed great skill in translating numbers and statistics into meaningful information for the general public– absolutely essential for our efforts to acquire informed and enthusiastic input from our advisers As head of her work group, Helzer wrote a needs assessment for substance abuse among Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Anchorage and led a team of people to develop a monitoring system for substance abuse indicators One of the hardest things was getting our team to
Good old-Fashioned Teamwork
RSPH alumna, adjunct faculty earn accolades for safe water intervention in Kenya
More and more health care workers in developing na tions are promoting safe water treatment and hand hy giene because of Amy Parker,
05MSN/MPH and two cdc colleagues who serve as rsph adjunct faculty Their success earned them the 2007 GlaxoSmithKline Circle of Excellence award for practices and programs that promote prevention, improve safety, or enhance health care quality Parker, Patricia Riley, and Rob Quick received the accolade for their Safe Water Program pilot interven tion of safe water and hand hygiene promotion in Homa Bay District Hospital in Kenya Their research project demonstrated the effectiveness of collaborating with lo cal stakeholders in promoting water treatment and hand washing in a rural, impoverished area of Kenya We were thrilled that 71 of patients were treating their household water during our followup study a year after they were initially taught the information at the clinic, says Parker, a cdc epidemiologist in viral dis eases As a result of the success in our Homa Bay pilot site, the water treatment and hand washing curriculum for health care workers is now being used in many devel oping countries worldwide The team credits their success to the projects stake holders: cdcs Safe Water Program, the Emory Center for Global Safe Water at the rsph, the Lillian Carter
cdc colleagues amy
parker, patricia riley, and rob Quick
laurie helzer holds a piece of glacier from prince william sound in her adopted state of alaska
Center for International Nursing at Emory, care/care Kenya, the Kenya Ministry of Health, and the Nursing Council of Kenya Without this collective input, the project and its sub sequent success never would have been realized, says Ri ley, a nurse midwife with the cdcs Global aids Program We did not expect that busy nurses in rural Kenya would be able to find the time to add this one small, but critical piece to their daily practice, adds Quick, a med ical epidemiologist in enteric diseases They embraced it enthusiastically and made a difference This is an idea that we are now trying to replicate in as many places as possible
think in terms of a public health model rather than individual behavior change/treatment models since the program required a populationdata approach to solving the problems, she says Her first journal article appeared in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2007 The article ana lyzed the results of a pilot study to evaluate the use of NicAlert immunoassay test strips and liquid chroma tography atmosphericpressure
ionization tandem mass spectrometry to measure tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure among Alaska Native pregnant women The entire supplement of the journal is about the or ganization I work for, so that made it quite a bit easier, says Helzer of her first foray into publishing I learned a lot in the process All in all, its been quite a year
above: nurses at a maternal health clinic in kenya teach patients how to treat their drinking water right: the children with amy parker hold bottles of the chlorine disinfectant used to treat kenyas drinking water
26 public health magazine spring 2008
spring 2008
public health magazine 27
Alumni News
Alumni News
Ensuring Safe Motherhood in rural India
Program led by former Humphrey Fellow receives MacArthur Award
As a result, each village Most of the 3,000 babies born in rural South Gujarat each year begin life far away from a hospital For years, has a pair of frontline workers who ensure safe newborns in this westernmost part of India entered the deliveries and provide world at home, hours away from medical help when prenatal and postna mothers or their babies experienced complications tal care Women health It is a problem that has
plagued much of India, where volunteers are trained to the maternal mortality rate rose to 800 per 100,000 live identify signs and symp births during the 1980s and 1990s Fortunately, those toms of complications and numbers are declining with the help of the Society for highrisk deliveries and Education, Welfare, and ActionRural sewaRural pankaj shah Coled by Pankaj Shah, a Humphrey Fellow at the RSPH refer them to Kasturba in 19981999, the organization trains women volunteers Hospital, the 100bed base facility Additionally, they assist traditional birth attendants and know what to and traditional birth attendants in local villages how to do in cases of premature and low birth weight babies, keep expectant mothers healthy and conduct safe deliv asphyxia, and infection eries at home The results have been impressive Between 2003 and 2006, a set of interventions focused on residents from those villages reduced mater nal mortality by 35 and neonatal mortality by 21 Today, sewa Rural serves as a model for com munities throughout the region and the nation for reducing maternal and newborn mortality Last year, sewaRural captured the attention of the John D and Catherine T MacArthur
Foundation, which presented its 2007 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions to the organization sewaRural is using the 350,000 sewarural trains women volunteers to prepare families for safe home deliveries and for possible award to establish a reproductive complications the organization serves 170,000 residents in 168 villages in south gujarat health training and resource center During pregnancy, volunteers provide counseling and The credit, says Shah, goes to our entire team prenatal services and help families prepare for home de A communityminded physician, Shah joined sewa livery and possible complications During the week after Rural in 1981, a year after its founding as a rural birth, volunteers visit daily and then continue to visit hospital Concerned about the welfare of those living weekly for two months in villages, the hospital began a community outreach Its not necessary that all deliveries are in the hospital program in 1982 Because training staff to work in the if skilled personnel are available for delivery at home, villages proved too difficult, the organization opted to says Shah sewaRural provides an alternative With train women volunteers in home
delivery and maternal out frontline health workers, we could not make a dent and prenatal care It also provides training for tradition in maternal and infant mortality al birth attendants
alumni association Board members
President Angie K McGowan, 98mph Past President Johanna Hinman, 98mph President-Elect Jean OConnor, 01mph Secretary Chad VanDenBerg, 96mph Members Matthew Biggerstaff, 06mph Sarojini Kanotra, 02mph, ms, phd Elaine J Koenig, 93mph Tamara Lamia, 02mph Thomas Mampilly, 02mph Jackie McClain, 03mph Anthony Santella, 04mph
the rsph office of development includes sonia davilar left, michelle James, kathryn graves, and kathy klatt
Klatt joins rSPH development team
Atlanta community leader Kathy Klatt has joined the rsph as direc tor of development Klatt has served with a number of organiza tions throughout the city, most recently as director of major gifts with the Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross At the rsph, she holds a new position that will expand the schools ties with supporters in the local community and the greater world at large Kathy will play an invaluable role by educating others about the mission of our school, says Kathryn Graves, associate dean
for development and external relations She will share our vision with major donors and match their interests with students, faculty, and programs throughout Rollins Klatts new role broadens her longtime interest in health While with the American Red Cross, Klatt served on a team that raised millions of dollars for Hurricane Katrina relief She is immediate past board chair of the Grady Foundation and serves on the com munity advisory board with Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta A 13year breast cancer survivor, Klatt has served with the Georgia Breast Cancer Coalition Fund And she has led fundraising initia tives for the Teen Services Reproductive Health Clinic at Grady Hospital and Hospice Atlanta In the course of her volunteer work and serving with the Ameri can Red Cross, Klatt learned the three most important require ments for fund raising: excellent leadership, financial stability, and a compelling need for support Rollins has all three, she says Im intrigued by the schools focus on prevention The best way to end disease is to prevent it from happening Both Rollins and Emory have a worldwide reach Its very humbling to be a cog in that wheel
upcoming events
Spring Diploma Ceremony
Monday, May 12
10:30 am, RSPH Plaza Information: amcmah2@sphemoryedu
Claudia Nance rollins Building Groundbreaking Friday, May 30
11:00 am, RSPH Information: amcmah2@sphemoryedu
rSPH Alumni reunion Weekend Friday, September 26, and Saturday, September 27
Information: alumni@sphemoryedu
rSPH open House Saturday, October 25
8:00 am5:00 pm, RSPH Information: sshe101@sphemoryedu
28 public health magazine spring 2008
spring 2008
public health magazine 29
Class Notes
Class Notes
dr amanda niskar, 95mph
christopher hu, 97mph, elizabeth preston-hu, 97mph, and daughter
sonya olson mounts, 99mph
tolton ramal pace, 02mph
the barenbaum children
caroline linda sheesley
1990s
Dr AMANDA NISKAr, 95MPH, joined the faculty in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the School of Public Health at Tel Aviv University in Ramat Aviv BORN: To CHrISToPHEr HSU, 97MPH, and ELIzABETH LISA PrESToN-HSU, 97MPH, a daugther, Zoe Joycelyn, on Oct 12, 2007 Chris graduated in 2007 from the University of Illinois at Champaign with an MD/PhD in virology He is now a pediatric resident at the University of Chicago Lisa completed the first year of her internal medicine residency at the
University of Illinois after graduating from Rush Medical College She is now a resident in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago BORN: To ALTAF MUSANI, 94C, 97MPH, and LINA CHICHAKLI, 98MPH, a son, Omar, on Sept 26, 2007 The couple also has a daughter, Deyana Altaf works with
Emergency and Humanitarian Action for WHO in Cairo, Egypt DALE PLEMMoNS, 99MPH, was among the legions of workers who responded following the I-35W bridge collapse between Minneapolis and St Paul last summer Plemmons is a safety administrator for the Minnesota Department of Transportation After the bridge collapse, he made sure that rescue workers could safely walk on the bridge debris to assess the damage Later, he had another important job: He provided a hard hat to President Bush when he visited the bridge site last August MARRIED: MICHELLE MACDoNALD, 98MPH, to Thomas McAllister Jr, on Oct 6, 2007, in Las Vegas The couple lives in Ypsilanti, MI Michelle is a consulting manager for Thomson Healthcare in Ann Arbor SoNyA oLSoN MoUNTS, 99MPH, is now a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives Her daughter, Ava Elizabeth, was born Sept, 30, 2006, and
joins big brother Eli The family lives in Norfolk, VA
BORN: To MELISSA SHEESLEy, 94ox, 96C, 99MPH, and her husband, JoHN, 98C, a daughter, Caroline Linda, on May 27, 2007 Melissa is a product manager with McKesson Corporation John is an intellectual property associate with the Atlanta law firm King and Spalding
Noah Hans, on June 10, 2007 He joins older brother Brennon The family lives in Phoenixville, PA
ALI KHAN, 00MPH, was promoted to rear admiral with the US Public Health Service He is deputy director of the National Center of Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases with the CDC BORN: To JENNIFEr WHITE CHArrETTE, 01MPH, and Thomas Charrette, a son, Mathieu Thomas, on Oct 8, 2007 Jennifer is a self-employed health care consultant in Yarmouth, ME BORN: To CArrIE MASAE MAMPILLy, 02MPH, and THoMAS CHErIAN MAMPILLy, 02MPH, a son, Cherian Thomas, on April 30, 2007 The family lives in Silver Spring, MD ToLToN rAMAL PACE, 00C, 02MPH, now serves as college access and scholarship coordinator for the Atlanta Public Schools Project GRAD Tolton also is studying at the Interdenominational Theological Center to earn a master of divinity degree, specializing in pastoral counseling,
christian education, and interfaith health He currently is associate minister at Greater
New Light Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta SANDy vAN SANT, 02MPH, is the health officer for the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission in New Jersey She oversees 24 towns and is one of the first nurses in the state to hold this position MARRIED: DANIELLE orGANEK, 03MPH, to JoNATHAN BErNSTEIN, 03MPH, on June 10, 2007, in West Bloomfield, MI Danielle is a senior analyst with the U S Government Accountability Office in Atlanta Jon will graduate with an MBA from Georgia Tech in May
Faculty Appointments
EDWIN TrEvATHAN, 82M, 82MPH, joined the RSPH faculty as an adjunct professor of epidemiology Trevathan directs the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the CDC Dr roBErT DAvIS, 90MPH, was appointed adjunct professor of epidemiology at the RSPH He is a longtime health journalist and public editor for WebMD Dr LEISEL TALLEy, 00MPH, joined the RSPH faculty as an adjunct professor of global health She is an epidemiologist with the International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch of the CDC PAULA BUrGESS, 79M, 01MPH, joined the RSPH faculty as adjunct assistant
professor of epidemiology She is a medical officer with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
2000s
BORN: To MICHELLE BArENBAUM, 00MPH, and DANIEL BArENBAUM, 00L/MBA, a son, Henry Abe, on Sept 2, 2007 He joins two siblings The family lives in Mill Valley, CA Michelle previously served as director for adolescent pregnancy prevention programs at the Institute of Health Policies, University of California at San Francisco GUISSo rAyMoND DoGorE, 00MPH, published The Ivory Coast: Building Lasting Development LHarmattan Publishers, 2007 BORN: To CArrIE HEIST GrABoWICz, 00MPH, and Brian Grabowicz, a son,
edwin trevathan, 82m, 82mph
omar musani
dr leisel talley, 00mph
michelle macdonald, 98mph, and husband
Jonathan bernstein, 03mph, and danielle organek, 03mph
30 public health magazine spring 2008
spring 2008
public health magazine 31
Class Notes
sandy Van sant, o2mph
anthony santella, 04mph
katy suellentrop, 04mph
amanda nickerson, 06msn/mph
Rollins School of Public Health Deans Council
Lawrence P Klamon, Chairman
Mr Jeff Adams Ms Angela Z Allen Ms Yetty L Arp Ms Paula Lawton Bevington Mr Morgan Crafts Jr Mr Bradley N Currey Jr Mr René M Diaz Ms Charlotte B
Dixon Mr Robert J Freeman Dr Helene D Gayle Mr Jonathan Golden Ms Leslie J Graitcer Ms Virginia Bales Harris Ms Valerie HartmanLevy Mr Richard N Hubert Mr Phil Jacobs Mr Stanley S Jones Jr Ms Anne Kaiser Mr Mark A Kaiser Ms Ruth J Katz Mr Alfred D Kennedy Dr William Kenny Ms Ann Klamon Ms Amy Rollins Kreisler Ms Beverly B Long Dr Edward Maibach Mr Carlos Martel Jr Dr Barbara J Massoudi Mr John S Mori Mr Christopher Offen Ms Nancy McDonald Paris Ms Alicia A Philipp Mr Cecil M Phillips Mr Glen A Reed Ms Teresa Maria Rivero Ms Patricia B Robinson Dr Nalini R Saligram Dr Dirk Schroeder Dr John R Seffrin Mr Lee M Sessions Jr Ms Jane E Shivers Ms Sandra L Thurman Mr William J Todd Dr Kathleen E Toomey Ms Linda Torrence Ms Evelyn G Ullman Ms Alston P Watt Dr Philip Watt Dr Walter B Wildstein Dr Shelby R Wilkes Ms Evonne H Yancey
ANTHoNy SANTELLA, 04MPH, received his doctorate from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University in December 2007 He recently became director of HIV policy, planning, and implementation with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Anthony serves on the RSPH Alumni Board KATy SUELLENTroP, 04MPH, took part in a recent
segment on teen pregnancy prevention for National Public Radio in Connecticut She spoke on behalf of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, where she is senior manager for research programs Katy also married Mike McGough on June 9, 2007, in Washington, DC MARRIED: AMy WALTErS, 05MPH, to Nathaniel Schlotthauer on Sept 8, 2007 Amy is an evaluational specialist at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee
GILLIAN S CroSS, 06MPH, is a research associate with Macro International in Atlanta AMANDA NICKErSoN, 06MSN/MPH, completed an Association of Schools of Public Health Fellowship with the Health Resources and Services Administration and started her own firm, ALN Consulting She works with the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools and other organizations Amanda lives in Fairfax, VA MARRIED: WENDI HoLLAND, 07MPH, and Russell Branch on April 7, 2007, in Lake Lure, NC The couple lives in Asheville
Alumni Deaths
DArLENE DEE PAES, 89MSN/MPH, on Oct 23, 2006, at age 44 in Orlando, FL JoSEPH MAxFIELD MAx BECK, 07MSPH, on Jan 12, 2008, at age 41 He died at his Atlanta home following a two-year battle with cancer Beck was known for his poignancy and
frankness about being born intersexed Raised as a girl, Beck eventually changed his sex and married In addition to sharing his story through the media, Beck was active in the Intersex Society of North America and often counseled young people with the same condition Diagnosed with cancer in 2005, Beck nevertheless enrolled in the RSPH to pursue his interest in public health informatics
the beck family
Would you like to see your news and photos on these pages? You can mail, fax, or e-mail your latest developments Address: Alumni Records, RSPH, PO Box 133000, Atlanta, GA 30333-9906 Fax: 404-727-9853 E-mail: alumni@sphemoryedu
max beck, 07msph, and daughter alder
At Emory, he worked closely with neurology professor David Rye on his groundbreaking study to identify the genetic basis for restless legs syndrome As part of the study, Beck worked in Iceland to gather and manage genetic data Max loved statistics and wanted to find ways to improve health, says his wife, Tamara Beck is also survived by their children, Alder and Griffin
Dr James W Curran, Dean Ms Kathryn H Graves, Associate Dean for Development and External Relations
32 public health magazine spring 2008
IL E D F
MA
R
OM
ZIP
C
OD
E 3 03
NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO 3604
2
EMORY UNIVERSITY ALUMNI RECORDS OFFICE 1762 CLIFTON ROAD ATLANTA, GA 30322
Address Service Requested
a family affair
family members–both personal and professional–gathered at the rsph to honor former cdc director david sencer left, for whom the school named a scholarship targeting local and state public health professionals former cdc directors david satcher second from left, william foege, and Jeff koplan joined sencer for the occasion see page 7
34 public health magazine spring 2008
2
Source:whsc.emory.edu
