It's that time of the year and this month you will find our guide to summer programs starting on page 16 so that you can begin your summer planning. You will note that this year we have many new options - especially in biostatistics and public health.
In addition you will find an article on the underlying cost of the current chaos in D.C. along with an article on evidence-informed approaches for chronic conditions. Finally you'll find a profile of public health professional, Brenda Eskenazi, whose career offers an interesting journey for the reader.
We continue to provide you with our popular monthly crossword feature, Notes on People, an overview of what we read from the public media, and a listing of upcoming epidemiology events. Finally, don't miss the Job Bank offerings this month. We have some fantastic opportunities advertised both here and on our website.
In This Issue
The Cost of Efficiency
Let's not cut off our legs to lose weight
Author: Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, MPH
Thousands of people in the Health and Human Services (HHS) were terminated this week without merit, warning, or a vision of how to make the systems work better for Americans. According to the efficiency tracker, DOGE has only reached 2.75% of its goal. These cuts are just the beginning.
Make the systems work better for Americans. According to the efficiency tracker, DOGE has only reached 2.75% of its goal. These cuts are just the beginning.
All of this is happening in the name of efficiency. While balancing the budget is important, efficiency is more than that it’s about strategically improving processes, strengthening infrastructure, and ensuring sustainability. If these things aren’t done, there is a cost. In public health, for example, reckless cuts may look good on a balance sheet today but could cost Americans far more in the long run both in dollars and in lives.
Let’s not cut off our legs to lose weight.
The
reality - and myth - of "excess" in public health
Let’s be clear: Government programs, like any systems, can always be optimized. There are inefficiencies, redundancies, and areas for improvement. Government bureaucracy moves way too slowly at times. An honest internal audit isn’t unusual. It’s necessary as the world around it changes.
At the tail end of the Covid-19 emergency, CDC launched an internal audit called Moving Forward. External experts assessed how the agency could improve, interviewing hundreds of stakeholders inside and outside CDC. Their conclusions? Focus on core capabilities, be more nimble and flexible, and be more responsive to Americans’ needs on the ground. These recommendations were right on target. I was brought into CDC to help implement them to push for faster, better, and more responsive public health action. (I was not exactly a quiet critic of CDC during the pandemic.) There is still so much that needs to be done. But, two weeks ago, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) immediately terminated my contract.
Similarly, the Clinton-Gore administration formed a bipartisan task force to investigate how to make government more efficient. In September 1993, they released From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government that Works Better & Costs Less, and its recommendations became law. It was intentional, evidence-based, and focused on both fiscal responsibility and meaningful outcomes.
What’s happening now is not that. This is a blunt-force budget cut with no clear strategy gutting programs without considering their impact or even how services could be improved for the American people, often spinning public health into fear and chaos.
Public health is an investment
A savings of millions now could lead to billions in future healthcare costs, lost productivity, and emergency response spending. For example, a bird flu pandemic could cost exponentially more than the savings from cutting staff in the bird flu response program.
We’ve seen the return on investment in public health over and over again. All efforts require staff and resources:
Opioid crisis response efforts: For every $1 invested in overdose prevention, $4 is saved in health care and criminal justice costs.
The Vaccines for Children Program prevents 42,000 deaths annually, saving $10.50 for every $1 invested amounting to $2.2 trillion in taxpayer savings.
Community weight loss programs. Every $1 invested yields a return of $16.70.
Mental health interventions. Every $1 invested in collaborative care models (integrated mental health treatment within primary care settings) yields a return of $6.50 in health care savings and improved worker productivity.
- Efficiency cont'd on page 4
Do you want to read more content like this? This piece was reprinted from Substack. YLE can be found here: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/
Figure by YLE; Numbers come from a host of peer-reviewed articles and reports. (here, here, here and here)
Meanwhile, Medicare is the most expensive item in the HHS national budget. Cutting prevention programs today will only increase these costs tomorrow.
- Efficiency cont'd on page 5
What comes next?
The destruction isn’t over, but eventually, the dust will settle. When it does, we’ll need to rebuild—hopefully with a clear vision rooted in protecting health, a commitment to long-term investment, and a focus on efficiency that actually strengthens systems rather than dismantling them.
The government exists to serve people (not profits). While financial responsibility matters, the ultimate priority must always be what’s best for the public.
Bottom line
Efficiency isn’t just about cutting budgets. Every public health dollar should work to its fullest potential for Americans. Prevention and early intervention are investments that yield returns of 2 to 60 times their cost by reducing healthcare spending, improving workforce productivity, and making communities safer.
Let’s not cut off our legs to lose weight.
Toward an Evidence-Informed Approach for Chronic Conditions
Author: Madeline Roberts, PhD, MPH
Chronic conditions increasingly occupy public discourse, and with good reason. 90% of the $4.5 trillion of annual US health spending is on chronic conditions. Approximately 60% of Americans have at least one chronic condition, and more than 40% have two or more. Eight of the top ten causes of death in the US are chronic conditions.
Interestingly, no standard definition exists for a chronic condition. The U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, and peerreviewed literature all differ in their definitions of chronic disease, which has implications for reporting and surveillance efforts. The definitions differ on integral points such as duration, functional limitations, and the need for ongoing medical care. A non-exhaustive list of conditions eligible for CMS chronic care management services includes hypertension, HIV, osteoporosis, and substance use disorders, among others.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conditions that last a year or more and require ongoing medical attention and/or limit activities of daily living ≥ 1 year yes yes
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics a physical, mental, or emotional problem; conditions lasting more than three months are classified as chronic; selected conditions (e.g., arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and heart conditions) are considered chronic regardless of duration not cured once acquired or lasts ≥ 3 months no level of functionality is noted, but not factored into classification as chronic condition no
Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3652713/ and https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_259.pdf
A prevalence study by zip code found that chronic disease burden is highest among populations with lower income, home value, and education level, and higher uninsured rates. The southeast US has the highest chronic disease prevalence in the country.
-
Interesting recent evidence exists on specific age intervention points and modifiable risk factors for chronic conditions.
Molecular changes associated with aging appear to follow a nonlinear pattern, with disproportionately higher decline occurring around ages 44 and 60.
Around age 40 to 44, the body becomes less efficient at metabolizing fat; the same appears true for alcohol and caffeine. Cardiovascular disease risk increases.
Around age 60, the body becomes less efficient at carbohydrate metabolization, and there is a decline in the immune system and kidney function. The risk for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and type 2 diabetes markedly increases.
Identifying molecular dysregulation and decline at these specific age points is powerful for informing population health screenings and clinical preventive measures.
- Chronic cont'd on page 8
Environmental exposures impact disease patterns and premature mortality more than genetics in many cases, according to a recent UK study. Primary drivers of mortality and aging included smoking, hours of sleep, household income, home ownership, ethnicity, years of education, physical activity and wellness, and the additive effect of these factors together. This emphasizes the utility of environmental interventions in mitigating premature mortality, as nearly all of these factors are modifiable. Non-modifiable factors were height (shorter is somewhat protective) and ethnicity.
Additionally, genetic risk contributed more than environmental factors in the development of dementia and breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. Conversely, environmental factors contributed more than genetics in the development of diseases of the heart, lungs, and liver.
The recent “Ten Americas” study defined ten different Americas based on race, ethnicity, location, metropolitan status, income, and Black–White residential segregation. It showed dramatic differences in U.S. life expectancies by
subpopulation. Life expectancy is less than 64years for Native Americans living in the western US. By contrast, Asian individuals in the US have a life expectancy of approximately 84 years. Substantial differences in income and education among the ten Americas were also identified. This study provides bleak, quantifiable evidence of the colossal differences in subsets of the US population and demonstrates the severity of the need for tailored population health interventions in areas such as nutrition, substance use, and hypertension.
Bottom line: Prevalence data, life expectancy, and epigenetic studies all indicate the need for demographically and geographically tailored interventions rather than a top-down, one-sizefits-all approach for chronic conditions. State and territorial public health departments got hammered during the pandemic and are struggling to regroup, but their work remains indispensable, maybe even more so for chronic conditions. Health workers who are fluent in the unique needs and risk factors of their communities are essential to alleviating the burden of chronic conditions. ■
Profiles in Public Health
Brenda Eskenazi: An Environmental Epidemiologist's Journey from Woodstock to America's Salad Bowl
What it means and why it matters
Author: Sheila Kaplan, Writer, UC Berkeley SPH
Note: The EpiMonitor would like to thank the University of California - Berkeley for granting us permission to reprint this article from their series on outstanding emeritus faculty members.
Back in August 1969, Brenda Eskenazi hiked 15 miles in the pouring rain to reach the Woodstock Festival but she never heard the music.
Eskenazi was so far back from the stage that she missed Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the rest of the performers at that famous (and infamous) gathering in upstate New York. She did, however, see a young man on a very bad acid trip.
Watching him dive off the top of a car onto the cement, hallucinating water, the future scientist wondered: What on earth had happened to his brain to make him do that?
“That got me really, really interested in how chemicals affect the human brain,” she said in a recent interview.
Maxwell Professor of Maternal and Child Health in 2008.
A globe-hopping career
Eskenazi’s research has taken her all over the world, producing groundbreaking studies on the health hazards of exposure to pesticides, dioxins, metals, tobacco smoke, air pollution, and other toxic substances.
She has analyzed the aftermath of a chemical plant explosion near Seveso, Italy; studied what happened to workers exposed to benzene in China; and looked at in-utero DDT exposure in South Africa.
The incident at the ‘60s most famous rock concert led Eskenazi to become a neuropsychologist and environmental epidemiologist, specializing on the impact of environmental exposures on children’s health. She joined the faculty of UC Berkeley School of Public Health in 1984 as an assistant professor in maternal and child health and epidemiology and became a professor in 1995. She was named Distinguished Jennifer and Brian - Eskenazi cont'd on page 10
Eskenazi has also conducted research on the effects of social adversity and nutritional factors on male and female reproduction and on child development from the fetal stage to
Brenda Eskenazi
adolescence.
She is best known for building the Center for Environmental Research and Community Health (CERCH), a world-renowned science hub whose affiliated researchers have published hundreds of papers on environmental exposures and their impacts on pregnant women and children. Eskenazi became an emerita professor in 2019, but remains director of CERCH, which oversees the longest-running longitudinal birth cohort study of pesticides and other environmental exposures among children in any farmworker community in the world.
CERCH’s Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas, known as CHAMACOS, first enrolled pregnant women in 1999. Twenty-five years later, CHAMACOS is still a source of trailblazing research. Beyond their own investigations, the specimens and data that Eskenazi and her team have collected initially from hundreds of pregnant women, and then from their children—serve as a lending library for researchers from around the globe.
When Eskenazi started her work, the fact that lead was a potent neurotoxin was beyond dispute. But the notion that pesticides and some other chemicals could also damage the developing brain was not as widely accepted.
Eskenazi’s investigators have produced some of the first evidence that the children who were exposed to pesticides in the womb had lower IQs than other children and other neurodevelopmental problems. Their work showed that other chemical exposures were associated with lower birth weights, poor cognitive functioning, and additional health issues.
A Massive Impact
It’s hard to overstate Eskenazi’s contributions to environmental science. She has had an important impact on the regulation of chemicals at the state and federal level; on warnings about the risk of cancer, reproductive harm and birth defects now required under California’s Proposition 65; and on documents informing the Stockholm Convention, the historic international treaty to protect the public from persistent organic pollutants (toxic chemicals that resist degradation and can accumulate in living organisms).
“Brenda’s work has led the field of environmental epidemiology in designing and conducting longitudinal studies of key populations, from the Seveso Women’s Health Study to the CHAMACOS cohort, among many others,” said Linda Birnbaum, the former director of the National Institute for Environmental Science. “In addition, she’s a pleasure to collaborate with.”
Dr. Gwen Collman, director of the NIEHS office of scientific coordination, planning and evaluation, said, “Brenda is a brilliant researcher who has been very, very dedicated to expanding our knowledge base when it comes to the health effects of exposures to environmental chemicals. Her work has been very novel, very challenging. She’s not afraid to take on the tough stuff. She brings a very deliberate and rigorous approach.”
Eskenazi’s research has earned her many awards, most recently the 2023 Child Health Advocate Award from the Children’s Environmental Health Network. In 2014, she
- Eskenazi cont'd on page 11
was inducted into the Collegium Ramazzini, a prestigious academy of the top 150 people in the world in occupational and environmental health. Her other honors include the John R. Goldsmith Award for Lifetime Achievement, from the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology.
Kim Harley, the faculty director of UC Berkeley’s Wallace Center for Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, who first worked with Eskenazi on CHAMACOS in 2004 as a graduate student, praised her mentor’s innovation.
“If you look now, there are so many cohort studies and research looking at prenatal exposures and how they affect brain development,” Harley said. “But when she wrote that first grant back in 1998, there was hardly anybody doing it.
“The National Institutes of Health now has a toolbox of neurodevelopmental tests for this purpose, but none of this existed when Brenda started. She was one of the first to do this, and her PhD in neuropsychology put her in the perfect place to do it.”
From Queens to Yale
Eskenazi didn’t plan it that way.
Growing up in Queens, a borough of New York City, Eskenazi wanted to become either a surgeon or a medical illustrator. But while attending Queens College in the 1960s, her biology professor told Eskenazi that women didn’t belong in medicine. Lacking role models of female doctors, Eskenazi, at first, believed it.
Luckily, Queens College, a branch of the City University of New York, was the site of the entire university’s neuropsychology
department, and Ezkenasi was welcome there.
“That was fascinating to me,” she said. “I happened to be in a good place for me, and it turned out by chance.”
Eskenazi was accepted to the CUNY doctoral program in neuropsychology, and then spent a pivotal year studying at the University of Leeds in England.
Her plan was to conduct electrical and chemical stimulation of animal brains, and study the effects. She worked on a range of animals, learning neurochemistry, neurophysiology and neuroanatomy. But soon, the head of her laboratory told her she had to stop operating because she didn’t have a license.
“You needed a license to operate on animals in England,” Eskenazi said. “And I didn’t have one. And it took a year to get a license. So I said, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ And he said, ‘Well, I guess you’re going to have to do human research.”’
She designed a study of cognitive issues in women using high-estrogen birth control pills.
“I wrote a questionnaire like an epidemiologist would, and that’s where the pieces came together. I entered into the field of epidemiology but without real training at that time.”
Eskenazi returned to the U.S., and received her PhD from CUNY Graduate Center in 1979, while also working at the Columbia University Psychiatric Institute. That led to an epidemiology and environmental health sciences postdoc at Yale University. By
- Eskenazi cont'd on page 12
1983, she was an assistant professor in Environmental Health Sciences at Yale School of Medicine, studying the neurotoxic as well as reproductive effects of many chemicals ranging from alcohol, nicotine and caffeine, to environmental chemicals. She moved to UC Berkeley School of Public Health in 1984.
The first class she taught at Berkeley was on reproductive hazards of industrial chemicals. And one of her first landmark studies was an investigation into the 1976 chemical factory explosion near Seveso, Italy, which exposed residents to high levels of 2,3,7,8tetracholorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD or dioxin), a human carcinogen and potent endocrine disruptor. She has followed the women exposed to dioxin from that disaster for more than two decades.
Tracking toxins in California’s salad bowl
An ongoing theme of her research has been the negative consequences of environmental agents on child health.
Much of Eskenazi’s most important research has come from CHAMACOS, the joint project she founded with Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, Natividad Medical Center and other community groups in the Salinas Valley. This rich agricultural land is often called “the world’s salad bowl.” Dole is there, as is Naturipe Farms, Fresh Express, and since 1999, Brenda Eskenazi.
In 1996, the Food Quality and Protection Act was passed by Congress and this Act called for the protection of the health of fetuses and children from the effects of pesticides–that children were not “little adults.” In 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency and NIEHS put out a request to establish Centers for Children’s Environmental Health.
“We didn’t know very much information about children’s exposures and their effects, especially to pesticides, and how that affected child development,”’ Eskenazi said.
Eskenazi and her research team applied to establish one of these Children’s Centers to study the effect of short-acting pesticides on children.
“I said, ‘Look, we live in the largest agricultural state in the nation. We work at a land grant university. Our work needs to be on agriculture and it needs to be on pesticides,” Eskenazi said.
After forming partnerships with local health care providers, and community leaders Eskenazi launched a birth cohort study, tracking mothers and children from primarily Mexican farmworker families who may have been exposed to pesticides used in the fields.
Her team recruited 600 women in the first half of their pregnancy. Half of these women had lived in the US less than five years, but at the time if you were pregnant you could receive MediCal, whether you were documented or not. They interviewed the women, collected maternal blood cord blood, and urine samples from them. They followed and examined their children soon after birth and at 6 months and every one to two years after. They did home walkthroughs and neighborhood assessments. They later added 305 additional children, who were followed from age 9.
As the children grew, researchers collected data on their neurodevelopment, including autism spectrum behavior; obesity, respiratory symptoms, onset of puberty and other health outcomes.
- Eskenazi
“Since I was a psychologist, I also made sure I got a lot of stuff on their social well-being and psychological well being as well as their full medical history,” Eskenazi said. Right after the 2016 Presidential election, we even collected information on their concerns about immigration policy. Another frequent subject has been gene-environment interaction, and more recently, the effects of exposure to environmental chemicals and social stressors on the epigenome of the developing child. Colleagues at UCSF and UC Berkeley have been following the health of the mothers, too.
They have been following many of the families for 25 years, ending up with more than 400,000 biological samples, fueling more than 200 studies on the impacts of pesticides and other chemicals on health as well as a myriad of other exposures; while at the same time, educating farmworker families and finding ways to reduce exposures.
In addition, the CHAMACOS has provided valuable information on the ubiquitous chemicals found in furniture, plastics, and cosmetics, and their effects on many aspects of health.
“When we started CHAMACOS, people were saying ‘Wow, this is a big undertaking, and it was really going to depend on the cooperation of the community,” said Kim Harley, who started as a student and later became study coordinator in 2004.
“From the very beginning, Brenda was really committed that the core of the study would be community-based participatory research. The staff was all bicultural, and bilingual, from the Salinas community.”
Gwen Collman, of NIEHS, praised Eskenazi for becoming part of the farmworker community,
and spending the time necessary to develop and keep trust.
“The passion and connection that she has to the people in the Salinas Valley is so unique, impressive and inspiring,” Collman said. “She’s created an enormous treasure trove of information that we can mine, to look at many, many hypotheses. To this day, the CHAMACOS team is just knocking it out of the park.”
And to Collman, there was another tremendous benefit to CHAMACOS: It was a training ground for scores of Eskenazi’s former students, many of whom, like Kim Harley, and Asa Bradman, now at UC Merced, went on to become prominent environmental health researchers.
“She is so careful, not just teaching them how to do the research, but making sure every single paper is perfect,” Collman said. “I’ve gotten to know many of her trainees, and they are a wonderful group of scientists. Having Brenda as a mentor for even one year has been transformative for so many of them. She’s been an amazing leader.”
Harley said, “Working with Brenda totally defined my career. She was my mentor and continues to be my mentor. She’s been amazing. She helped me and encouraged me and enabled me to develop my own research portfolio and move into a faculty position at Berkeley, where I was able to start my own research program.”
Eskenazi believes that the mentorship role is one of the most, if not the most, important contribution a professor can make to science.
- Eskenazi cont'd on page 14
-Eskenazi cont'd from page 13
“I see my students and mentees as branches of a tree,” she said. “I train them and they train others that is my biggest legacy.”
COVID-19 and a collaboration with Jennifer Doudna
At least it seemed that way, until the COVID-19 pandemic. As the disease emerged, Eskenazi recognized that the situations that farmworkers lived in crowded conditions, difficulty getting medical care made them especially vulnerable to the disease.
Quickly, she teamed up with her longtime CHAMACOS partners—Salinas Valley health clinics, agricultural companies and farmworker advocates along with UC Berkeley Professor Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.
Eskenazi and Doudna, the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences, produced a study laying out the need for fast action to protect the agricultural workers. Their report, published in JAMA Open Network, motivated the state government to prioritize farmworkers for COVID vaccinations.
The result was an innovative van service that circulated around the Valley, inoculating farm workers against COVID and testing them and their families for the disease.
“Our coalition became a model for other counties in California and around the country,” she said. “Because of our work, farmworkers were prioritized for vaccination in many states.”
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Author: Staff
Epi Briefs: February 2025
2025 AES Conference Cancelled
The American Epidemiological Association has announced the cancellation of their 2025 annual conference that was scheduled for March 13-14 at Emory University in Atlanta. AES stated that the decision was made to take a pause while the new administration in D.C. took time to define its plan for "managing the federal policy and public communications processes" because of the impact these changes may have on conference attendance and travel.
They stated that abstract submissions and registrations have been unusually low with most coming from individuals affiliated with universities or others who are retired and thus
less impacted by the changes in Washington. The consensus was that, under these circumstances, the event wouldn't be an authentic AES meeting if they had chosen to move forward as planned.
In lieu of holding the conference, AES has elected to hold a virtual panel discussion that was already scheduled to occur during the conference. The program "Practicing Consequential Epidemiology and Public Health in Challenging Times" will be held on March 13th starting at 5:15pm. The program will be followed by a brief AES update. There will be no charge for attending this event and members will receive, via email, the information necessary to participate. ■
Your Ad Should Be Here
2025 Summer Programs in Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Note: Several programs are returning from hiatus this year. We have also included an extended listing of biostatistics programs this year.
episummer@columbia
Columbia University – New York City
Name episummer@columbia
Sponsors Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Location Online and New York, NY
Program year 14th (over 500 participants each year)
Types and dates of Courses All in June
Full course list: http://tinyurl.com/ya7cxeux
Dates June 1-30, 2025
Number of Courses 36
Language English
Number of faculty 24 Most are from Columbia
Target audience Public health faculty and practitioners, clinician researchers, students (doctoral, master’s and undergraduate), research staff and industry
Cost
$250-$1,800 per course - 10% discount prior to April 1st / limited scholarships available
Deadline for registration Scholarship application deadline is March 15, 2025
Limit on participants No limits for most of the courses - classes have 10-50 participants with an average of 20.
Comments Columbia University's Department of Epidemiology has a summer institute every June called episummer@columbia that enables anyone anywhere in the world to engage in the world-class coursework and high-quality instruction offered at Columbia University. It provides opportunities to gain foundational knowledge and applied skills for advancing population health
Comments con’t research. episummer@columbia’s intensive short courses are offered in synchronous or asynchronous online learning formats. Registrants for episummer@columbia courses need access to high-speed internet. Specific information about online access is provided to registrants before the course begins.
episummer@columbia: synchronous learning
Our synchronous courses vary in length from 4 hours to 20 hours delivered in an online live, in-person or hybrid format. These courses are offered only on a specific date and time allowing registrants the ability to interact live with their episummer@columbia course instructor and other registrants.
episummer@columbia: asynchronous learning
Each asynchronous course, varying in length from 5 hours to 40 hours, contains lectures and course material presented online with materials released by the instructor accordingly. The flexible format will include video or audio recordings of lecture material, file sharing and topical discussion fora, self-assessment exercises, real-time electronic office hours and access to instructors for feedback during the course.
Newer courses:
Intensive R for Epidemiologists
Infectious Disease Modeling: A Brief Introduction
Introduction to Causal Inference with Longitudinal Data
Epidemiology of Police Violence
Rethinking Criminal Justice as Public Health
Join EpiMonitor on our Facebook page at: https://bit.ly/2U29gUA or on Twitter at: @theEpimonitor or on Instagram at: @epimonitor
University of Michigan Summer Session in Epidemiology
Ann Arbor, MI
Name The University of Michigan Summer Session in Epidemiology
Sponsors UM School of Public Health
Location Ann Arbor, MI
Program year As of 2025 the program has been offered for 60 years.
Types and dates of Courses 2025 courses are offered exclusively online
(21) One week morning or afternoon classes
(1) One week full day class
(2) Three week morning or afternoon classes
Number of Courses 25
Language English
Number of faculty 26
Target audience Designed for public health and healthcare professionals, researchers, and others eager to build a foundation in epidemiologic science, SSE welcomes participants from diverse backgrounds. While experience in public health, epidemiology, or biostatistics is helpful, it is not required.
Cost One week course, non-credit = $650.00. Cost does vary depending on choice of graduate credit or non-credit status and number of courses. More information: https://tinyurl.com/4prcetva
Deadline for registration June 1st online application and registration
Limit on participants No limits, space permitting
Course directors
Eduardo Villamor, MD, MPH, DrPH
Contact information Jessica Olsen, Program Administrator, neko@umich.edu
Mackenzie Smith, Program Coordinator, macksmi@umich.edu
https://sph.umich.edu/umsse/
Comments The summer program at the University of Michigan is the longest-running summer program in the USA. Faculty are sought from UM, nationally and internationally, identifying experts in respective fields.
The UM SSE offers a Certification of Academic Competencies in Epidemiology that can be completed in two years or more.
McGill Summer Institute In Global Health
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Name McGill Summer Institutes in Global Health
Sponsors McGill University
Location Montreal, Canada and Virtual
Program year 10th
Types and dates of Courses May 20 – June 13, 2025 (unless otherwise noted)
Number of Courses The 2025 McGill Summer Institutes in Global Health is offering 16 courses. Course length varies 2-5 days.
Language English
Number of faculty 29 course directors & up to 200 guest faculty
Target audience
Cost
Varies by course, but generally health care professionals, researchers, and students.
Varies by delivery method. Discounted pricing for students, and participants from low- and middle-income countries. More info: https://tinyurl.com/7x9zwuye
Deadline for registration March 1, 2025: Registration deadline for those attendees wishing to travel to Montreal to participate in-person and who will be applying for a visa to travel to Canada.
May 2, 2025: Registration pricing increases by 10%.
Registration closes when the course is full, or seven days before the course is scheduled to begin.
Limit on participants Varies by course see website
Program director Dr. Madhukar Pai, Inaugural Chair, Department of Global and Public Health
Contact Information https://www.mcgill.ca/summerinstitute-globalhealth/ summerinstitute.med@mcgill.ca (514) 398-4118
Comments: New courses for 2025:
A. One Health Approaches to Infectious Disease Control (Online, May 26-29)
B. Implementation Science for NCD Prevention and Management (Online, May 26-30)
C. In-Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Product Development Bootcamp Making the Move from Academic and Entrepreneur to Product Development (Online, June 9-12)
Johns Hopkins 43rd Graduate Summer Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Name Johns Hopkins 43rd Graduate Summer Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Sponsors Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Location Baltimore, Online, Hybrid
Program year 43
Types and dates of Courses June 9-27, 2025
All epi biostat summer institute courses will be offered online. Asynchronous on-line courses combine pre-recorded content and live interactive sessions. Virtual online courses will be taught on-line via Zoom, on the dates and times the course is scheduled. Hybrid courses have both a synchronous online section (and an in-person section .
Number of Courses 41
Language English
Number of faculty 44
Target audience Individuals who have a bachelor's degree or the equivalent may register for the Summer Institute. Our program provides an opportunity for graduate study to degree candidates as well as individuals taking courses for professional development. Institute participants include health care professionals, those who are considering a career in public health, primary health care practitioners, physicians in training (including preventive medicine residents and medical students) as well as students.
Cost Academic credit tuition $1374 per credit ; Non- credit/professional development, $687 per course credit
Deadline for registration June 10, 2024 or before the start of a course
Limit on participants None
Course directors Moyses Szklo, MD, MPH, DrPH
Contact information Ayesha Khan, akhan6@jhu.edu, 410-955-7158 http://www.jhsph.edu/summerepi
Comments The Summer Institute has been in existence since 1983, and has trained thousands of students from the U.S. and around the world. Institute participants include students, clinicians, public health practitioners, physicians in training and those considering a career in public health.
2025 Public Health Institute
University
of Minnesota
Name 2025 Public Health Institute
Sponsors University of Minnesota
Location Twin Cities / Minneapolis, MN plus some virtual courses
Types and dates of Courses May 19 - June 6, 2025
Number of Courses 22
Language English
Number of faculty 33
Target audience Graduate students in public health, medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, dentistry, public affairs, law, social work, pharmacy, public policy, global health, agricultural, food, and environmental sciences.
Practicing professionals in public health and other health and human service organizations; city, county, state, and federal government agencies; private-sector businesses and industry
Cost $1,181 per credit incl institute fee of $25 per credit
Course directors
Contact information phi@umn.edu https://www.sph.umn.edu/academics/institutes/public-health-institute/
Comments The Summer Public Health Institute offers courses for students and practicing professionals in public health and related fields. Participants can build or expand their professional expertise, learn best practices, broaden career options, network with other professionals, or explore a new area of interest.
The Public Health Institute features in-person courses that will be taking place on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities West Bank campus. Select courses will be available online. Students taking online courses are expected to participate during the scheduled dates and times as online courses are synchronous.
BioStatEpi Treviso, Italy
Name Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics & Epidemiology
Target audience Researchers, physicians, clinicians and public health professionals from public and private institutions who are looking for systematic training in the principles of epidemiology and biostatistics, or epidemiology applied to health care planning and evaluation.
Contact information info@bioepiedu.org https://www.bioepiedu.org/
Comments Immerse yourself in an enriching and memorable learning experience at the stunning Brandolini Colomban castle, where our comprehensive courses in biostatistics and epidemiology will enrich your knowledge of data science and elevate your research skills to new levels.
Florida's Summer Institute in Biostatistics and Data Science Program
Name Florida's Summer Institute in Biostatistics & Data Science Program (SIBDS)
Sponsors Florida Atlantic University
Location Boca Raton, FL
Types and dates of Courses May 19 - June 27, 2025
Deadline Application deadline - March 14, 2025
Language English
Target audience Undergraduate students or those recent graduates not currently in graduate programs.
Course directors Dr. Katherine Freeman and Dr. Lun Ching-Chang
Contact information kfreemancostin@health.fau.edu or changl@fau.edu https://tinyurl.com/nwdmmwra
Comments
Calling all undergraduate students or those recent graduates not currently in graduate programs, it’s time to discover how working with data can change your life through Florida’s Summer Institute in Biostatistics and Data Science Program (SIBDS), funded by the National Institutes of Health.
This opportunity is the key to understanding how data, driven by participants’ responses, can help draw conclusions on everything from why COVID-19 impacts certain populations more than others, to why clinical trials are important and a whole lot more.
Aarhus University
Pharmacoepidemiology Summer School
Name Pharmacoepidemiology Summer School
Sponsors Aarhus University
Location Grenaa, Denmark
Program year 9th
Types and dates of Courses June 16-20, 2025
The summer school course is offered as one unit and it is only possible to register for the entire program.
Number of Courses 1
Language English
Number of faculty
Aarhus faculty and international faculty
Target audience Aimed at PhD students, postdocs, clinicians, and other professionals seeking to advance their skills and knowledge
Cost
Deadline for registration
The course fee includes full tuition, five-night hotel stay, breakfast and lunch, fruit + coffee/tea, a complimentary course dinner, and a social program.
Registration is taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. The summer school offers an early-bird price. You may cancel your registration within 14 days of receiving your order confirmation. After the 14 days, the course fee is non-refundable unless the summer school is cancelled. Please note that your registration is not final until we have received your payment.
Limit on participants 30
Course directors
Contact information
Helle Vester Communications Officer
Phone: +45 8716 8223
Email: summerschool@clin.au.dk
Website: https://tinyurl.com/mvjst3ch
Comments Basic training in epidemiology and biostatistics is assumed.
11th Annual Summer Institute in Statistics for Clinical & Epidemiological Research (SISCER)
Name Annual Summer Institute in Statistics for Clinical & Epidemiological Research (SISCER)
Sponsors University of Washington
Location Virtual
Program year 11th
Types and dates of Courses July 7 – August 2
The Summer Institute in Statistics for Clinical & Epidemiological Research (SISCER) offers introductory and advanced short courses in methods for clinical research and epidemiology. Participants will find learning opportunities for clinical trials, causal inference, biomarker research, and analyzing observational data and complex surveys.
Language English
Target audience One of the goals of SISCER is to strengthen the statistical proficiency and career development of scholars from all backgrounds, especially those from groups historically underrepresented in STEM such as racial and ethnic minority groups, low income, first generation college students, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ groups.
Cost $125-$800 per module / Early bird discounts available
Course directors Kathleen Kerr
Contact
Information siscer@uw.edu
Comments
Website: https://tinyurl.com/5xwkmwdy
The Summer Institute in Statistics for Clinical & Epidemiological Research (SISCER) offers introductory and advanced short courses in methods for clinical research and epidemiology. Participants will find learning opportunities for clinical trials, observational data, biomarker research, complex surveys, and Bayesian biostatistics. Kathleen Kerr is the Director of SISCER. One of the goals of SISCER is to strengthen the statistical proficiency and career development of scholars from all backgrounds, especially those from groups historically underrepresented in STEM such as racial and ethnic minority groups, low income, first generation college students, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ groups.
17th Summer Institute in Statistics & Modeling in Infectious Disease (SISMID) 2025
Name Annual Summer Institute in Statistics & Modeling in Infectious Disease 2025
Sponsors Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University
Location Atlanta, GA
Program year 2025
Types and dates of Courses Online: July 7-11, 2025 In person: July 14-30, 2025
Modern methods of statistical analysis and mathematical modeling Number of Courses 21 total (between in-person and online)
Language English
Number of faculty 34
Target audience Students, faculty, staff, government, industry individuals working in the field
Cost $595-$895 per module
Registration Early bird pricing end May 30, 2025 Scholarship applications are open now Registration closes June 30, 2025
Course directors Dr. Ben Lopman and Dr. Natalie Dean
Contact
Information Website: https://tinyurl.com/3vp8fysh sismid@emory.edu
Comments The Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases (SISMID) has moved to Atlanta.
Dr. Betz Halloran co-founded SISMID in 2009 and was the previous director of the Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases (SISMID). SISMID introduces infectious disease researchers to modern methods of statistical analysis and mathematical modeling and introduces statisticians and mathematical modelers to the statistical and dynamic problems posed by modern infectious disease data.
Summer Session for Public Health Studies 2025 Harvard University
Name Summer Session for Public Health Studies 2025
Sponsors Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health
Location Boston, MA
Program year 2025
Types and dates of Courses
Summer Session I: July 7 - July 25, 2025
Summer Session II: July 28 - August 15, 2025
A sample course listing is available on the website.
Language English
Target audience
The Summer Session is intended for health professionals in training or those who are considering a mid-career change into public health and feel the need to strengthen their skills. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree to be eligible to apply. Applicants are public health professionals, primary care practitioners, physicians engaged in the evaluation of health care delivery and management and physicians in training.
Cost Varies but no financial assistance is available for the 2025 summer program
Registration March 25, 2025 for new degree applicants Course directors Stephanie Lemoine
Contact Information Website: https://tinyurl.com/2s4xbh4d
slemoine@shph.harvard.edu / (617) 432-0090
Comments
A sample course listing and financial information are available on the website in the "additional information" section.
ESCMID Summer School
Dublin, Ireland
Name ESCMID Summer School
Sponsors ESCMID
Location Dublin, Ireland (on the campus of University College Dublin)
Program year 23rd
Types and dates of Courses June 29 – July 5, 2025
Number of Courses Preliminary program: https://tinyurl.com/yerp47jj
Language English
Target audience Summer School is open for ESMID members and non-members currently enrolled in or holding a postgraduate degree in fields such as Infectious Diseases, Clinical Microbiology, or related disciplines.
Cost 1,300 € - 1,600 €
Course directors Maeve Doyle & Cathal O’Broin
Contact information
Email: courses@escmid.org
Website: https://tinyurl.com/28k68wde
Comments Featuring an experienced faculty board with a range of Clinical Microbiology (CM) and Infectious Diseases (ID) lectures, attendees will benefit from the workshop setting by having the opportunity to apply their knowledge in practical exercises. A special section in the agenda is dedicated to student presentations, offering the opportunity to share personal experiences and enhance presentation skills through feedback from recognised experts. Do not miss this memorable and enriching experience with ESCMID.
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Advanced Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine
Tel Aviv University
Name Advanced Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine 2025
Sponsors Tel Aviv University
Location Tel Aviv, Israel
Types and dates of Courses TBD (as of February 2025)
Language English
Target audience The program is open to graduate and qualified undergraduate students (MPH and MSc in Epidemiology students, MD and PhD candidates, and others with special interest in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine), and also to medical professionals interested in developing advanced skills in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. Generally, a minimum GPA of 80 on a scale of 100, 3.0 on a scale of 4.0, or equivalent applies.
Cost $1,800 partial scholarships are available
Registration Registration for 2025 will open soon
Course directors Gabi Bar, International Program Coordinator
Contact information
Email: gabibar@tauex.tau.ac.il
Phone: +972 (0)3 640-8021
Website: https://tinyurl.com/4ekfra2m
Comments Our Advanced Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine program is for those of you looking to ramp up your knowledge in health, science, and health management through courses led by some of the leading experts in the world.
You’ll enjoy a variety of intensive epidemiology and preventive medicine courses, never more relevant in these pandemic-hit times. Each course typically runs for 26 academic hours, culminating in a 2-hour final exam, and is worth 2 academic credits (unless indicated otherwise), or can be taken as a non-credit course.
11th Summer Institute in Statistics for Big Data (SISBID) 2025
Name Annual Summer Institute in Statistics for Big Data 2025
Sponsors University of Washington & GA Tech
Location Atlanta, GA
Program year 2025
Types and dates of Courses
Online Only: August 12-23
Number of Courses 4
Language English
Target audience Summer Institutes courses are open to everyone. Requirements and prerequisites are outlined in the module descriptions so participants can gauge the knowledge base needed for the course.
Cost $395-$595 per module
Registration Early bird pricing end July 15, 2025
Course directors Ali Shojaie
Contact
Information Website: https://tinyurl.com/4dwr6vxa sisbid@uw.edu
Comments One of the goals of SISBID is to strengthen the statistical and data science proficiency of scholars from all backgrounds, especially those from groups historically underrepresented in STEM such as racial and ethnic minority groups, low income, first generation college students, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ groups.
Summer Course in Epidemiology
European Educational Programme in Epidemiology
Name Summer Course in Epidemiology
Sponsors European Educational Programme in Epidemiology (EEPE)
Location Florence, Italy
Program year 37th
Types and dates of Courses June 16 – July 4, 2025
Additional specialized week beginning July 7th
Number of Courses The course offers in the first two weeks five general modules on epidemiological study design and statistical analysis of epidemiological data. In the third week several special modules cover topics of current relevance for health and advanced methodological issues.
Language English
Number of faculty The courses are taught in English by lecturers mostly from European universities and research institutes and are held in residential form in the “Studium” centre on the hills close to Florence.
Target audience
Cost 1,400 € - 3,500 € inclusive (non-residential and single occupancy options available at different prices)
Deadline for registration Places are allocated on a first come, first serve basis
Limit on participants See above
Course directors Lorenzo Richiardi and Neil Pearce
Contact information Mrs. Maria del Mar Ferrer
https://www.eepe.org/
Comments Participants have appreciated the opportunity of combining an intensive learning experience with the unique attraction for cultural and artistic enjoyment offered by Florence and Tuscany. We are proud to report a comment written by a participant in the evaluation form at the end of the course “Nowhere else such a high quality presentation of the key topics in modern epidemiology in such a short time”.
Summer Institute in Biostatistics & Data Science (SIBS)
Boston University
Name Summer Institute in Biostatistics & Data Science (SIBS)
Sponsors Boston University under a grant from the NHLBI
Location Boston, MA
Types and dates of Courses June 9 – July 11, 2025 in residence at BU and then attendees will work remotely on their projects through mid-August 2025.
Number of Courses
Topics covered in the SIBS Program:
Biostatistics Analysis
Data Science
Epidemiology
Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials
Statistical Genetics
Infectious Disease Modeling
Programming in SAS and R
Language English
Number of faculty 9
Target audience Current undergraduate students and recent graduates majoring in mathematics, science or other quantitatively oriented areas of study are eligible. Applicants must be American citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
Cost There is no tuition, travel, room or board cost associated with the program. A stipend may be provided.
Deadline for registration
Places are allocated on a rolling basis with priority given to those who apply prior to March 14, 2025
Contact information sibs@bu.edu
https://tinyurl.com/yc2hcfwv
Comments Students will gain hands-on experience working with actual data collected in internationally recognized studies that have been funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute including:
► The Framingham Heart Study
► The Jackson Heart Study
Advanced Statistics Summer Workshop
Indiana University
Name Advanced Statistics Summer Workshop
Sponsors Indiana University
Location Program is delivered via Zoom
Program year 37th
Types and dates of Courses June 2-13, 2025
Number of Courses 21
Language English
Number of faculty 12
Target audience The workshop is tailored for physicians, scientists and researchers actively engaged in biomedical research and taught by biostatistics and data science faculty who bring real-world experience.
Contact information biosinfo@iu.edu
https://tinyurl.com/443z3mpw
Comments At the end of the workshop, participants should be able to:
Understand and apply advanced study designs across all phases of clinical trials and observational studies.
Gain proficiency in advanced statistical models, particularly those used for categorical, longitudinal and survival outcomes.
Gain understanding of reliability and validity assessment methods, and study designs to evaluate such results.
Understand key statistical concepts related to causal inference and mediation analyses, and apply these methods effectively in analyzing research data.
Acquire knowledge of advanced statistical learning methods for handling high-dimensional data utilized in micro-array, sequencing and neuroimaging data analyses.
Develop critical statistical thinking through case studies from realworld medical research data.
UTMB Summer Institute in Biostatistics & Data Science
Name UTMB Summer Institute in Biostatistics & Data Science
Sponsors UTMB under a grant from the NHLBI
Location Galveston, TX
Types and dates of Courses June 7 – July 26, 2025
Number of Courses The structure of the program is through case based instruction of real biomedical research, computer laboratory training, research projects, and clinical and translational research enrichment activities.
Language English
Number of faculty 13
Target audience Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents.
Cost There are no fees or tuition costs associated with participation in the SIBDS. Transportation, meal allowance and lodging are provided by the SIBDS.
Lodging will be provided on campus at Galveston College. Scholars will have full access to UTMB computing systems, library, and other academic facilities.
Deadline for registration Applications are due March 15, 2025 and will be reviewed on an on-going basis. Applications completed before March 15, 2025 will be reviewed earlier. If there are still open slots after the March 15, 2025 deadline, we will continue to accept applications.
Contact information Heidi Spratt hespratt@utmb.edu https://tinyurl.com/4n8wa2cm
Comments Coursework will focus on big data, translational research, and statistical models used in the analysis of biomedical studies. The program will further serve as a fundamental building block for students to understand the importance of biostatistics and its synergistic place in the biomedical sciences. Information on opportunities such as scholarships, training grant programs and assistantships in Biostatistics and Public Health will be presented to scholars. Scholars will be encouraged to apply to continue their graduate studies in biostatistics, statistics and/or data sciences and contribute toward the remedial of the current nationwide shortage of biostatisticians.
Additional Summer Programs
In addition to the programs listed in this issue, there are a number of others who have either closed their registration early or have not yet published any program information for 2025. These programs are listed below and we encourage you to check them out either for this year or next.
Big Data Summer Institute
University of Michigan
https://tinyurl.com/84pu8myt
Stanford Population Health Summer Research Program
Stanford University
Epi on the Island
University of Prince Edward Island
https://tinyurl.com/yc35sbw3
https://tinyurl.com/4haz42bs
International Summer School of Epidemiology at Ulm University
Ulm University
Erasmus Summer Program
Erasmus MC
https://tinyurl.com/jubdfaf7
https://tinyurl.com/mtpbw2kn
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Advertise with The Epidemiology Monitor and reach 35,000 epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and public health professionals monthly.
Advertising opportunities exist in this digital publication, on our website and Facebook page, and in our Epi-Gram emails.
For more information please contact:
Michele Gibson / michele@epimonitor.net
Crossword Puzzle – February 2025
Summer Programs and Other Signs of Summer
For an interactive online version go to: https://tinyurl.com/4ryh9vkv
Crossword Questions
Across 1. Successful completion
6. Made of pork, beef or chicken 9 Essential modern student tool
11. Bands, flags and floats are in this 12. 40,000 sf
13. Learn the material
14. Take me out to the ________ 15. My colors ride the wind
17. In HI you can find this in black 20. Ants share this with you 21. Lampyridae
23. Bilingual? This is your summer program
24 . June 20, 2025
26 . Look to the sky
28 Dozers & teachers do this 29. Fireworks on a stick
31. Charm City
33. The ____ of summer
35. You can find tomatoes, pies & bulls here
36. July Celebration
37. In person and virtual
39. Funding option
40. Chevy Chase's summer
43. Common Summer attire
46. As high as an elephant's eye
47. Insulated box
50 Sun Protection Factor
51. The ___ days of summer 52. Donna ______ 54. Monarchs & Peacocks
57. Movie about terrifying sea dweller
58. Nights of Fire are located here
60. Cars do this & people visit it 63. Group of swimmers
64. UNC
65. ______, Trains & Automobiles
66. Continuing Education Unit
67. Don't eat these in months without an "r" 68 I have thick skin and seeds
69. Largest shark in the world
Down
2. They scan you
3. Baseball movie in a cornfield
4 Buy me some peanuts and ___________
5 This hand tied rope supports you
7. Dunkin was born here
8. Frozen Hawaiian cold treat
10. Skin cancer hates this
11. Colored inflatable
16 Located at Brandolini Colomban castle
18. Latin summer
19. Hangs from metal, wood or branches
22. Yogi and _____
25 This city and school share a name
27 Signup
30. Wet, slippery & long
32. Politicians do this & you wear them
34. Found at Fenway Park
35 Group
37 Caused by excessive heat
38. Airports require this
39. Chocolate, graham cracker & marshmallows
41. Home to the best of the best
42 Pitch this
44 You need chalk to play this
45. It rolls in the summer
48. Caused by sweating
49. Borders require this
53. They visit every 17 summers
55 Capitol of Tuscany
56. Bird treat that faces the sun
59. Childhood summer favorite
61. Oldest US epi summer program
62. Pick these
What We're Reading This Month
Editor's Note: All of us are confronted with more material than we can possibly hope to digest each month. However, that doesn't mean that we should miss some of the articles that appear in the public media on topics of interest to the epi community. The EpiMonitor curates a monthly list of some of the best articles we've encountered in the past month. See something you think others would like to read? Please send us a link at info@epimonitor.net and we'll include it in the next month
Impact of US Government Changes
♦ White House funding cuts challenge the model that underlies U.S. scientific dominance (WAPO via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/4eracwy8
♦ NIH announces new funding policy that rattles medical researchers (NPR via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/yzxp267s
♦ Scientists, researchers work to archive federal health data purged by Trump administration (The Hill via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/4kwj6a7u
♦ The Damage to Federal Medical Research Is Already Done (Wired via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/5bv44dk5
♦ CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service (STAT via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/4ewj535a
♦ Trump Administration Lays Off CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service Workers, Threatening Science And Public Health (Forbes via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/45zces6m
♦ Scientists React to RFK, Jr.'s Confirmation as HHS Secretary (Scientific American via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/mr2b3d9w
♦ Graduate student admissions paused and cut back as universities react to Trump orders on research (STAT)
https://tinyurl.com/4f3jsnjm
What We're Reading This Month
[Type a quote from the document or the summary of an interesting point. You can position the text box anywhere in the document. Use the Text Box Tools tab to change the formatting of the pull quote text box.]
- con't from page 38
Public Health Topics
♦ New H5N1 bird flu variant found in Nevada dairy worker as new data shows changes in virus (LA Times via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/26u5jszv
♦ U.S. bird flu hospitalizations rise to 4 after Ohio discloses case (CBS News via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/22j7axp4
♦ Measles outbreak in undervaccinated Texas area doubles again (ARS Technica via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/ybdtntpr
♦ The Texas Measles Outbreak Is A Warning. Wait Until More Anti-Vax Plans Kick In (Forbes via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/49rtyaad
♦ Texas measles outbreak includes 4 who said they got vaccine (Texas Tribune via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/4metccrn
♦ Is recycled plastic in utensils and toys really a big health concern? (New Scientist via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/bp8dny98
♦ California sees an 'alarming' rise in advanced prostate cancer, UCSF study finds (San Francisco Chronicle via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/44xmtxe6
♦ The Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in U.S. History Is Happening Right Now in Kansas (Esquire via Apple News)
https://tinyurl.com/bdercnpf
Join EpiMonitor on our Facebook page at: https://bit.ly/2U29gUA or on Twitter at: @theEpimonitor or on Instagram at: @epimonitor
Notes on People
Do you have news about yourself, a colleague, or a student?
Please help The Epidemiology Monitor keep the community informed by sending relevant news to us at this address for inclusion in our next issue. people@epimonitor.net
Appointed: Erica Pan, of Oakland, has been appointed Director and State Public Health Officer at the California Department of Public Health. Pan has been Deputy Director at the Center for Infectious Diseases and State Epidemiologist at the California Department of Public Health since 2020 and has been a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco since 2015.
Appointed: Ji-Hyun Lee, a professor in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions’ Department of Biostatistics and associate director for Cancer Quantitative Sciences at the UF Health Cancer Center, has become the 120th president of the American Statistical Association on January 1st. She is the first Korean American statistician, the first woman statistician from Florida, and the first cancer center applied biostatistician in the history of the ASA presidency.
Named: UNC Biostatistics Professor Hongtu Zhu, PhD has been named a 2025 IEEE Fellow. Each year, less than 1% of its voting members are selected for the prestigious fellowship. Zhu has been recognized for his contributions to data integration in medical imaging and genetics, and applying learning in ridesharing.
Awarded: University of Wisconsin graduate student Qilin Hong, mentored by Associate Professor Zhengzheng Tang, has won the 2025 Early Career Award from the Section on Statistics in Epidemiology of the American Statistical Association. Qilin received the award for his paper, “A marginal regression model for longitudinal compositional counts with application to microbiome data.”
Notes on People,
Do you have news about yourself, a colleague, or a student?
Please help The Epidemiology Monitor keep the community informed by sending relevant news to us at this address for inclusion in our next issue. people@epimonitor.net
Awarded: VUMC assistant professor Bryan Blette, was awarded the 2024 Art Wheeler Studio Award. Named after the late Arthur P. Wheeler, a renowned pulmonologist and leader in critical care medicine, the award recognizes an individual "who has demonstrated a passion for improving study quality through significant contributions to the VICTR [Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research] Studio Program."
Passed: Ernest Drucker, a pioneering public-health researcher who approached drug addiction with compassion, invigorated needle-exchange programs to stem the AIDS epidemic and diagnosed the destructive impact of what he called a “plague” of mass incarceration, died on Jan. 26 at his home in Manhattan. He was 84.
For more than three decades, Dr. Drucker, primed with epidemiological evidence, waged cutting-edge campaigns to improve the lot of prison inmates; the homeless; patients with tuberculosis; workers exposed to asbestos; and HIV-infected drug users and their families who had been ravaged by the repercussions of AIDS. https://tinyurl.com/buxfydep
Passed: S. Leonard Syme, who pushed the study of the psychosocial determinants of disease from the fringes to a central tenet of the field of public health, passed away of silent aspiration pneumonia on January 26, 2025, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He was 92, having been born on July 4, 1932.
“Len was a true giant, the father of social epidemiology, and one of the most beloved teachers and mentors Berkeley Public Health has ever had,” said Michael C. Lu, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. “Few individuals have transformed public health as profoundly as Len. He pioneered the study of social determinants of health, which has fundamentally transformed medicine and public health and continues to shape research, practice, and public policy today in our nation and around the world.”
https://tinyurl.com/5fpnsc55
Near Term Epidemiology Event Calendar
Every December The Epidemiology Monitor dedicates that issue to a calendar of events for the upcoming year. However that often means we don't have full information for events later in the upcoming year. Thus an online copy exists on our website that is updated regularly. To view the full year please go to: http://www.epimonitor.net/Events The events that we are aware of for the next month follow below.
March 2025
March 3-7
Type: Short Course
Title: Implementation Science
Sponsor: Erasmus MC
March 3-7
Type: Short Course
Title: Intensive Course in Applied Epidemiology
Sponsor: University of Aberdeen
March 3-7
Web: http://tinyurl.com/wkhee8uy
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Web: http://bit.ly/33XqJSJ
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Type: Short Course Web: http://tinyurl.com/2fkh6ejx
Title: Introduction to Linear and Logistic Regression Models
Sponsor: University of Bristol
March 3-7
Type: Short Course
Location: Virtual
Web: https://bit.ly/3v2gRXS
Title: An Introduction to the Analysis of the Next-generation Sequencing Data
Sponsor: Erasmus MC
March 3-12
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Type: Short Course Web: http://tinyurl.com/yh8ce5ha
Title: Public Health Across the Life Course
Sponsor: Erasmus MC
March 4-13
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Type: Short Course Web: https://tinyurl.com/mryhh3w7
Title: The Future of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
Sponsor: Peers Alley Conferences
March 20-21
Location: London, England
Type: Short Course Web: https://tinyurl.com/5b4t8b8b
Title: Introduction to Bayesian Statistics
Sponsor: EpidM
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
March 24-28
Type: Short Course
March 2025, cont
Web: http://tinyurl.com/3z8s2w4e
Title: Understanding Trusted Research Environments
Sponsor: University of Bristol
March 24-28
Type: Conference
Title: SCPHA Annual Conference
Sponsor: South Carolina Public Health Association
March 25-26
Type: Conference
Location: Virtual
Web: https://tinyurl.com/22jyzn2y
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Web: https://tinyurl.com/yrxrzrm7
Title: 4th International Public Health Conference - Global Health Security
Sponsor: Magnus Group
March 26-28
Type: Conference
Location: Singapore
Web: https://svepm2025.com
Title: Annual Meeting - Society for Veterinary Epidemiology
Sponsor: SEVPM
March 27-28
Type: Workshop
Location: Berlin, Germany
Web: https://tinyurl.com/mudu49uz
Title: Public Health Interventions in the Long Run: Causes and Consequences
Sponsor: Center for Economic Policy Research
Mar 31 – Apr 2
Type: Short Course
Title: Molecular Epidemiology
Sponsor: University of Bristol
Mar 31 – Apr 4
Type: Short Course
Title: Advanced Decision Modeling
Sponsor: Erasmus MC
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands
Web: http://tinyurl.com/mvbrbtew
Location: Virtual
Web: https://bit.ly/3G3VhZr
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Your Ad Should Be Here
Do you have a job, course, conference, book or other resource of interest to the epidemiology community? Advertise with The Epidemiology Monitor and reach 35,000 epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and public health professionals monthly.
Advertising opportunities exist in this digital publication, on our website and Facebook page, and in our Epi-Gram emails.
For more information please contact: Michele Gibson / michele@epimonitor.net
April 3-4
April 2025
Type: Conference Web: https://tinyurl.com/2jd9m8
Title: Cancer Retreat 2025
Sponsor: Erasmus MC Cancer Institute Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Title: 2025 Annual Meeting - American Association for Cancer Research
Sponsor: AACR Location: Chicago, IL
April 27-30
Type: Conference Web: https://bit.ly/3BHaIUI
Title: SHEA (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) Spring 2025
Sponsor: SHEA Location: Championsgate, FL
Apr 28 – May 2
Type: Short Course Web: https://tinyurl.com/yp9j9ade
Title: Infectious Diseases in Adults
Sponsor: Harvard University Location: Virtual
Apr 28 – May 2
Type: Short Course Web: http://tinyurl.com/3y8ejd74
Title: Designing and Conducting Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trials
Sponsor: University of Bristol Location: Virtual
Apr 29 – May 1
Type: Conference Web: https://bit.ly/3WuSZrQ
Title: Public Health 2025
Sponsor: Canadian Public Health Association Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Apr 29 – May 2
Type: Conference Web: https://bit.ly/3oLZ2Kz
Title: NACCHO Preparedness Summit 2025
Sponsor: Multiple Location: San Antonio, TX
Apr 30 – May 2
Type: Meeting Web: https://tinyurl.com/bhzrp9t7
Title: 2025 Public Health Partnership Conference
Sponsor: NY State Public Health Associates Location: Ithaca, NY
Apr 30 – May 2
Type: Conference
Web: https://tinyurl.com/2cbk7y2r
Title: 95th Georgia Public Health Association Annual Conference
Sponsor: GPHA Location: Jekyll Island, GA
Apr 30 – May 2
Type: Conference
Web: https://tinyurl.com/4829ws8e
Title: 5th IMA and OR Society Conference on Mathematics of Operational Research
Sponsor: Institute of Mathematics & Its Applications Location: Birmingham, England
April TBD Type: Conference
Web: https://tinyurl.com/6ka7wvuj
Title: Joint Meeting ADAM / European Dermato-Epi Network
Sponsor: European Dermato-Epidemiology Network (EDEN) Location:
April TBD Type: Conference
Title: Annual Mid-Year ISPE Conference
Sponsor: ISPE Location:
Web: https://tinyurl.com/bdzmtjmb
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