Ohio State College of Public Health Magazine, Summer 16 by OSUPublicHealth

G l o b a l S i g n i f i c a n c e. L o c a l I m p a c t .

OHIO STATE

SUMMER 2016

COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

IN THIS ISSUE

Public Health and the Flint Water Crisis FDA Not Flexing Muscle to Regulate Tobacco Products Going Full Circle

The Ohio State University College of Public Health

TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

COVER STORY Public Health and the Flint Water Crisis

College Presents Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha with Thompson Public Health Award

What You Can Do to Reduce Your Exposure to Lead

Design Lisa Klancher, K2 Studios

F E AT U R E S Going Full Circle

FDA Not Flexing Muscle to Regulate Tobacco Products

Public Health Students Among Top Finishers in Food Fight Competition

College of Public Health Hosts Professional Association Workshop

NEWS MHA Program Hosts 5th Annual Case Competition

Faculty Awards

Student Spotlights

Public Health Alumna Named Young Public Health Professional of the Year

Students Compete in Public Health Scholar Bowl

MHA Alum named “Forty Under 40”

Recently Named Funded Proposals

STAY CONNECTED

Editorial Staff Tessie Pollock Director of External Relations Colleen Herr Communications Coordinator Alex Plaster Communications Student Intern Caroline Tritt Advancement Student Intern Steve Barrish Alumni Affairs and Outreach Coordinator Nadine Wise Communications Manager, Government Resource Center

Photo Credits George Thomas - Pg 2 Mark Jastremski - Pg 2 Administration William J. Martin II, MD Dean for the College of Public Health Michael Bisesi, PhD Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Christopher Weghorst, PhD Associate Dean for Research Pamela Salsberry, PhD Associate Dean for Outreach and Engagement Ann Florentine Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration Qinghua Sun, MD, PhD Assistant Dean for Global Public Health Division Chairs Biostatistics Kellie J. Archer, PhD Environmental Health Sciences Michael Bisesi, PhD (Interim) Epidemiology William C. Miller, MD, PhD, MPH Health Behavior and Health Promotion Phyllis Pirie, PhD Health Services Management and Policy Thomas Wickizer, PhD

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Support Public Health If you support public health in Ohio or beyond, please consider a gift to the college. For more information on giving, please visit us online at cph.osu.edu/giving or contact our development office at 614-293-6815 or sue.frost@osumc.edu. Thank you for your support of the College of Public Health.

Message from the Dean As I shook the hands of our 229 graduates at our pre-commencement ceremony this past spring, I couldn’t help but think about what each of these talented individuals were going to do to make an impact in the world of public health. Some will go on to manage or even run healthcare systems, others will impact public health internationally, some will spend their days in research labs searching for a cure for infectious disease, while others will undoubtedly continue their public health education and return to academia to teach the next generation of public health professionals. This past year, one public health crisis after another was making headline news. Our graduates have their work cut out for them and I’m conﬁdent that they will change the trajectory of public health not only nationally, but globally. The College of Public Health is proud to educate and graduate our future public health leaders. Not only are we teaching students, we are leading by example. Our faculty are impacting the future of public health every day.

Our graduates have their work cut out for them and I’m conﬁdent that they will change the trajectory of public health not only nationally, but globally.

At our pre-commencement ceremony, featured speaker, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, credited for bringing attention to the high levels of lead in drinking water in Flint, Michigan, shared how even as a pediatrician she is beginning to change her focus from individual health to population health, because it’s her responsibility to make sure the children she treats have a bright future. And that’s true for every single one of us. As you read the stories of our students, faculty and alumni featured in this magazine, I encourage you to think about what impact you can make in public health, because, as Dr. Hanna-Attisha so wisely said in her address, “there are people who need the voices of public health and that is what you are.”

William J. Martin II, MD Dean and Professor College of Public Health

by Colleen Herr

Public Health and the Flint Water Crisis Lead poisoning is one public health issue that the general public can wrap their heads around. So when Flint, Michigan learned that their drinking water was contaminated with lead and entering the bodies of their entire population, it attracted attention, and people became scared. “Keep asking why - why, why, why, because you are the ones who have to ﬁght to make our future brighter,” said Dr. Mona HannaAttisha, director of the Hurley Pediatric Residency program and credited for bringing attention to the high levels of lead in drinking water in Flint, Michigan after discovering high Pb levels in the children that she was seeing in her clinic. 2

Dr. Hanna-Attisha was the featured speaker at the 20152016 College of Public Health pre-commencement ceremony. She shared with our graduates what happened in Flint and encouraged them to use their public health degree to make a change in the world. As she stated, “Flint can happen anywhere.” She shared the story of Carrington, a beautiful 2-year-old who came in for a checkup. Running around, giggling happily, one would never know that she’d been drinking, essentially, through a lead painted straw her entire 2 years of life, the time that is most critical for

I think the Flint incident has increased awareness of the importance of maintaining and monitoring drinking water distribution systems to keep drinking water safe. Controlling the water quality, even after it leaves the water treatment plant, is equally as important as treating the water at the water treatment plants. Jiyoung Lee Associate Professor Division of Environmental Health Sciences OSU College of Public Health

brain development. Because of this, Carrington’s mother had one question for the doctor, “is my little girl going to be ok?” “Do I tell her about the serious health effects that can result from lead poisoning? Do I share the details about the mismanagement of the water system? Or do I tell her that everything just might be ok?” asks Hanna-Attisha.

Sometimes you need a tragedy to see a brighter path ahead “The Flint water crisis made us question what we really understand about our water system, which is something we should be doing anyway,” said Mark H. Weir, assistant professor in the division of environmental health sciences at the College of Public Health. “In general, we have good intentions, we want to keep our drinking water clean, we set regulations and have standards that need to be met, but we need to begin thinking about what’s happening to our environment, how that’s effecting our water and what we can do about it.” In order to do this, it is necessary to better understand the environmental health and infrastructure relationship and how we interact with our environment. An improved approach at modeling sustainability is a way of opening this door wider given the broad implications sustainability has on public health, economics, society and the environment. Weir leads a team who studies the environmental, social and economic beneﬁts of green infrastructure, an approach to water management that protects, restores, or mimics the natural water cycle. His goal is to develop modeling tools which address the future needs of sustainable water infrastructure. “I want to get to the bottom of what green infrastructure really means and the outcomes it provides,” said Weir.

According to the EPA, green infrastructure is a cost-effective, resilient approach to managing wet weather impacts that provides many community beneﬁts. While single-purpose gray storm water infrastructure—conventional piped drainage and water treatment systems—is designed to move urban storm water away from the built environment, green infrastructure reduces and treats storm water at its source while delivering environmental, social and economic beneﬁts.

A call to action The Flint water crisis was the result of a perfect storm – state appointed officials, to save money, severed a half century relationship with Detroit to get water from the Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh water in the world. Instead, Flint began getting their water from the Flint River which turned out to be corrosive, the treatment that should have been added to the water was not being added and the water was slowly making its way through old and deteriorating plumbing. “The Flint water crisis kick started an advancement in public health around nutrition, education and health. It raised the national consciousness of public health around the country, especially for our most vulnerable populations,” said Hanna-Attisha. And whose responsibility is it to make these impacts on public health? Is it the responsibility of the federal and state governments, the epidemiologists, health practitioners and biostatisticians? Yes, but it’s also the responsibility of every single one of us. “The “they” who are responsible for public health is really you - no one is responsible for public health as much as we are - it touches every single one of us every single day,” said Hanna-Attisha.

College C ollege ppresents resents

Dr. D r. Mona Mona Hanna-Attisha Hanna-A Attisha with w ith TThompson hompson P Public ublic H Health ealth A Award ward

How

by Colleen Herr

to reduce your exposure to

lead 1

Flush your tap: always let water run from the tap before using it for cooking or drinking if the water in the faucet has gone unused for more than 6 hours.

Use cold water for cooking: hot water can dissolve more lead more quickly than cold water. If you need hot water, draw cold water from the tap and heat it on the stove.

Check home plumbing: Remove loose led solder and debris from the plumbing materials installed in newly constructed homes or homes where plumbing was recently replaced.

Check your service line: to determine if your service line is made of lead, hire a licensed plumber to inspect the line or contact the plumber who installed the line.

Check your wiring: have an electrician check your wiring. If grounding wires from the electrical system are attached to your pipes, corrosion may be greater.

Have your water tested: to find out whether you need to take action, have your drinking water tested to see if it contains excessive concentrations of lead. Source: The City of Columbus Department of Utilities

No one is responsible for public health as much as we are - it touches every single one of us every single day. Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH

The Ohio State University College of Public Health awarded Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH with the Thompson Public Health Award for bringing attention to the high levels of lead in drinking water in Flint, Michigan after discovering high Pb levels in the children that she was seeing in her clinic. “Dr. Hanna-Attisha has brought awareness to an environmental justice issue that has drawn the nation’s attention to Flint and the consequences that environmental policies have on our society,” said William J. Martin, MD, dean of The Ohio State University College of Public Health. “At the same time, it has awakened our nation to the awareness of the risks associated with the antiquated and potentially unsafe water supplies in our cities.” Dr. Hanna-Attisha was recently named #20 on the 2016 Time Magazine list of The Most Inﬂuential People. She now directs the Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, an innovative and model public health program to research, monitor and mitigate the impact of lead in Flint’s drinking water. She served as the College of Public Health’s pre-commencement speaker on Saturday, May 7, where she was presented with her award. The Thompson Public Health Award is presented in honor of Ohio State President William Oxley Thompson for his decision in 1900 to ban tobacco use in university buildings on Ohio State’s campus. This award is given annually to an individual or organization in recognition of their contributions to advance the nation’s public health.

Going Full Circle by Alex Plaster

This past May, Gabby Glenn traveled to Ethiopia for the second time to train more than 170 health workers on the importance of folic acid and hydrocephalus prevention.

The Reach Another Foundation is a QRQSURÍ¤W RUJDQL]DWLRQ ZKRVH SULPDU\ goal is to provide free surgeries to babies with hydrocephalus in Ethiopia.

Glenn ďŹ rst visited Ethiopia in 2013 as a pre-occupational therapy (OT) student. She worked with the Reach Another Foundation to help them open up much needed schools for children with autism. It was after this that Glenn conďŹ rmed her love for global public health and decided to pursue a Master of Public Health specializing in health behavior and health promotion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While I was in Ethiopia, I began to realize that maybe OT wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for me and found myself asking questions more related to public health. When I got back to the states I had a little bit of a crisis realizing that all my work leading up to applying for OT school was kind of for nothing, but I am so grateful in the end that it led me to discover the ďŹ eld of public health!â&#x20AC;? said Glenn. As fate would have it, Gabby returned to Ethiopia to work for the Reach Another Foundation, but this time as a health educator.

Glenn with a group of midwives in front of the Ethiopian Midwifery Association

Glenn performing a pre-op assessment for a baby with spinal biﬁda

The Reach Another Foundation is a nonproﬁt organization, whose primary goal is to provide free surgeries to babies with hydrocephalus in Ethiopia. The foundation is now pushing for a major focus on prevention, due to overcapacity and the preventative nature of the condition. For her culminating project, Glenn designed the curriculum for the training program which she then implemented during her trip in May Hydrocephalus is the accumulation of excess ﬂuid in the brain, which without treatment is typically fatal. Folic acid is a B vitamin that is essential for proper development of a baby’s skull, spine and brain in the early stages of pregnancy, which is why folic acid is so crucial in hydrocephalus prevention.

“I will be training about 75 midwives and 100 health extension workers on folic acid and when you should take it, why it is important and who should be taking it. The hope is that this curriculum will be sustainable and incorporated into their existing training for midwives and health extension workers for the future.” Glenn also created a straight-forward, one-page document that health workers can give to their patients to inform them about prevention practices, signs of the condition and referral information if their child displays those symptoms.

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cph.osu.edu/alumni

MHA Program Hosts 5th Annual Case Competition by Colleen Herr

Students from ten health administration programs around the country came together on March 31 for the 5th annual Ohio State Health Care Management Case Competition hosted by The Ohio State University College of Public Health Master of Health Administration program and the Association of Future Healthcare Executives (AFHE). University of Minnesota received ﬁrst place in this year’s competition and received $1500 followed by Rush University in second place and Xavier University in third place, receiving $800 and $400 respectively.

“This has been a wonderfully worthwhile developmental exercise for our students,” said Michael Meacham, associate professor of healthcare leadership and management at the Medical University of South Carolina. The 13th annual Leadership Development Symposium (LDS) took place the evening before the case competition and featured keynote speaker, Dr. William Morris, associate chief information officer for the Cleveland Clinic Health System. This dinner serves as an excellent networking opportunity for student teams to interact with one another, as well as students, faculty and MHA alumni from Ohio State.

“This was an excellent event. I’ve learned as much from the students as they have from this experience,” said Bob LaFolette, administrator and COO for the Department of Urology and Havener Eye Institute at The Ohio State University and one of the 15 participating judges. This entirely student-run event is unique in that it provides ﬁrst year health administration students with case competition experience. “This student led event is a continual learning experience that aims to be bigger and greater every year. This is a wonderful opportunity for the ﬁrst year students to take the plunge into a true case and begin learning how to solve the problems of the future,” said Paula Silverman, second-year MHA student and president of AFHE.

“The best thing that comes out of the event is collaboration,” said Nathan Andreasen, second-year MHA student, vice president of AFHE and chair of the LDS and case committee. “The case competition has allowed collaboration between our student organization and our faculty, the HSMP Alumni Society, leaders within the community, as well as students and faculty from other universities. I believe to fully drive change within healthcare it all starts with collaboration, and this is a microcosm of that process.”

“The best thing that comes out of the event is collaboration”

FDA

Not Flexing Muscle to Regulate Tobacco Products By Tessie Pollock

A study released in Tobacco Control by authors at the Public Health Law Center and The Ohio State University found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not properly exercising its authority to regulate the sale of new tobacco products. “In the nearly seven years since the enactment of the Tobacco Control Act, the premarket review process has almost entirely favored the tobacco industry rather than maximizing the protection of public health,” said lead author Desmond Jenson of the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, a program of the Public Health Law Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. “We have identiﬁed several opportunities for the FDA to dramatically improve this process.”

In 2009, the U.S. Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), establishing federal authority to regulate tobacco products for the ﬁrst time. As part of that authority, Congress determined that no new tobacco products could enter the market without ﬁrst undergoing review by the FDA. After conducting a thorough review of FDA regulatory actions, the authors found that despite this requirement, tobacco companies are still introducing new products that have not undergone the required review process. For example,

Philip Morris USA publicly launched “Marlboro Midnight” in 2015, despite the fact that the FDA has not issued an order permitting its sale. The FDA has not yet taken any enforcement action against the company.

Products that were commercially available at the time the law was introduced and have not been changed in any meaningful way do not require FDA authorization to stay on the market. In addition, if a company submitted an application to the FDA before March 22, 2011, establishing that one of its products was “substantially equivalent” to a product commercially available at the time the law was introduced, such a product is permitted to remain on the market until the FDA reviews the application. If the FDA concludes that the product does not meet the “substantial equivalence” requirement, it can no longer be sold. The authors found that more than five years after the deadline for submitting such applications, the FDA has failed to take action on more than 3,000 of them. “While the Tobacco Control Act has ushered in an era of federal oversight of the tobacco product market, the FDA’s approach to reviewing new products seriously undermines the potential public health benefits of tobacco regulation,” said co-author Joelle Lester, also of the Public Health Law Center. Specifically, the paper outlines three misplaced priorities that are detrimental to public health: 1. The FDA has prioritized the review of premarket applications for new tobacco products over the review of potentially noncompliant products that are already on the market. 2. Rather than reject clearly deficient applications, the FDA has provided tobacco companies with an excessive number of opportunities to modify their applications. In one case documented by the authors, the FDA requested information from a company 16 different times over two and a half years before finally rejecting its substantial equivalence application. 3. Tobacco companies have introduced new products to the market that have completely ignored the premarket review requirements of the Tobacco Control Act, and the FDA has taken no enforcement action against them. “Through our investigation, we found that the FDA has significant opportunities to improve the premarket review process to better protect public health,” said Micah Berman, co-author and assistant professor of Public Health

“... the FDA’s approach approa tto reviewing i i new products seriously undermines the potential public health beneﬁts of tobacco regulation.”

and Law at The Ohio State University. “The FDA should look ﬁrst at products that are already on the market, and it should act quickly to remove products that clearly do meet the legal requirements for sale under the Tobacco Control Act.” Additional recommendations for the FDA to better protect public health include: 1. Identify substantial equivalence applications that have failed to identify either the new or existing product and provide only one attempt, in a 90-day window, to correct the deﬁciency. 2. Monitor the tobacco product market and public statements by tobacco companies more closely, so it can quickly identify and take enforcement action to remove any products that enter the market without authorization. 3. Make premarket review activities more transparent. The full paper, “The FDA’s Misplaced Priorities: Premarket Review Under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act” is available through the journal Tobacco Control. (go.osu.edu/tobacco-control)

COL COLLEGE LLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH P UBLIC H EALTH SCHOLARSHIP SCH HOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS REC CIPIENTS

GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP S CHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Leah Mitchell

By Caroline Tritt With the support of our generous donors, the College of Public Health was proud to award 30 students with scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year. Scholarships make a major impact on College of Public Health students’ lives. They provide access to education for deserving students with ﬁnancial need and reward students for exemplary academic performance and other outstanding achievements. With the support of alumni and friends, the College of Public Health is proud to be able to support deserving and talented students. These scholarships range from General Scholarships to Global Travel Funds and the Cleverley Scholarship offered in the Masters in Health Administration program.

Scholarship Funds • College of Public Health General Scholarship The CPH General Scholarship is awarded to deserving undergraduate and graduate students with exceptional academic records, substantive public health goals and students who have actively engaged in public health experiences, community service and leadership opportunities. • Global Health Travel Fund The College of Public Health understands the importance of providing students with experiences to take what is learned in the classroom and apply that knowledge to our community and to the world. These opportunities enhance and enrich student’s educational experiences and outcomes. This is award is given to high achieving students interested in international travel. • The William O. Cleverley Scholarship Program The William O. Cleverley Scholarship program attracts the best and brightest students to Ohio State who will graduate ready to improve healthcare through effective organization, ﬁnancing and delivery. Named after Ohio State emeritus professor and healthcare leader William O. Cleverley and created by the Health Services Management & Policy (HSMP) Alumni Society, this scholarship is awarded to deserving students of today, who will be the practitioners, managers and leaders of tomorrow.

GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP S CHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Karan Rai Karan is an ambitious Master of Health Administration student and researcher striving to make an impact on the healthcare industry. For his summer residency, Karan worked with senior leadership at the Neurological Institute at the Wexner Medical Center. He plans on attending medical school following the completion of his MHA degree. He has come to see patient care as more than just the disease and aspires to improve health from the systems level as well as at the bedside. One thing Karan loves about the MHA program at Ohio State is that the alumni are extremely close knit and always remain accessible despite their busy schedules.

“I hope to reciprocate, give back and be a mentor the same way others have done for me.”

Leah is an exceptional student who is passionate about public health and has chosen to pursue her MPH in Health Behavior and Health Promotion to better understand what inﬂuences people to change their health behaviors. This summer, she worked as an HR Beneﬁts intern at Huntington Bank to help with their Corporate Wellness programming as an opportunity to explore this arena as a potential career path. In the future, Leah hopes to work in consulting or corporate wellness to help make the work environment healthy and enjoyable for everyone.

“The people who have been willing to help me are selﬂess and exceptional and I hope that I will be able to do the same for others in the future.”

GLOBAL TRAVEL FUND F UND SCHOLARSHIP SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

GLOBAL TRAVEL FUND F UND S SCHOLARSHIP CHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT Bridget Cook

Jessica Londeree Saleska Jessica had the incredible opportunity to travel to Malawi and Kenya for two months this summer after being awarded a Global Health Travel Scholarship. Jessica is currently pursuing her PhD in epidemiology and has always been interested in global health and understanding different people and cultures. In Malawi, Jessica worked to improve health records and data by creating digital platforms where these health records can live. She also be traveled to Kenya for one month to gather ideas for her dissertation studying HIV and drug use among female sex workers. In the future, Jessica hopes to continue her research in academia and teach or work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization.

“I have a strong drive for travel and really like the idea of working with people who are different than me and believe that is where growth truly happens.”

With th the hhelp l off a Gl Global b lH Health lth TTravell Scholarship, Bridget had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua for 16 days on a Buck-I-Serv trip. Bridget traveled with 15 other Ohio State students passionate about global health to work with AMOS Health & Hope, a nonproﬁt whose mission is to improve the health of impoverished communities by working alongside them in health, education and development. Aside from Bridget’s exciting international travels, she spends her time at Ohio State working on the Membership Development committee of Buckeyethon, Ohio State’s largest student run philanthropy that raises money to support kids ﬁghting cancer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is also a member of a national service fraternity, Alphi Phi Omega, and launched a social media campaign called “In Her Shoes” for the purpose of featuring the great accomplishments of women and what makes them who they truly are.

“I feel so cheered on and supported by the College of Public Health for believing in my capabilities after receiving my travel scholarship and am touched that people who didn’t even know me donated to give me this international experience. My horizons have been expanded and now I see the world from a new perspective that can never be reversed.”

WILLIAM O. CLEVERLEY SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT Rachel Rutledge Rachel is an exceptional student who just completed her ﬁrst year in the Master of Health Administration program. She earned her accounting degree at Ohio State and then went on to work as an auditor with PwC’s Health Industries Assurance team in Boston before returning to Ohio State. Rachel dreams of combining data with people by working as an administrator in a top cancer hospital to make cancer care as positive of an experience as possible for patients. Over the summer, Rachel completed her residency at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in the Ambulatory Practice Management program.

“The MHA alumni agreed to use the Cleverley Scholarship to cater to my interests in cancer administration and it has provided me with the invaluable opportunity to be completely funded while working as an assistant to the chief ﬁnancial officer at The James Cancer Hospital.”

COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT AND POLICY Berman Receives Award from the National Cancer Institute by Colleen Herr

General Scholarship

William O. Cleverley Scholarship

Caleb Ball JennMfer Birkmeyer Emily Buchanan Leslie Carson Rachael Denholm Chelsea Fauver Laura Fernandez Rachel Gearinger Mary Grace Kaeding Hannah MacDowell Leah Mitchell Allison Porter Karan Rai Joyce Rudy Rachel Schaffer Marisa Schreiner

Elisabeth Johnson Rachel Rutledge

Global Health Travel Fund Bridget Cook Rebecca Deuley Ryan Loney Lucy Ramos Laura Ruegsegger Jessica Londeree Saleska

Bernard J. Lachner Graduate Fellowship Jose Cruz Trey Wilson

Columbus Hospitals Endowment Fund Trey Wilson

Robert P. Mullen Fund Gennel Viera

Dr. Gary G. Koch and Mrs. Carolyn J. Koch Fellowship Fund in the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Biostatistics Qing Xie

The Mary Plummer Memorial Scholarship Fund Jessica Horan

Champions of Public Health College of Public HealthAwards Champions of Public Health Help us recognize organizations, leaders and practitioners who have had a signiﬁcant impact on the health of Ohioans. Awards Luncheon Monday, 26, 2015 soon. Award details willOctober be announced

Congratulations to Micah Berman, assistant professor in the Division of Health Services Management and Policy with a joint appointment in the College of Law who is the recipient of a K07 career development award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for his project “Designing a Comprehensive Framework for the Evaluation of Tobacco Products.” Berman will use this award, valued at $820,000 over a ﬁve year period, toward training in public health sciences, risk assessment and statistical analysis from The Ohio State University and Johns Hopkins University. With this training, Berman will have the knowledge needed to advance the science of tobacco regulation and help reduce the incidence of tobacco-related cancer. The results from this project will be used to develop an R01 application that will apply the framework to additional case studies including the regulation of electronic cigarettes and other new and emerging tobacco products. “This project has direct relevance to the mission of the National Cancer Institute. It will help further the development of new and legally sound approaches to preventing cancer caused by tobacco use or exposure,” said Berman.

HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT AND POLICY

EPIDEMIOLOGY Ferketich Receives Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

PhD Graduate Receives GATA Award

by Colleen Herr

by Alex Plaster

Congratulations to Amy Ferketich, professor of epidemiology, who received the Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor award at the 2016 Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.

Congratulations to Naomi Adaniya, PhD, ‘15 from the Division of Health Services Management and Policy on receiving the Graduate Associate Teaching Award (GATA).

This award recognizes the leadership and support Ohio State faculty members provide to undergraduate students. “This award is truly an honor and means a lot to me. When I think about my job, teaching and working with students outside the classroom are the activities that I consider to be most rewarding,” said Ferketich. “There is nothing more enjoyable than working with students who are excited about doing their own research project or who simply want to gain experience on an existing project.” Mentors are nominated by undergraduate students participating in the Denman and must demonstrate excellence in teaching and mentorship. Winners are selected by a student committee who reviews the nominations.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES Lee Receives Outstanding Teaching Award by Colleen Herr Congratulations to Jiyoung Lee, associate professor, environmental health sciences, who received the Plimpton Outstanding Teaching Award presented by the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Science (CFAES). This award recognizes faculty members with the rank of assistant or associate professor in CFAES and excel in teaching inside and outside of the classroom. “I’m just humbled and thankful to be receiving this award, it means a lot to me,” said Lee, who holds a 30% appointment with CFAES. “It motivates me to think about better ways to teach in class and advise my graduate and undergraduate students. It also makes me seek more effective ways to help students develop critical thinking skills, use their creativity, equip them with valuable knowledge and become team players. I believe learning should be fun.” Recipients are chosen based on how they motivate their students, use creative teaching methods to present their subject matter and serve as scholarly role models for their students.

This award recognizes graduate teaching assistants who have demonstrated excellent teaching skills, stimulate thinking and student development and utilize a variety of creative teaching methods. Out of about 3,000 graduate students who teach classes at Ohio State, 10 are selected for the award annually. “ I love being in the classroom and getting an opportunity to teach and mentor both undergraduate and graduate students, so it’s extra gratifying to know that past students nominated me for this award,” said Adaniya. “I am also excited that the College of Public Health gets recognized at the university-level for its teaching. I have won this award, in part, to the mentoring and guidance I have received from many CPH faculty members. However, I particularly want to thank the HSMP faculty, especially Dr. Sharon Schweikhart, Dr. Sandra Tanenbaum and Dr. Thomas Wickizer, for sharing all of their teaching philosophies, perspectives and advice with me.”

student SPOTLIGHTS Congratulations to College of Public Health undergraduate student, Alex Northrop, advised by Heather Kerr, on his acceptance into the Collegiate Leaders in Environmental Health Program (CLEH) through the CDC in Atlanta. Northrop is one of only 12 students accepted into the program nationwide.

Alex Northrop Student Accepted into Competitive Environmental Health Program by Colleen Herr

This is a comprehensive, 10-week summer environmental internship for undergraduate students who are passionate about the environment, interested in human health and curious about how the two are linked. Students will have the opportunity to participate in environmental health project assignments, interact with federal officials and scientists and visit important environmental health sites in and around Atlanta. “The CLEH internship will allow me to view problems on the national scale, while also connecting me with leaders in the ﬁeld,”

said Northrop. “I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity, and I think it will help me work toward my goal of obtaining an MD/MPH degree, with a concentration in environmental health.” Northrop, who is studying Environmental Public Health, will be working in the Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services where he will review the literature for adverse health effects due to decaying water infrastructure in the United States. He has previously interned in Cuyahoga County where he studied the water quality of bathing and beach water, providing him the opportunity to see public health at a local level. “My favorite thing about environmental public health is the interface in which the social sciences and the biological sciences meet,” said Northrop. “It combines my interests of environmental conservationism and improving health.”

Public health undergraduate receives U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship by Alex Plaster

Eleanor Fahs Congratulations to Eleanor Fahs, a BSPH student specializing in public health sociology who was one of eight Ohio State students selected for the Critical Language Scholarship Program.

universities, liberal arts colleges, minority-serving institutions and community colleges. Each CLS participant will spend eight to ten weeks in one of 24 locations studying Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu.

and panelists from a wide variety of institutions across the United States, including public and private universities, liberal arts colleges, minorityserving institutions and community colleges. In the 2015-16 evaluation season, over 377 professionals representing 44 states and the District of Columbia, and 212 institutions participated in the selection process for the CLS Program.

This program is part of the U.S. government effort to dramatically expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Fahs will be studying Swahili in Arusha, Tanzania.

Over the past ten years, the CLS Program has sent over 5,000 American undergraduate and graduate students overseas to learn critical languages all over the world. It provides fullyfunded, group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences. CLS Program participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.

CLS Program participants are among the more than 50,000 academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. These exchange programs build relations and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The CLS Program is administered by American Councils for International Education.

Approximately 560 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students received a CLS scholarship in 2016. Selected ﬁnalists hail from 48 states and the District of Columbia, and represent more than 200 institutions of higher education from across the United States, including public and private

The CLS Program actively recruits in states and regions of the United States that have been historically under-represented in international exchange and encourages students from diverse backgrounds and academic majors to apply. The CLS Program also promotes diversity in the independent review process, drawing readers

For further information about the CLS Program or other exchange programs offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please contact ECA-Press@ state.gov and visit our websites at http://www. clscholarship.org and https://studyabroad.state. gov/.

Jiska Loewenberg Weisband

Brittney Bailey Public Health Student Receives Award from the American Statistical Association

Doctoral Student Receives First Place at Public Health Combined Conference

by Colleen Herr

Brittney Bailey, a PhD student studying biostatistics at the College of Public Health is the recipient of the Lester R. Curtin Award from the American Statistical Association (ASA). This $1000 award will provide registration and travel support for Bailey to attend the 2016 ASA Conference on Statistical Practice. “This award will allow me to connect with other respected statisticians at the conference,” said Bailey. “It’s a great opportunity to develop my skills and glean valuable advice from practicing statisticians before I begin my career.” Established in 2013, Bailey is the second Ohio State College of Public Health student to be the recipient of this annual award. “It’s an honor to be recognized for this award by the ASA. The award was established in recognition of Randy Curtin’s excellence both as a statistician and a mentor, and I hop e to someday have a career that lives up to the standard he has set,” said Bailey.

Jiska Loewenberg Weisband, a College of Public Health doctoral student specializing in epidemiology receive first place for her oral presentation at the Ohio Public Health Combined Conference which took place May 9-11 in Worthington, Ohio. Loewenberg Weisband presented her research findings on contraception intentions and method choice among postpartum breastfeeding women. The findings indicated that although most women intended to use contraception, many women did not recall receiving counseling regarding their method options. These findings highlight the need for high quality prenatal counseling for all women. “I find the topic important as there is a high, unmet need for contraception among postpartum women, and not much is known in terms of these women’s intentions to use contraception,” said Loewenberg Weisband. The annual conference is hosted by several of the public health organizations, including the Ohio Public Health Association. The conference features three days of sessions and presentations addressing current trends, opportunities and challenges in the field of public health. The Ohio State University College of Public Health is a proud sponsor of the annual conference.

Federal Grant Awarded to Study Children’s Trauma Care by Colleen Herr

Jin Peng Researchers at the Center for Pediatric Trauma Research (CPTR) of Nationwide Children’s Hospital were recently awarded a research grant for $100,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The new R40 research project will be directed by Dr. Huiyun Xiang, director of CPTR and professor of pediatrics at the Ohio State College of Medicine. Xiang and his College of Public Health PhD student, Jin Peng, developed the grant application together. The grant will be used to examine the undertriage rate of pediatric major trauma patients and the effect of statewide trauma systems on interhospital transfer patterns among these patients. “In the US, one out of three adult major trauma patients are treated at nontrauma centers (undertriaged), however, the undertriage rate of pediatric trauma patients remains unknown.

Therefore, this study has significant policy and research implications,” said Xiang. “Our study will make significant contributions to pediatric trauma research, because it will help advance the development of statewide trauma system to ensure severely injured children receive optimal levels of care,” said Peng. Under Xiang’s guidance, Peng has published five peer-reviewed papers and participated in developing several grant applications including this successful federal grant application. She has successfully established a pediatric trauma journal club at CPTR and is teaching SAS to graduate students at The Ohio State University College of Public Health.

Public Health Alumna named Young Public Health Professional of the Year Ohio Public Health Association recognizes Tumin’s exceptional impact on public health by Nadine Wise Columbus, OH. – Dr. Rachel Tumin, Survey and Population Health Analyst Manager for the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC), received high honors from the Ohio Public Health Association (OPHA) for her substantial public health research and health survey work. The OPHA Awards Committee chose Tumin as the Young Public Health Professional of the year. OPHA is a statewide organization that aims to increase awareness for public health issues and enables the optimal health of Ohioans. “One of my favorite things about my job is that it allows me to couple my passion for improving the health of Ohio’s at- risk and underserved populations with my research expertise and interests,” says Tumin. “I am honored to receive this award from an organization that also values this work.” Among many of her accomplishments, Rachel is currently the Principal Investigator of the Ohio Better Birth Outcomes Prenatal Care Capacity Study, which assesses where Medicaid-enrolled pregnant women living in Franklin County receive their prenatal care, estimates the capacity to provide prenatal care, and identiﬁes gaps in prenatal care access and capacity. Rachel also has extensive experience developing survey questionnaires for telephone and mail surveys, and analyzing complex survey data. She has participated in several iterations of the Ohio Medicaid Assessment Survey, a large

telephone survey that examines access to the health system, health status, and health determinant characteristics of Ohio’s Medicaid, Medicaid eligible and non-Medicaid populations. “Rachel sets a very high standard for providing quality research and data, and we are thrilled that OPHA is recognizing her value to her peers throughout the state,” said Lorin Ranbom, GRC Director. “Our organization and the health of Ohio’s most vulnerable populations are better because of her dedication and hard work.” “’Rachel’s day-to-day work makes a tremendous impact on public health in Ohio,” said Dr. Amy Ferketich, nominator and professor in the Division of Epidemiology at the Ohio State University College of Public Health. “You may not see her name regularly in the press, but her efforts behind the scene are substantial and her work allows people like the Directors of Medicaid and Health to do their jobs.” Rachel received her PhD in Epidemiology from The Ohio State University College of Public Health in 2015, and her research interests include survey methodology and questionnaire development, food insecurity and mealtime behaviors, and the health of special populations.

“Rachel sets a very high standard for providing quality research and data, and we are thrilled that OPHA is recognizing her value to her peers throughout the state.” 16

The Scholar Bowl team at Saint Louis University

Students Compete in Public Health Scholar Bowl By Colleen Herr

Congratulations to the College of Public Health, Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) students who made their inaugural appearance at the Public Health Scholar Bowl at Saint Louis University.

The Public Health

The team was comprised of BSPH students Rachel Hardin, Julia Scheinman, Ryan Fisher, Olivia Moskaluk and Jamie Luster as well as Anna Cherian, a Medical Dietetics student. The team was led by advisor, Amy Acton, .assistant professor-practice in the Division of Health Services Management and Policy.

next generation of

Scholar Bowl is an opportunity for the public health leaders.

The Public Health Scholar Bowl is an opportunity for the next generation of public health leaders from across the nation to connect with their peers, apply their knowledge and compete in Quiz Bowl and Case Study competitions. The students competed against 12 other teams in the Quiz Bowl on Saturday, April 9 in four rounds of quiz bowl matches consisting of 20 questions each. The team won two out of the four matches. The students also presented in the case study competition where they were asked to come up with an intervention for their university regarding sleep health with a hypothetical $10,000 grant. “This case proved to be a challenge at such a large school,” said Luster, “but the presentation went well and we were proud of our work!”

Public Health Students Among Top Finishers in Food Fight Competition By Alex Plaster

Master of Public Health Epidemiology students, Rachel Smith and Holly Wolfe, won second place in the Ohio State Food Innovation Center’s Food Fight Competition. “Coming in second place in the competition was rewarding,” said Smith. “It’s great to have the acknowledgment from food science and other professionals regarding the ways that food sustainability and healthy food access can be tackled.”

Smith and Wolfe proposed the idea of a mobile kitchen truck that transports food from the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and the ﬁelds to communities that are food insecure. The truck will also serve as a full functioning kitchen that can serve as a community resource. It would also provide kitchen appliances to those in need in order to prevent food waste. “I love seeing our students getting involved in activities and areas of the university that I haven’t seen them do before!” said Susan 18

Smith with their mobile kitchen food truck model

Olivio-Marston, assistant professor of Epidemiology and the team’s faculty advisor. “I’m really excited they competed and won second place.” This competition was created by the Food Innovation Center and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank with the goal of encouraging students to develop new, innovative ways to make underutilized foods more affordable, appealing, nutritious and longer lasting. “I decided to enter the FIC Food Fight Competition because it was a way to combine two of my passions, food sustainability and healthy food access,” said Smith. “Ohio is the sixth worst state when it comes to food security, and this competition was a way to get our ideas out there on how to make strides in ﬁxing that problem.”

College g of Public Health Hosts

Professional Association Workshop By Colleen Herr

Nearly 35 public health students attended the Public Health Professional Association Workshop sponsored by the College of Public Health. This workshop was developed as a result of the Ohio Public Health Associations (OPHA) interest in increasing student engagement. It is intended to educate students about the beneﬁts of joining a professional organization as a student member, share the goals of OPHA and the American Public Health Association (APHA) and describe ways in which student members can get involved in important public health projects. “I think that it is important for students to be involved with professional societies. Organizations like OPHA provide students with opportunities for advocacy and jobs, and allow them to be part of a larger group that is focused on public health around the state,” said Amy Ferketich, professor of epidemiology, who initiated the workshop.

Department followed by a presentation on how to engage public health professionals by Lois Hall.

“...it reiterated that we all provide unique perspectives and contributions, and we need each unique viewpoint to further the ﬁeld.” “I felt very motivated and empowered by leaders in the public health ﬁeld to continue generating informative, quality work. Tom Quade expressed that we all stand on the shoulders of giants and it is

our responsibility to continue their legacy. Lois Hall encouraged us to speak up as the next wave of public health professionals as a uniﬁed front through APHA and OPHA,” said Erica Sierra, a PhD student who attended the workshop. “I was especially interested in hearing how each speaker took an indirect path into public health-some coming from engineering, nursing or communications backgrounds. This was encouraging because it reiterated that we all provide unique perspectives and contributions, and we need each unique viewpoint to further the ﬁeld.” The event also included an OPHA member panel and discussion on why students should get involved in professional organizations led by both current students and faculty.

In addition to networking and education, professional organizations provide an opportunity for students to build their resumes. “As a hiring manager I’m likely to look to see who’s a participating member of a professional organization and that might ﬂoat the successful applicant to the top of the resume pile. It shows they’re aware of and interested in the broader community in their profession,” said Lois Hall, MS ‘85, executive director of OPHA. The workshop began with a presentation on public health leadership by Tom Quade, MA, MPH, president-elect of APHA, past president of OPHA and health commissioner of the Marion County Health

Alum Named “Forty Under 40” by Colleen Herr

Jamie Cleverley, MHA ’04 and president of Cleverley + Associates was recognized for outstanding achievements early in his career as part of Columbus Business First’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2016. Cleverley consults with hospitals on pricing, payment and cost issues in an environment that is growing increasingly complex. He also helps manage how, as a ﬁrm, they are going to operate and compete today and in the future. “It’s an exciting time for the industry and I’m blessed to work with some of the brightest minds to collaborate on great solutions,” said Cleverley about being accepted into the program which recognizes young “movers and shakers” in the community for their outstanding career achievements and community service impact. We talked to Cleverley to learn more about the secrets to his success: What do you enjoy most about your job? I am a people-person. I love being able to work with the great team we have here and with our incredible clients! I especially enjoy it when we have opportunities to go “beyond business” and build friendships that make the workday fun! I also love data! Tracking through data to identify root causes of issues or opportunities for enhancement is loads of fun! I realize that sounds geeky, but, I can’t deny I’m a big data nerd at heart! How do you think your education at Ohio State helped to contribute to your successful career? I was able to jump into the ﬁeld of healthcare consulting because of the great education I received in the MHA program. In many of the class projects we were tasked with applying critical thinking skills to help solve real-world problems that exist in the industry and that is exactly what we try to do here at C+A each day. Working on those assignments and case studies helped give me a better appreciation and approach for working with our clients today. What advice do you have for current students about to join the workforce? One of my favorite corporate values we have is “be happy at work, but don’t make work your happiness.” When work becomes our sole identity and focus it can lead to some dangerous places. I believe God has a deeper calling for us all and discovering that and living it is what life is truly about!

“Certainly, the honor is meaningful, but, I was most appreciative and humbled by the letters of support that were a part of my nomination,” said Cleverley. “Reading those words – from people I admire and respect – meant the world to me. In thinking about what the award recognizes, I’m also reminded of the support of my family and friends that I work with for helping me continue to grow in my role here…and giving me grace when I fail.”

Voices from the Community presented by The Ohio State College of Public Health Join us for a lecture series that explores the multiple dimensions of public health through the eyes of Researchers Students Faculty Community Leaders who are taking creative approaches to improve the health of the public. All lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information visit go.osu.edu/phvoices

RE RECENTLY ECENTLY FUNDED PROPOSALS P ROPOSALS R Andr Andrew Wapner, Ohio Department of H Higher ig Education, “Assessment and a assurance of public health acc re accreditation readiness.” Sta Stanley an Lemeshow, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, C Ch ““Biostatistical extended labour services.” Andrew Wapner, Columbia University, “Facilitated QI Plan Writing Distance Workshop.” William Miller, American Sexually Transmitted Disease Association, “Sexually Transmitted Diseases.” Marcel Yotebieng, NICHD R01, “Long term outcomes of therapy in women initiated on lifelong ART because of pregnancy in DR Congo.” Maria Gallo, NICHD R01, “Promoting condom use among women in established relationships.” Andrew Wapner, New Jersey Association of County & City Health Officials, “PHACE Meeting Facilitation.” William Miller, awarded from FHI360, “HPTN 074 Leadership.” Alison Norris, OSU Impact Grant, “Establishing a collaborative Center for Learning, Research and Innovation (CLRI) in rural Malawi.”

Micah c Ber man, K07 career Berman, development award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), “Designing a comprehensive framework for the evaluation of tobacco product risks.” Ayaz Hyder, OSU Institute for Population Research, “Effect of Lifetime Intergenerational Exposures to Environmental Toxicants, Sociodemographic, and Economic Factors on Prenatal and Cognitive Outcomes in Children.” Andrew Wapner, Stark County Health Department, “Ohio Childhood Injury Action Group Strategic Planning.” Jiyoung Lee, Ohio Department of Higher Education, “A comprehensive approach for evaluation of acute toxic responses after microcystin ingestion.” Jiyoung Lee, Ohio Water Development Authority, “Paradigm shift in understanding the ecology of cyanobacteria and toxins: Virus-host dynamics in lakes.” Olorunfemi Adetona, University of Kentucky’s Central Appalachian Regional Education Center (funded by NIOSH), “Exploring an epigenetic link for occupational wood smoke exposure induced inflammatory response among wildland firefighters.” Mike Bisesi, Stark County Health Department, “Ohio Childhood Injury Action Group Secondary Data Analysis Project.”

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The College of Public Health Fund #306584 The COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH GENERAL FUND can be used to support outreach and engagement efforts that are critical to growing our college and network of supporters.

cph.osu.edu/alumni/giving