Newsletter November
2015
Contents News & Events 1. Report from Coeur d’Alene IDeA Western Regional Conference
2. New MT INBRE Logo 3. CafĂŠ Scientifique Fall Recap
Noteworthy 4. Awards & Publications 5. Opportunities & Announcements 6. MT INBRE Spotlight Shavonn Whiten
10. Catching up
Former student Kelan Stanfill
11. New Staff
Anna Buerhaus & Bill Stadwiser
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM103474. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Report from
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho October 12 - 14, 2015
MT INBRE on the Road
The state of Montana was well represented at the 2015 NIH IDeA Western Regional Conference by Idaho INBRE in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The Montana INBRE contingent included Community Engagement Core members, Bioinformatics Core members, Administrative Core members, project leaders, and several student researchers from tribal colleges and four-year institutions, including Blackfeet Community College, MSU, Stone Child College, and Montana Tech of the UM. The conference featured a number of inspirational keynote speakers, including Dr. Heinz Feldman (Chief, Rocky Mountain Laboratory Laboratory of Virology), Dr. Douglas Wright (Professor, NAIPI Vice-President, NISBRE PI, Kansas INBRE PI), Dr. Judith H. Greenberg (Deputy Director for NIGMS), Dr. Krishan Arora (Program Director NIGMS), and Robert Vinson (Program Manager, SBIR/STTR). In addition to a vibrant student poster session, additional break-out sessions focused on infectious diseases, microbiology and immunology, community engagement, cell physiology, NSAID research, and health disparities.
Special Congratulations to Montana’s Undergraduate and Graduate Poster Competition Winners! See page 5 for more details!
Raina Plowright (Faculty, MSU)
Yoon Hee Cho (Faculty, UM)
Misty LaPlant (Student, Blackfeet Community College) Photo by Sara Young
Invited podium speakers from Montana included, Dr. Raina Plowright of MSU (Ecological dynamics of pathogen spillover); Dr. Monica Skewes of MSU (Addressing Substance Abuse in Indian Country); Dr. Yoon Hee Cho of UM (Environmental Epigenetic Biomarkers and Inflammation)
Monica C. Skewes (Faculty, MSU) Photo by Nathan Norby
Marisa Sewell (Student, MSU), Ann Bertagnolli (Faculty, MSU), Bill Stadwiser (Staff, MSU) Photo by Laurie Howell
November 2015
MT INBRE would like to thank everyone at Idaho INBRE for hosting such a wonderful, productive, and well-organized event!
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New Look for MONTANA INBRE
It began with a conversation about wanting the logo’s lines to blend more as the mountain transitions into the helix.
It quickly progressed into many ideas, drafts and discussions. All but one were discarded ...
... well, maybe all but two were discarded.
Visit us on Facebook or drop us a line to tell us what you think!
café
eat. drink. talk science. WE were excited to welcome Isabel Stenzel Byrnes back to Montana
Isabel Stenzel Byrnes Author, patient advocate and social worker | Redwood City, CA
for her presentation, “The Miracle of Breathing: The Science and Personal Story of Cystic Fibrosis and Lung Transplantation.” Her inspiring talk was held at the Mary Alice Fortin Conference Center in Billings.
BUTTE, Montana, is home to approximately 35,000
residents living adjacent to one of the largest concentrated areas of environmental contamination in the United States. Despite this contamination, open-pit mining continues in close proximity to Butte’s urban population. According to Professor Katie Hailer, to date, most research has focused on assessing water and soil contamination related to past decades of mining. Hailer’s research at Montana Tech of the UM instead focuses on current mining operations’ ongoing effects on air pollution and soil contamination and the potential health consequences for local residents. Hailer’s presentation covered her research methodology and preliminary data, including how she found statistically higher levels of copper, manganese and molybdenum in Butte residents’ bodies compared to a control group in Bozeman. She also discussed follow-up research conducted in 2014 and 2015, which revealed elevated levels of copper, manganese, lead, selenium and zinc in Butte residents. Hailer says that she hopes to conduct further research into how chronic exposure to metal mixtures might play a role in activating dormant genetic medical conditions. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a component of the National Institutes of
I learned at a young age to be grateful for life. ˜Isabel Stenzel Byrnes During her talk, Isabel emphasized how, although many once considered Cystic Fibrosis (CF) a death sentence, recent medical advancements have improved patient outcomes and increased life expectancy. One reason for her hard-won optimism is, in the past, doctors were only able to treat symptoms, not underlying causes of CF. Now, thanks to a deeper understanding of different classes and root causes of CF, new “precision” therapies are able to target specific CF-causing proteins and advancements in organ transplantation offer the possibility of replacing damaged lungs with unaffected tissue. Stenzel Byrnes’ talk included her own personal experience living with chronic illness and undergoing a lung transplantation. Childhood and even adulthood challenges related to CF helped shape her attitude and character. Said Stenzel Byrnes, “I learned at a young age to be grateful for life.” It was clear from our visit with Isabel that her words were heartfelt and sincere. At every turn, Isabel looked for opportunities to express gratitude. “I really enjoyed coming back to Montana again and engaging with the audience. I especially enjoyed my family’s company on our trip to Yellowstone National Park. Fall was the perfect time to visit, and it made me feel so healthy to be so active in nature for several days.” Here’s to hoping that we see Isabel in Big Sky country again soon!
Katie Hailer Professor of Biochemistry at Montana Tech of the UM
scientifique
Health, lists metal exposure as an environmental risk factor linked to neurodegenerative disorders like dementia. The role of metals in neurodegeneration is a rapidly expanding field of scientific research involving contributions from molecular genetics, biochemistry, and biometal imaging. MT INBRE is proud to have helped support professor Hailer’s research! Page 3 of 11
AWARDS
Students from BCC receive award Photo by Nick Beymer
Undergraduate Research Third Place at NIH IDeA Western Regional Conference: Congratulations to Colbi Kipp, Misty LaPlant, and Joseph LaPlant of Blackfeet Community College for their poster titled, The link between serum cortisol levels and stress in an American Indian Community. Excellent work! Project mentors include: Ann Harmsen (MSU), Aga Apple (MSU), and Jim Kipp (BCC).
& PUBLICATIONS
New Funding Secured Congratulations to MT INBRE Project Leader, Bridget Kevane, and co-PL, Yanet Eudave, who were awarded a $20,000 grant from the Montana Healthcare Foundation competition for the Promotora program!
Bridget & Yanet submitted their grant proposal under the Partnerships for Better Health category and plan to create a Promotora program (promoters of health) with the Latino communities in Belgrade and West Yellowstone.
Bailey Houghtaling (Graduate Student, MSU) Photo by Nick Beymer
Graduate Research Third Place at NIH IDeA Western Regional Conference: Congratulations to Bailey Houghtaling of Montana State University for winning third place at the NIH IDeA Western Regional Conference for her poster titled, Exploring Breastfeeding Practices Among the Fort Peck Tribes. Joseph LaPlant, Misty LaPlant, Colbi Kipp (Students, Blackfeet Community College) Photo by Nick Beymer
Recent Publication: Congratulations to KJ Bates and Carmen Byker Shanks at the MSU Food and Health Lab for their recent publication titled,
MT INBRE is proud to have helped support this fantastic work!
Placement of takeout container during meal influences energy consumption.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pubmed/26448436
For more details, please visit:
Project mentors include: Carmen Byker Shanks (MSU), Selena Ahmed (MSU), and Elizabeth Rink (MSU).
If you have a MT INBRErelated award, publication or announcement, please let us know! bill.stadwiser@montana.edu 1-406-994-3360
Carmen Byker Shanks (Faculty, MSU)
November 2015
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OPPORTUNITIES
&
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MT INBRE BULLETIN BOARD Montana INBRE is soliciting proposals through Feb. 7, 2016, for pilot projects or major research projects in the areas of environmental health, infectious diseases, and rural and/or Native American health disparities. Opportunities for continuation and resubmission projects also are available (see the full RFP at the link below). http://www.inbre.montana.edu/grant_opps.php Information regarding applications for spring semester and summer public health internships will be posted online shortly. Keep an eye on this webpage for details: http://www.inbre.montana.edu/phi.php 2016 Native American Graduate Fellowship applications now being accepted. Funding begins May 1, 2016. Follow this link for application details: http://www.inbre.montana.edu/graduate_fellowships.php Check the Montana INBRE website for up-to-date information on opportunities, deadlines, upcoming events, the 2016 CafĂŠ Scientifique schedule and more! www.inbre.montana.edu
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National Opportunities 26th National Native Health Research Conference: June 5-8, 2016, Cherokee, NC Conference is designed to advance biomedical, behavioral, and health services research for the benefit of Indigenous communities. For more information please visit: www.nativeresearchnetwork.org S.T.A.N.D. (Students Together Against Negative Decision Making): June 26-July 1, 2016, Portland, OR A positive youth-development program that builds decision making skills on healthy relationships, STD/HIV prevention, and reproductive health. Applications are due February 1, 2016. For more information about the program, eligibility, or to apply, please visit www.oregonprc.org
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MT INBRE Spotlight Shavonn Whiten First in Family to Publish Major Research Paper, Pursue Ph.D. It was the summer of 2012, and Shavonn Whiten had just moved to Bozeman, Montana, to work on an invasive species project with the US Geological Survey (USGS) Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center. Upon moving, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native recalls having to adjust quickly to life in Montana. Shavonn had just returned from a research trip in Ghana, Africa, and, until then, had never ventured very far outside of Louisiana for extended periods of time. Ghana is a long ways away from Baton Rouge, but Shavonn was surprised to have experienced greater culture shock upon moving to Montana than during her time in Africa. According to Shavonn, “Ghana was a completely different country, and having just experienced international travel, I didn’t think that moving to a different part of the US would require much adjustment, but it did.”
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Part of the adjustment was learning to navigate in an environment that was statistically less than one percent African-America. “In Montana, I learned to see an individual for their inner attributes, and could no longer use outer appearance as a shortcut to define my support system,” said Shavonn. “I had to get past the color barrier, quickly realize that we all have qualities in common, and use that realization to identify people who I could empathize with and who could empathize with me. Outside of my research, living in Montana helped me become more confident in what I had to offer as an individual.” Meanwhile, Shavonn’s job with USGS also required that she continue her education by taking science classes related to her work. Shavonn isn’t a person who’s easily deterred, and she set about to make the most of the opportunity to
Never forget the path you walked to reach your academic goals. Your students are your future and will carry on your scientific legacy. EMERGING LEADER
When not in the lab, Shavonn enjoys volunteering in underserved communities, salsa dancing, and learning about different cultures. She aspires to serve as a mentor and positive role model for future scientists – especially for minority youth who aspire to careers in science. Shavonn says that she was “blessed to have wonderful mentors who provided sound advice, words of encouragement during tough times and who were truly invested in my success as a scientist and, more importantly, as a human being.” Shavonn has already begun this important work, having taught at MSU Extended University’s Peaks and Potentials enrichment summer camps for grade-school students.
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study at Montana State University (MSU). As luck would have it, during Spring semester 2012 Shavonn was introduced to professor Robert Peterson, Ph.D. She quickly shared her interests and career goals with Dr. Peterson. It was in that moment, on the MSU-Bozeman campus, that their individual stories began to intertwine. Professor Peterson – or “Bob” as his students frequently call him – is an entomology professor at MSU who specializes in biological risk assessment with particular emphases in biotechnology, invasive species, and pesticides. Bob is known around campus as an enthusiastic teacher with a knack for organizing interdisciplinary research projects and a strong commitment to furthering online learning opportunities. During their initial conversation, Shavonn found interest in the research Bob’s laboratory conducted. Growing up in Louisiana, she was very familiar with mosquitoes. In addition, her recent travels to Ghana solidified her interest in a career centered on public health and mosquito control. It wasn’t long before Shavonn approached Bob about beginning a master’s degree in entomology at MSU. Bob was impressed by Shavonn’s genuine interest and potential as a researcher, but he didn’t have a readymade project that encompassed Shavonn’s interests or, for that matter, funding to take on another graduate student. Sensing Shavonn’s potential, Bob approached Allen Harmsen, Ph.D., and Ann Bertagnolli, Ph.D., from the Montana IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) as well as administrators from the Montana Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) – both MSUhoused federal programs that support minority graduate students pursuing
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STEM fields of study. After meeting, Allen and Ann were preliminarily onboard with helping fund Shavonn, but the plan hinged on finding an area of inquiry that matched Shavonn’s interests and fit within INBRE’s and EPSCoR’s mandates. SERENDIPITY STRIKES
The answer to the research-topic question came while Bob’s attention was turned elsewhere. While busy writing a chapter for an unrelated academic text, Bob was suddenly
immature insects as opposed to adult mosquitoes – a key distinction that will come into play shortly. Despite the topic’s relative obscurity, the relationship between temperature and pesticide toxicity is an important phenomenon to consider – especially in a world with a warming climate. If, for example, pesticide control of mosquito-carried pathogens was to become less effective due to rising temperatures, the total population and habitat range of mosquitoes
Shavonn Whiten undertaking the role of scientific mentor at MSU’s Peaks and Potentials Summer Camp
reminded of a relatively obscure phenomenon with significant, yet underexplored implications. The research itself is fairly technical, but the basics are easy to understand. Quietly over the past 30 years, a handful of researchers observed and cataloged how changes in outside temperature can impact certain pesticides’ ability to kill insects. Pausing momentarily from his writing, Bob realized that this body of research was, on the whole, persuasive and significant, albeit somewhat incomplete. For example, many of the prior experiments were conducted on aquatic or
could stand to rise. In addition to representing a fascinating set of entomological research questions, this line of reasoning also suggests major implications for global public health in coming decades. Shavonn and her growing interest in toxicology, immunology, infectious disease, and public health immediately jumped to Bob’s mind as the person to carry out this research. According to him, “this was important work that needed to be done and done well. Shavonn was the perfect person to take it on.”
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climate has warmed significantly over the past century, and best of luck finding one who’s a respected climatologist,” said Bob. Though doing so may flirt with speculation, it’s difficult to avoid connecting the dots linking Shavonn’s findings to observable climatic trends and plausible future scenarios.
Shavonn conducts labratory research at Montana State University
THE RESEARCH
Shavonn’s research both confirmed and expanded on previous studies. Through precisely controlled laboratory experiments, Shavonn verified that increasing ambient temperature does indeed alter the toxicity of certain pesticides (Type-1 pyrethroids to be exact) for certain mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti). As is often the case in science, a close examination of the underlying dataset tells a more nuanced story, but the take-home message in this case remains the same: Higher ambient temperatures may mean less effective mosquito control. One way that Shavonn’s research parted from many of her predecessors is that it systematically focused on adult mosquitoes as opposed to more immature insect development stages. From a public health perspective, this is significant because adult mosquitoes, not their eggs, larva or pupa, are the vehicles for the transmission of pathogens that cause diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. By using adult mosquitoes for her experiments, Shavonn ensured that her data would
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be relevant to future discussions involving common control strategies that attempt to suppress diseasecausing pathogens by disabling their main avenue of transmission.
Daily I see myself achieving and conducting scientific research I never in my wildest dreams thought possible. According to Bob, “Shavonn’s findings have absolutely helped solidify and refine our understanding of temperature’s effect on insect control, but they’ve more importantly generated important questions for follow-up research.” Chief among those follow-up questions includes deepening our understanding of how Shavonn’s findings dovetail with the much larger, global story of climate change. Recall those early baseline studies establishing temperature as a key variable in pesticide efficacy. Significantly, most of these studies were published before the details of human-caused climate change were broadly understood. “Today there are few left who dispute that earth’s
Today, the generally accepted consensus among climatologists is to expect somewhere between a 1 and 3.5 degree Celsius increase in the annual mean surface temperature by the year 2100. For those of us using Fahrenheit thermometers, that’s approximately 2 to 6 F of anticipated warming. Significantly, and for reasons outside of the scope of this article, this anticipated warming is likely be most prevalent during evening hours –precisely the time of day in which adult mosquitoes tend to be most active and most susceptible to traditional pesticide application strategies. “We’re not in a place to make absolute predictions, but we need to look at the facts and trends with eyes wide open,” said professor Peterson. “We have mosquitoes in the environment, and clearly some of those mosquitoes carry pathogens that can cause disease. People use pesticides to control mosquito populations to prevent disease. Since it’s been verified that rising temperatures can affect certain pesticides’ ability to control mosquitoes, the public health implications of these findings deserve to be discussed within the larger climate change mitigation calculus.” WILD DREAMS COME TRUE
Whether the findings from her first published paper reach a larger audience or contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding climate
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after all, dancing in a realm where wild dreams come true, so let’s take Shavonn’s lead and allow ourselves a moment to be curious and wonder. GRATITUDE
Aedes aegypti
change remains to be seen. One thing is for certain: this isn’t the last you’ll hear of Shavonn Whiten. Currently Shavonn is a second year doctoral student at the Virginia Polytechnic Insititute and State University (Virginia Tech) Department of Entomology. According to Shavonn, “my current research here at Virginia Tech is very rewarding and unique. I have the awesome opportunity to learn from one of the top vector biologists today, Dr. Zach Adelman. Daily I see myself achieving and conducting scientific research I never in my wildest dreams thought possible.” Those wild dreams now include work on cutting-edge genome editing applications. Shavonn says that her Ph.D. project focuses on “the identification and characterization of adult Aedes aegypti peritrophic matrix proteome with specific interest in potential heme-binding peritrophins.” In laymen’s terms, she plans to investigate whether state-ofthe-art genome-editing techniques such as CRISPR/Cas 9 have the potential to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Again we speculate, but perhaps, one day, Shavonn’s work may even lead to discoveries that ultimately decrease the amount of pesticides used to suppress mosquito-transmitted diseases or perhaps eliminate the need for pesticides altogether. We are now,
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While Shavonn has certainly earned all the praise she is receiving for her work, she is quick to express gratitude for those who helped her. “This is a big accomplishment for me, as I am the first person in my family to publish in a major journal and more specifically to pursue a PhD. It was often difficult to tread unfamiliar territory. However, I was blessed to have many mentors and role models who provided positive advice during the process.”
INBRE provided the platform for me to network, present my scientific research, and conduct my research without worrying about outside jobs. I was blessed to meet awesome folks like Allen Harmsen, Ann Bertagnolli, Laurie Howell, and Valerie Holznagel all ... played integral roles in my successful completion of my MS degree at MSU. Shavonn credits her current PhD advisor, Dr. Adelman of Virginia Tech for investing in her success as a research scientist and for teaching her the techniques and skills necessary to be a competitive scientific researcher. She also credits Bob Peterson at MSU for getting her started in the field of entomology. “Without professor Peterson’s support, I don’t think I would have ever been introduced to entomology – a field that combines all of my interests,” said Shavonn. Shavonn is also grateful for the institutional and developmental support she received while
completing her master’s degree at MSU. “During my time at MSU, I developed confidence in my ability as a research scientist, became an independent thinker, and learned how to navigate the publishing arena.” According to Shavonn, “Montana INBRE provided the platform for me to network, present my scientific research, and to conduct my MS research without worrying about outside jobs. Through INBRE, I was blessed to meet awesome folks like Allen Harmsen, Ann Bertagnolli, Laurie Howell, and Valerie Holznagel – all of these INBRE folks were positive influences and played integral roles in my successful completion of my MS degree at MSU.” Shavonn also credits MSU EPSCoR, MSU LRES faculty and staff, East Baton Rouge Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control district, Peterson’s lab members, and “all of the wonderful friends and family I acquired during my time at MSU.” The list of people she’s grateful for also includes her parents, Sherman and Gloria Whiten, and her personal mentor, Dr. Estralita Martin, who is the director of the NIH-supported Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT) program. “Since my 2011 international research experience in Ghana, Africa,” says Shavonn, “Dr. Martin has been my guiding light throughout pursuing my professional career. I am forever grateful for the time and energy she has and continues to invest in me.” n The full text of Shavonn Whiten’s first journal article can be found at: http://jme.oxfordjournals.org/
content/early/2015/10/16/jme.tjv159
For another article about Shavonn in Entomology Today, see http://entomologytoday.org/2015/11/24/
higher-temperatures-impair-efficacy-ofpermethrin-insecticide/
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Catching up with... Kelan Stanfill Backstory
Year Kelan Participated in PHI Program: 2009-2010 Undergraduate Degree: BS Exercise Science, BA Spanish, minor in Latino Studies from Montana State University (2010) Graduate Degree: MS in Nutrition from the University of Utah (2014) Current Occupation: Registered Dietitian PHI Placement & Mentor: Gallatin County WIC, Darcy Hunter PHI Research Project: Help improve WIC services and outreach to the Latino population in Montana by translating WIC documents & outreach materials into Spanish Advice to Students: Be open to new options and volunteer in your field as much as possible. I love the field of nutrition because I could work in a hospital, work for WIC, teach college classes or work on public policy. On when she’s moving back to Montana: As soon as I can convince my fiancé, Phil, that it’s in his best interest. He’s an avid cyclist, skier, and fly fisher, so it really shouldn’t be that tough.
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Healthcare Pipeline Report
Former MSU Student says MT INBRE Internship Shaped her Career Path Reflecting on her senior year at Montana State University, Kelan Stanfill admits to feeling, “pretty lost as to what I wanted to do career-wise.” She knew that she was passionate about health, exercise, and working with underserved populations, but she was unsure how to meld all three into meaningful work after graduation. During a fallsemester Latino Immigration course, Kelan struck up a conversation with her professor, Leah Schmalzbauer. Kelan asked the professor for advice on ways to become more involved in the Latino community in Bozeman. Professor Schmalzbauer told Kelan about INBRE program and encouraged her to apply for an undergraduate Public Health Internship (PHI).
The most rewarding part of my career is convincing a client to focus on his or her overall health rather than just the number on a scale. After applying, Kelan began an INBRE internship with Gallatin County Women, Infants & Children (WIC). A few weeks into her internship, Kelan described having an “ah-ha moment” regarding how to combine her academic interests and
passions, and she began researching masters programs in public health nutrition. Kelan credits her INBRE public health internship for providing the direction and confidence she needed to enter the nutrition field, as well as a strong desire to learn more. After graduation, Kelan applied for and accepted a yearlong AmeriCorps position at a community health clinic. While working at the clinic, Kelan was surprised to find that providers frequently prescribed medications for diet-related conditions such as type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol – conditions Kelan knew could often be treated with proper diet and exercise. “When I tried to encourage staff members to provide more nutrition education, they told me that there just wasn’t enough time and too few resources to educate patients. This moment really served as a catalyst, and it solidified for me why I wanted to become a registered dietitian.” Kelan says she enjoys her career as a registered dietitian because she gets to provide people with the support they need to realize behavior change. “The most rewarding part of my career is convincing a client to focus on his or her overall health, rather than just the number on a scale.” n
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Welcome!
New Staff
ANNA BUERHAUS
With a Masters in Health Science Education and as a Certified Health Education Specialist, I have 15+ years of experience working in community/public health field. I have worked in several states from the East to West Coast with a primary focus on improving the health and health care needs of rural and underserved communities.
Director of Rural Community Engagement
My background includes grant writing, program development and management, youth education and mentorship, community engagement, coalition building, continuing education, and conference planning and coordination. As a recent resident of Montana, I am looking forward to enhancing existing relationships and building new partnerships that will ultimately improve the health and wellness, increase access to health care, and minimize health disparities. Outside work, I enjoy hiking (there is no mountain or trail I won’t explore), cycling (on and off road), camping, wildlife observation, and spending quality time with my husband and feline children. annabuerhaus@montana.edu
BILL STADWISER Program
Communication
Please take a moment to add Anna & Bill to your contacts and please feel free to say hello next time you see them! Also, Bill & Anna aren’t the only new faces to report. Keep an eye out on Facebook for 2016 updates.
Specialist
I’m joining the MSU-Bozeman office by way of Salt Lake City and bringing 15 years of experience in education, communication and strategic planning for public, private and nonprofit organizations. I most recently worked on the front lines of the childhood obesity issue by directing a Salt Lake-based nonprofit program dedicated to changing children’s eating habits through experiential education, gardening activities, and nutrition education.
bill.stadwiser@montana.edu
In my free time, I enjoy fly tying, fly fishing, gardening, hiking, skiing, and spending quality time with my wife, Leslie.
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Throughout my career, I have worked as an educator, writer, editor and project manager. This work has emphasized developing and implementing programs designed to improve the health, well-being and interconnectedness among all participants. I have a master’s degree in environmental humanities, which focused chiefly on how human interests interface with complex environmental issues pertaining to human health.
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