August 2023 - The Epidemiology Monitor

Epidemiology for Epidemiologists

A monthly update covering people, events, research, and key developments

Editor’s Note:

As the news continues to fill with reports of out-of-control wildfires, flooding, landslides, and hurricanes we bring you a report this month on Extreme Event Attribution & Climate Epidemiology. In addition, we are pleased to present an interview with Katie D. Schenk MA, MSc, PhD who is the author of the popular “The Public Health Workforce is not Ok” on Substack.

We’ve reached back into our archives for an article from 2015 which discussed Howard Frumpkin’s essay in Epidemiology on the need to focus on the consequentiality of epidemiologic research. In light of the issues that have arisen in the past few years, this topic takes on new importance and we felt it was worth revisiting his commentary.

We continue to provide you with Notes on People, an overview of what we read from the public media, and 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.

Did you miss last month’s issue? Read it here: https://bit.ly/3PgDCBl or here: https://bit.ly/44tnAJS

In This Issue

-2- Extreme Event Attribution

-5- The Public Health Workforce is Not Okay

-8- From the Archives

Greater Focus on the Consequentiality of Epidemiologic Research is Needed

-13- Crossword

-15- What We’re Reading

-17- Notes on People

-20- Near Term Epi Event Calendar

-21- Marketplace – Jobs & Events

Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Wildfires—a Primer on Extreme Event Attribution & Climate Epidemiology

Author: Madeline Roberts, PhD, MPH

If the recent number of once-in-a-generation events has left you anywhere on the gamut from deep concern to cognitive overwhelm, you are certainly not alone. July was the hottest month on record for planet Earth. This month, tropical storm Hilary made landfall in Southern California and parts of Mexico, something not seen since September of 1939. An earthquake occurred in Southern California while people were sheltering from the storm. Abnormally dry conditions factored into the devastating fires in Lahaina, which resulted in the highest death toll from a wildfire in modern history.

Climate epidemiology is an emerging subfield based on close collaboration between epidemiologists and climate scientists to study climate-related exposures and their implications for population health, as well as to inform policy in this area. Health issues that may arise from climate change and related events include changes in the distribution of disease vectors and related illnesses (i.e., mosquitoes and malaria), waterborne diseases, heat-related illness, and agricultural production leading to food supply issues. One of the most critical (and sometimes overlooked) elements of public health and epidemiology is risk management and mitigation; this falls within the scope of climate epidemiology as well, in the form of implementing warning systems and preparedness plans that combine weather forecasting with epidemiology.

While there is no precise, hard-and-fast

definition of an extreme weather event, it is often identified by distance from the historical (observable) mean, typically an event that falls in the highest or lowest 1, 5, or 10 percent of historical measurements. An extreme event can also be identified by, for example, absolute thresholds for a variable like temperature, beyond which we begin to see health impacts. Extreme weather falls into two main subcategories: weather-related (think events of relatively shorter duration floods, hurricanes) and climate-related (think cumulative events over time drought, wildfires).

Climate patterns (e.g., El Niño, La Niña) and climate variability are expected and can result in extreme weather. It is important to note that under natural climate variability extreme weather events would still occur independently of human activity. Anthropogenic climate change, by contrast, is connected to burning fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions by humans.

Extreme event attribution science is a relatively new field. One of the earliest studies was published in 2004, evaluating anthropogenic influence on a European heatwave during the previous year. The field is devoted to determining the causes of specific extreme weather events. Study within this field aims to differentiate between anthropogenic global warming and expected variability in weather patterns and to quantify the degree to which each contributed to a specific event. To do this, attribution science employs computational and statistical modeling. In some instances, this can

- Climate cont'd on page 3

include running models with a climate change or anthropogenic greenhouse emissions feature and then running counterfactual models that exclude the feature of the anthropogenic greenhouse emissions. In analyzing the differences in the models, scientists can measure the impact of anthropogenic climate change. This is similar to the epidemiologic concept of attributable risk.

One particular challenge to this approach is that extreme events are rare and few by definition, and with fewer observations comes greater statistical uncertainty. As the field of climate epidemiology develops, one growth opportunity would be an extension of attribution science to encompass health impacts and causal inference.

An analysis of the planet's extreme heat in 2015 found that almost all of the increased risk for such an extremely hot year could be attributed to global warming due to rising greenhouse gases and other human-caused factors. More than 99% of the increased risk was attributable to human causes according to an ensemble analysis of eight models. Model simulations that included only natural influences on climate (pink line) diverge sharply from observed surface temperatures (charcoal line) around 1970. By 2015 (gray dot), only the model average that included rising carbon dioxide levels (red line) resembled the real world. NOAA Climate.gov graphic adapted from Figure A2.1(e) in Kam et al., 2016.

https://bit.ly/44vBR8R

- Climate cont'd on page 4

Each year, the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society publishes a compilation of peer-reviewed research on extreme weather events and attribution science called Explaining Extreme Events from a Climate Perspective. The 2021/2022 edition contained over 200 research publications, upward of 80% of which found a link between an extreme weather event and climate change. For example, a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), found that anthropogenic climate change in conjunction with La Niña increased by six-fold the risk of the drought and excessive heat experienced in California and Nevada in 2020 and 2021.

Looking forward to 2100, scientists have projected a “virtually certain” increase in the number of unusually warm and cold days and nights at the global scale and a “very likely”

increase in the frequency and/or intensity of heatwaves. Also projected is a likely increase in the frequency of heavy precipitation and total rainfall, especially in high latitudes and tropical regions.

The implications of extreme weather events are of great consequence, ranging from the preservation of life to human displacement and the economic impact of rebuilding after an event. For example, Hurricane Katrina displaced approximately 1 million people from the Gulf Coast region, some permanently, and the federal government spent approximately $120 billion on recovery efforts. Over the past several decades, in addition to the devastation experienced by affected persons and families, the cost of wildfire damages has often exceeded one billion dollars, adjusting for inflation.

The past 40 years have seen the number of extreme weather events double, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Attribution science can help inform decisions about risk management, including land management and the development of

infrastructure and floodwalls. Implementing and improving multi-hazard warning systems coupled with prevention and preparedness strategies can help mitigate the health impact of extreme events, be they from natural climate patterns or anthropogenic causes. ■

The Public Health Workforce Is Not Okay

Interviewer: Madeline Roberts, PhD, MPH

Katie D Schenk MA MSc PhD is an infectious disease epidemiologist and public health informatics specialist based in Washington DC. She also writes the column:

“

The Public Health Workforce is not OK” at https://phworkforceok.substack.com/ about public health careers and insights about the workforce.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length.

EpiMonitor: Can you tell us a little about how you first became interested in public health and epidemiology?

KS: As a student in the UK, I became very motivated to travel and work in Africa. I was lucky to get a volunteer internship as a fieldworker for an NGO at a peri-urban informal settlement (AKA high-density area or slum) in Zimbabwe, which expanded my horizons and brought me face-to-face with the brutal realities of poverty and HIV. I became passionate about public health and spent the next 20 years conducting social science implementation research into health behaviors from within the nonprofit sector, focused on evaluating community-based HIV interventions in subSaharan Africa. Along the way, I gained a PhD, published a book, and developed a strong academic research and teaching portfolio. [When] COVID-19 hit, I felt a powerful call to offer my relevant practical skills to serve my local community. I started seeking work opportunities in epidemiologic surveillance at State and local public health departments.

EpiMonitor: You've written extensively about how "The Public Health Work Force is Not Okay," which is even the name of your

newsletter column. Can you talk about what led you to write that first series of articles and what you learned along the way? (Was the process of writing that series at least somewhat cathartic as I am imagining?)

KS: I originally drafted an opinion piece about learning from my experiences working on the public health front line during the COVID-19 emergency and was looking around for a suitable outlet to publish. One of the crazy features of our field is that we are heavily siloed, and we lack any single universally recognized publication of central professional authority. A supportive contact in my LinkedIn network introduced me to JPHMP Direct, a companion site to the Journal for Public Health and Management Practice, which would enable me to reach their readership of public health professionals. It became apparent from the

- Schenk cont'd on page 7

Dr. Katie D. Schenk

enthusiastic audience reaction [to my initial articles] that I had hit a nerve, and my editor suggested “The Public Health Workforce is Not OK” should become a recurring column. One year later, I’ve completed 2 seasons as a contributing columnist sharing my insights into the public health workforce, facilitating some very lively conversations about where it is headed, and responding to a range of questions about careers advice for public health professionals. It has indeed been somewhat cathartic, but more importantly, it has been meaningful to be able to share my hard-earned experiences and lessons learned with colleagues throughout our sector, and to engage in positive, constructive discussions for moving forward.

Could you talk a bit about your current work and any projects you're interested in right now?

Throughout this journey, I started writing my column “The Public Health Workforce is Not OK” in which I share advice for building a career in public health and offer insights and observations about the public health workforce. This originated from a feeling of frustration that I had been working in public health and epidemiology for more than 20 years, and yet, due to the choppy nature of our work, I still lacked any opportunity to showcase a solid body of valuable skills and expertise. For example, the lack of consistent funding in our field has meant that I have never experienced job security and am always searching for the next assignment, contract, or consulting gig. On the plus side, it has made me flexible and innovative and independent, and it has given me a diverse technical skillset and the ability to join a new team and immediately figure out how to make myself useful, which is a priceless skill. All of these angles turned out to be

common threads that many of my readers related to, and they commented that nobody else was speaking out about them. One of the hallmarks of my column is that I employ an approach of radical transparency in sharing the intimate details of my job-hunting experiencesdetails that most people seek to keep quiet because they are upsetting or embarrassing. In particular, when I started speaking out about some of the harsher sides of job applications, including the unacceptable practice of ghosting, I found that readers resonated with these experiences and appreciated feeling less alone. I am honored to be able to use my experiences to offer advice and guidance to public health professionals at all career stages, and to offer an outlet for constructive discussion of the urgent need to nurture and reimagine what the public health workforce could still become.

EpiMonitor: You previously worked in academia and have since transitioned away. Can you talk about why you made that transition, and what kind of opportunities might be available to epidemiologists outside of the world of academia?

KS: That’s right, for most of my career I have pursued the nexus between academic and applied public health, and I have found that my interests on each side serve to enrich the other. I’ve grown a really interesting research portfolio about how to mitigate the impacts of HIV on families and children, including running an NIHfunded research study in Zimbabwe, which really felt like coming full circle from where my inspiration started. However, the trouble is that we are so heavily siloed within public health that academic and applied epi rarely speak to one another, and we struggle to recognize and value the skills and experiences from the other

- Schenk cont'd on page 7

side of the boundary. I found the increasing move towards relying on adjunct professors made it very difficult to forge an academic career path, especially without a mentor or academic network of my own (since my education was outside the US system). I welcome any advice on how to navigate that challenge.

Academic epidemiologists might be heartened to learn that their analytic skills could be applied within nonprofit organizations designing and analyzing the community fieldwork of health behavior interventions, or within governmental departments of health and social services gathering and responding to data on the social determinants of health or reportable communicable diseases. However, they would undoubtedly have to adjust to a different way of thinking and different standards for methodologies and the quality of evidence.

EpiMonitor: The Report to the President on Supporting the US Public Work Force recently came out. Did anything, in particular, stand out to you from that report?

KS: Yes, wasn’t that a fabulous report?! I’d like to draw attention to one of the opening sentences, which provides a helpful summary:

“A well-defined, well-trained, well-resourced, and well-compensated workforce is the foundation of a truly robust U.S. public health system that can serve the needs of the American people.”

Doesn’t that just say it all? I think that the authors of this report did a truly marvelous job of summarizing the challenges of the public health workforce today and deriving recommendations for much-needed action

The question I wonder about is Now What? This report has the status of a White House memo to inform the President, but I don’t know what happens to it next, and I worry that without any attached budget, it will become just another report sitting on a shelf.

Press release link

Full report link

EpiMonitor: In view of the hurdles and struggles we're collectively facing in public health, is there anything that makes you hopeful? And what do we need to do to move forward?

KS: You’re right, we have to acknowledge the many hurdles and struggles, and I do a lot of that in my column because that's what the readers ask me about. But I see a great deal of hope too. I think that the public health workforce is the most important asset of public health: we have many dedicated, motivated, passionate, and highly skilled public health professionals who are eager to get to work and implement the principles of public health (or preventive health or population health) just as soon as there is a budget allocation for them to get to work. Yet we still have a long way to go to learn to value the public health workforce, to nurture it back to health after a history of underfunding, and to reimagine what we could yet become. There are lots of exciting new voices drawing attention to the need to build healthy, trauma-informed workplaces, and promoting the important values of transparency and accountability within public health workplaces. However, the bottom line has to be funding: without any sustainable, long-term, stable funding for public health, we’re not going

- Schenk cont'd on page 8

to see any sustainable, long-term, stable jobs in public health. As public health professionals, we’re going to need to get a lot better about advocacy and communicating our needsespecially funding. That means we’re also going to have to get savvy about how we navigate politics, which is a skill rarely taught to epidemiologists.

And the other urgent need that I see is for workforce development initiatives in public health - both for recruitment and for retention. We want public health professionals at all stages of their career to feel cherished. We

need to overhaul the processes of recruitment in public health, because right now it is brutal out there. We haven’t traditionally had much of a culture of mentorship, so we urgently need to build one. We need actual career development paths and job security. We epidemiologists must be at the heart of public health work and ensuring that it is data-driven. These are some of the topics that I talk more about in my column.

The Public Health Workforce is Not OK just yet, but I believe that it’s going to be. ■

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Frumkin Commentary Says Greater Focus on the Consequentiality of Epidemiologic Research is Needed

Author: Roger Bernier, MPH, PhD

The debate about the proper role for epidemiologists is longstanding and, judging from two recent articles in Epidemiology, far from being resolved (1). The competing values are clear cut, but the paramount good has not been agreed to. As framed years ago at a Birmingham conference on ethics in epidemiology, the dilemma is—“What are the allegiances of epidemiologists? Do these allegiances have priorities? To the truth? To the social welfare? To the employers? What is epidemiology all about?” [Epi Monitor, July 1989]

For the Common Good

Weighing in on the side of social welfare as the primary concern of epidemiologists, and quoting Woodrow Wilson that ‘to work for the common good is the greatest creed’, the University of Washington’s Howard Frumkin writes in the March issue of Epidemiology, that there is a need for a more consequential environmental epidemiology. He quotes from Sandro Galea’s efforts during a presidential address at SER and in the pages of the American Journal of Epidemiology to focus on epidemiologic work that matters for public health, i.e., consequential epidemiology.

Frumkin is critical of the policy at Epidemiology which states that “Policy implications of research results many not be included in research reports." The journal reportedly gives highest priority to publishing etiologic research and its methods and not to potential uses of that information.

Key Features

To counter this “separatist” view of the role of epidemiologists, Frumkin identifies 9 features of consequential work in environmental epidemiology, including 6 that are applicable to all areas of epidemiologic work. These are:

1. Prioritizing for study widespread causes of suffering or premature death for which there are plausible environmental contributors.

2. Going beyond etiologic studies to investigate potential interventions.

3. Selecting for study questions that users of the data (decision makers) need to have answered.

4. Using varied and flexible study methods to get at the questions of interest.

5. Avoiding unnecessary replication research as it creates lost opportunities to study more pressing issues.

6. Being proactive about communicating research results.

7. Studying exposures which are potential environmental threats on a large scale.

8. Making increased use of the research design and other skill sets possessed by environmental epidemiologists which give them a comparative advantage in studying certain topics.

- Frumkin cont'd on page 10

9. Exploring and documenting the additional non-health benefits associated with doing consequential environmental epidemiology.

On Truth As Paramount

Weighing in on the side of the pursuit of truth as the paramount value in epidemiology, Timothy Lash, the new editor of Epidemiology, asserts that “the utility of research results can only be validly measured retrospectively, once they are put to use” (2). He likens Frumkin’s ideas to frameworks for moral decision making such as utilitarianism and consequentialism and opposes their use for prioritizing work in epidemiology. For Lash, such guides are too likely to be misused to be trusted. He adds, the journal’s “…firewall between research and its policy implications, which has been in effect for 25 years, is one way in which we try to keep the pursuit of knowledge separate from the consideration of its consequences.”

Epidemiology does not reject commentary articles focused on policy but simply does not accept such commentary within the body of research articles. There is support for the separatist position in scientific and even in policy circles because of the need for scientists to be perceived as objective about generating data.

It’s their very detachment, what you might call the cold-bloodedness of science, that makes science the killer app according to an article in

National Geographic (3). However, there is irony in that the report is about why people doubt.science the killer app according to an article in National Geographic (3). However, there is irony in that the report is about why people doubt science, and it makes clear that the facts do not speak for themselves, no matter how objective they may be.

Not Advocacy

Frumkin in his commentary does not go so far as to urge that environmental epidemiologists should be advocates, and he recognizes the importance of research not directed specifically at improving health outcomes. He acknowledges that research consequentiality is difficult to measure. He ends by urging that his 9 features should not be used to disqualify certain types of work, but rather should be used as a set of questions to help epidemiologists set priorities in how they invest their time and skills. His view is echoed in a quote he uses from Bill Foege who asserted that epidemiology is a tool to change the world, not merely to study the world. In Frumkin’s view, the policy at Epidemiology is in sharp contrast and a formidable barrier to addressing public health improvement.

(1 & 2) http://tinyurl.com/k4oqmca

(3) http://tinyurl.com/njvvkag ■

- Frumkin cont'd on page 11

Observers Speak Out On Frumkin and Lash Commentaries

The Epidemiology Monitor invited members of the International Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology to review and comment on the articles by Frumkin and Lash. Two representatives, Raymond Neutra, and Fiona Sim offered the following reactions to these two pieces.

To The Epidemiology Monitor:

As joint editor-in-chief of Public Health, I ask what is the value of epidemiology that is not ‘consequential’? De facto, it surely becomes ‘inconsequential’, which seems no way to encourage the best emerging scientific brains to participate in this essential pursuit of a core public health science.

Epidemiology that is relevant to the promotion or protection of human or planetary health is central to the promotion or protection of population health. It is standard practice at Public Health to question the potential value to public health policy or practice of epidemiological research manuscripts submitted to the journal: those manuscripts that appear to be ‘inconsequential’ in that they have intentionally not addressed the potential utility of their findings, are unlikely to pass initial editorial review.

Fiona Sim

To The Epidemiology Monitor

Since I spent my career doing environmental epidemiology, I am of course sympathetic to Howard Frumkin’s sentiments. I would also add some thoughts:

1) There are other drivers of research priorities than the utilitarian aim of maximizing the nation's quality adjusted DALY's. When a small environment or work place conveys unfair and unacceptable risks, its research and abatement is a priority even though there is little impact on the national DALY count.

2) The tendencies that Howard wants to reverse are caused more by the way research is funded and less by misguided education and defective attitudes of individual epidemiologists. How could CDC and NIH frame their funding to achieve these worthy goals?

3) That being said, if I were king, I would make epidemiologists study quantitative decision analysis, cognitive psychology and political science so that they had the intellectual tools to understand the policy processes to which they hope to contribute. They need to understand the culture of the other disciplines with which they will be working and how to translate the probabilistic inconvenient truths that they produce so that they are intelligible to others.

Raymond Neutra ■

Epi Crossword Puzzle – August 2023

Where the Epidemiologist May Have Gone During Summer Vacation

Our crossword puzzle was created by by Dr. Richard Dicker A former CDC employee and not-quite-retired epidemiologist. For an online version go to: https://bit.ly/3KY2dcA

- Crossword Questions cont'd on page 13

Across

1. Ardent

7. Belonging to the jewelry store that every kiss begins with

11. One level below MLB’s major leagues

14. Large lizard

15. Baseball surname popular in crossword puzzles

16. Measure the frequency with 10 12 cycles per second (abbr.)

17. London location with sign-in logs for visiting epidemiologists (but don’t drink too much!)

19. Man whose wife became a pillar of salt while fleeing Sodom

20. Middle East neighbor of Leb.

21. Boston or Philadelphia’s counterpart to New York’s MOMA

22. Lead actress (and Oscar nominee) in “Moulin Rouge!”

24. It’s a METRO ride from NIH in Bethesda

27. Country surrounded by South Africa

30. Honor ____ thieves

31. Medieval sword

32. Cancer test in males that might result in “watchful waiting”

33. Doc. Before an MOU or business contract

36. You may see the Obamas here

41. Good name for a lawyer?

42. Kit ___ Club (“Cabaret”)

43. Ming Things

44. Spritelike

47. Ballot Caster

49. Popular camping destination in one of 63

52. Many of us worked in one before March 2020

53. 2023 movie about a Nike sneaker

54. Test for many in H.S.

57. Bleacher bum’s shout

58. Inexpensive alternatives to more distant locations

62. W.C.

63. Scurvy preventative

64. “Later!” in Ajijic

65. From Jan. 1 until today

66. Tesla or Chevy Bolt

67. “There’s a ___ born every minute” (P.T. Barnum, maybe)

Down

1. Island country in South Pacific

2. Freudian topics

3. German industrial valley (also German for dysentery)

4. It often has sliding doors

5. ___ and outs

6. You’d hear this if you visited Copenhagen

7. Piano brand

8. Matterhorn, e.g.

9. First two words of Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”

10. Suddenly, in music

11. Lyrical version of “Finally!”

12. “Get ___ of yourself!”

13. Montezuma, for one, or San Diego State athlete

18. Number of Days a Week, if the Beatles sang in Spanish

23. Pro’s opposite

24. Amazon discount site

25. Pituitary hormone that regulates cortisol production

26. ____ gpreng (Indonesian rice dish)

27. NASA mooncraft

28. Biblical birthright seller

29. Locals eat it in LMICs, but cautious epidemiologists might not

32. G.I. rank

33. Its ingredient list starts with sugar and ends with chocolate

35. Surveillance strategy widely used by WHO AFRO countries

37. Without motion

38. Asante ____ (thank you very much, in Kenya)

39. At any time

40. Gab

45. Number of weeks in a year, to an ancient Roman

46. Sailors’ quarters. for short

47. “Beowulf,” for one

48. 2022 Superbowl winners

49. In a royal manner

50. “Something’s ____!” (musical spoof of detective stories)

51. Kind of cake

54. Spend time in a bathtub

55. “Green Gables” girl

56. Peter the Great or Ivan the Terrible

59. Without doc’s permission, as in leaving the hospital

60. Protein that may play a role in Alzheimer’s

61. “Monsters ____” (2001 animated film)

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

Public Health Topics

♦ Smoke from Canadian wildfires led to spikes in asthma-related ER visits across the US (Delta News)

https://bit.ly/3EfFRQ7

♦ Wildfire smoke linked to increased risk of Dementia (WAPO)

https://bit.ly/3PdM84X

♦ In conversation with urban epidemiologist Tolullah Oni (MIT Press)

https://bit.ly/3PhIbMY

♦ How virtual reality is helping to boost scientific engagement in rural Africa (Nature)

https://go.nature.com/3qNPpyI

♦ Do virus-detecting ants hold the key to preventing zoonotic diseases? (Mongabay)

https://bit.ly/44uoTs3

♦ Lyme Disease has exploded and a new vaccine is (almost) here (Bloomberg)

https://bloom.bg/47NxFnL

♦ ARISE Study: Addressing the gap in Asian-American health research (Stanford)

https://stanford.io/3qTimco

♦ The battle against the fungal apocalypse is just beginning (Wired via AppleNews)

https://bit.ly/47Sb7SC

♦ Loma Linda University School of Public health launches new epidemiology program to combat burnout (Loma Linda News)

https://bit.ly/47NhczU

- Reading cont'd on page 16

What We're Reading This Month - con't

COVID-19

♦ An epidemiologist on the current research into brain fog and long COVID (Being Patient newsletter)

https://bit.ly/44s1S8U

♦ Leading Israeli epidemiologist not worried about the newest COVID-19 variant (Jerusalem Post)

https://bit.ly/3qTZvhl

♦ Two years later COVID patients still facing increased health risks according to Washington University St. Louis study (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

https://bit.ly/3EjFDqY

♦ Wastewater COVID number soared in late summer ahead of possible fall surge. (Boston25 News)

https://bit.ly/3KY2Ym0

♦ Now there’s another COVID variant (Daily Mail)

https://bit.ly/45pUFYs

o 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

Named: West Virginia University epidemiologist Brian Hendricks has joined the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as a senior policy analyst. He was appointed to the position in fall 2022 through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act mobility program which provides for the temporary assignment of personnel between governments and eligible organizations—with plans of continuing in the role over the next year. With extensive expertise in spatial epidemiology and geographical analyses, Hendricks is supporting the use of spatial analyses and other methodological approaches to policy and priorities of the office.

Named: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has appointed Jaime Madrigano, ScD, MPH, as a Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health in the area of Environmental Challenges in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. She is an environmental epidemiologist committed to research that advances holistic, equitable solutions to protect the public from the growing threat of climate change. Her research examines how environmental pollution and extreme weather alone and in combination with neighborhood and socioeconomic factors—impact population health.

Named: Meagan Helmick, the epidemiologist who oversaw COVID-19 responsibilities in Southwest Virginia, has been named the health director for the Mount Rogers Health District (MRHD). Meagan Helmick joined the Virginia Department of Health in 2020. In addition to serving as the deputy epidemiologist for the entire Southwest Virginia region, Helmick acted as a case investigator and supervisor during the pandemic. Helmick has also been an assistant professor at Radford University-Carilion, where she taught public health and health sciences courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Appointed: Dr. Puthiery Va will be the next Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), starting August 28, 2023. Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew appointed Dr. Va following a national search, based on Dr. Va’s extensive range of experience in primary clinical care, epidemiology, and public health emergency response, having most recently led the successful COVID-19 response in the Navajo Nation. Dr. Va will be returning to Maine having received her medical degree from the University of New England.

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: Brown University has announced that Dr. Francesca Beaudoin will take on the role of Interim Academic Dean at the School of Public Health. In addition to her continued role as the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology, Francesca will assume responsibility for helping to guide the school's academic mission. She will serve as the school's chief academic officer, a thought partner to me, and a key member of the leadership team.

Appointed: Brown University has announced that Brandon Marshall, PhD, has agreed to be Vice Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Epidemiologic Research. His work focuses on substance use epidemiology, harm reduction research, and the social, environmental, and structural determinants of health of drug-using populations. He received a PhD in epidemiology from the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.

Honored: Associate Professor Masaaki Kitajima of Hokkaido University, Shionogi & Co., and AdvanSentinel Ltd. were bestowed with the Minister of State for Health and Medical Strategy Award (健康・医療戦略担当大臣賞) of the 6th Japan Medical Research and Development Grand Prize (第6回日本医療研究開発大賞). The award was granted in recognition of their initiative “Implementation of Wastewater-based Epidemiology for Novel Coronavirus.” The award ceremony, held on August 23, 2023, was attended by Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan.

Honored: Professor Katherine Kedzierska, Dr Oanh Nguyen and Dr Louise Rowntree – dubbed the Corona Queens – were recognised for their outstanding contributions to COVID-19 research. Responding to the global pandemic, they promptly established innovative and multidisciplinary immune research programs to unravel the intricate immune responses to SARSCoV-2, and they were the first in the world to report on immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection in one of Australia’s first COVID-19 patients in March 2020.

Left to Right: Katherine Kedzierska, Louise Roundtree, Qanh Nguyen

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Honored: Dr. John Kaneene, East Lansing, Michigan won this award in recognition of his outstanding leadership and career contributions in animal health and human health, in the spirit of One Health. A 1972 veterinary graduate of the University of Khartoum in Sudan, Africa, Dr. Kaneene is a professor of epidemiology and public health and director of the Center for Comparative Epidemiology at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Honored: Dr. Jonna Mazet (California-Davis '92) won this award in recognition of her outstanding leadership and career contributions in animal health and human health, in the spirit of One Health. Dr. Mazet is vice provost for grand challenges and a professor of epidemiology and disease ecology at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. She founded the One Health Institute at the veterinary school, where she served as executive director.

Passed: Emeritus Professor Mary-Louise McLaws OA, an epidemiologist and world-renowned public health researcher, has passed away. A worldrenowned public health advocate, Professor McLaws (nee Viney) understood that a health crisis needs experts as well as leaders. She became both for millions of Australians. Professor McLaws had a passion for public health early in her career, inspired by her mentor and immunologist the late Professor David Cooper AC. McLaws gained her PhD in Epidemiology in 1992, eventually becoming Professor of Epidemiology, Hospital Infection and Infectious Diseases Control at the School of Population Health at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Passed: The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) has announced the passing of Dr. Stephaun Elite Wallace, Director of External Relations for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s (Fred Hutch) HVTN, on August 5, 2023. Dr. Wallace was a research epidemiologist and public health and social justice leader. In addition to serving as HVTN’s Director of External Relations, he had faculty appointments at Fred Hutch, the University of Washington, and Yale as a staff scientist, clinical assistant professor, and affiliate professor, respectively. Throughout all aspects of his work, he focused on increasing positive health outcomes for members of racial/ethnic and gender/sexual minority groups in the United States and internationally.

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.

September 2023

Sept 11-13

https://bit.ly/44s1HdK

Conference : American College of Epidemiology Annual Conference / ACE / Virtual

Sept 12-13

https://bit.ly/3C0IFjk

Conference: Swiss Public Health Conference 2023 / University of Bern / Bern, Switzerland

Sept 12-15

https://bit.ly/3PBGvME

Conference: 11th Southeast Asia and Western Pacific Bi-regional TEPHINET Scientific Conference / SAFETYNET & Australia National University / Canberra, Australia

Sept 17-20

https://bit.ly/3PANSnA

Conference: 35th Annual Conference of the Intl Society of Environmental Epidemiology / ISEE / Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Sept 20-22

http://bit.ly/35hZRhG

Conference: 2023 CityMatch Leadership & MCH Epi Conference / CityMatch / New Orleans, LA

Sept 24-27

https://bit.ly/3huUxTC

Conference: 17th Vaccine Congress / Elsevier / Glasgow, Scotland

October 2023

Oct 2-5

https://bit.ly/2pNWzQF

Conference: 2023 IAPHS Conference / Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science / Baltimore, MD

Oct 11-15

https://bit.ly/3uYKFES

Conference /ID Week / Multiple / Boston, MA

Please participate in our job seekers survey

This month we want to hear from you. What are you looking for in your next position? What will lead you to accept one offer over another one? When do you anticipate looking for your next job? Please follow the link below and take 10 minutes to answer the questions about your next job move.

https://bit.ly/3NgssNj

Open Rank, Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty Position

The Department of Epidemiology and Prevention in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine is experiencing a period of tremendous growth and opportunity, with several ongoing faculty searches underway. With this posting, we are actively recruiting multiple faculty at all ranks who are tenured or tenure-eligible We are specifically seeking to recruit epidemiologists with methodologic research interests and experience in conducting clinical trials, pragmatic trials, and/or target trial emulation methods These positions will significantly contribute to Institutional goals for leveraging clinical and electronic health record resources to develop a high-impact clinical trial infrastructure. This position recruitment may reside in either Winston-Salem or Charlotte, North Carolina. The new strategic partnership between Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Atrium Health, and Advocate (below) has createdan unparalleled opportunity for epidemiological research.

Department of Epidemiology and Prevention

Wake Forest’s Department of Epidemiology and Prevention is one of four departments comprising the Division of Public Health Sciences (others are Biostatistics and Data Science, Implementation Science, and Social Sciences and Health Policy). Established in 1989, Public Health Sciences consistently ranks in the top 10 for National Institutes of Health funding among national academic medical center peer groups. In the past decade alone, the Division generated nearly $500 million of Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s research funding.

Faculty within the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention often share joint appointments within clinical departments, enhancing opportunity for clinical epidemiologic studies that directly inform patient care. Newly hired faculty can affiliate with one or more of our nationally-recognized centers including, among others: Center for Healthcare Innovation, Center for Biomedical Informatics, The Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Wake Forest BaptistComprehensive Cancer Center, Center for Addiction Research, Center for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Center for Vaccines at the Extremes of Aging, the Sticht Center for Healthy Agingand Alzheimer’s Prevention, and the Program for Health Services Research. We are deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects, such as recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, building an inclusive environment, and promoting health equity through research and influencing policy. Faculty within the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention have extensive experience with large, multicenter studies and collaborate with clinicians and basic scientists from a variety of other departments within the health system, as well as institutions and communities across the U.S. and abroad.

Qualifications

o Desire and ability to work collaboratively across disciplines

o Active research portfolio demonstrating methodologic research interests and experience in conducting clinical trials, pragmatic trials, and/or target trial emulation methods, commensurate with rank

o An established record of obtaining extramural funding

o Exceptional methodological skills relevant to the conduct of clinical trials, pragmatic trials, and/or target trial emulation methods using EHR data sources

o Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

o Commitment to teaching and mentoring graduate, post-graduate, junior faculty, and/orclinicians

o Advanced degree (e.g., PhD, MD, PharmD), with PhD in epidemiology preferred

Interested candidates may submit their curriculum vitae and cover letter to Bridgette Harris Blackwell (bblackwe@wakehealth.edu) and Elizabeth Jensen, MPH PhD (ejensen@wakehealth.edu). Applicants whose research experience and interests are determined to align with the strategic goals for growth of the Department will be offered the opportunity to provide a Research Statement, Statement of Teaching Philosophy (optional) and sample publication(s). These positions will remain open until all anticipated positions are filled. Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to achieving diversity among its faculty and staff.

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Population Science Research Faculty

The Section of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, located in the Department of Medicine, at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is recruiting tenure-track faculty positions in epidemiology (Assistant/Associate Professor levels) to enhance our Population Sciences research program. We invite applications from outstanding scholars from diverse backgrounds and are particularly interested in scholars with research interests focused on the role of genetics, health behaviors, environmental exposures, and neighborhood characteristics in relation to cancer risk, and those with a research program centered on understanding racial/ethnic differences in cancer risk.

BCM (www.bcm.edu) is recognized as one of the nation’s premier academic health science centers and is known for excellence in education, research, and healthcare and community service. Located in the heart of the world's largest medical center (Texas Medical Center), Baylor is affiliated with multiple educational, healthcare and research affiliates (Baylor Affiliates).

BCM is among the largest biomedical research institutions in the nation with resources and scientists focused on a diverse array of fields. The faculty have the opportunity to collaborate with geneticists, biologists, and clinicians and its affiliated hospitals in the Texas Medical Center. These hospitals include Texas Children's, the Houston VA Medical Center, CHI Baylor St. Luke's Hospital, and Ben Taub General Hospital. Collaborations with faculty in health services research at our Center of Excellence at the VA Medical Center and with MD Anderson Cancer Center are encouraged.

Qualifications:

Successful candidates will have a doctoral degree in epidemiology or a related quantitative field.

A background in population health or community health is preferred. Evidence of extramural research funding and publications must be commensurate with years of professional experience. Applications for Assistant Professor rank will have, as minimum qualifications for consideration, evidence of or strong potential for establishing an independent, extramurally funded research program. Preference will be given to candidates who have engaged in successful collaborative, multidisciplinary research. Academic rank will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. The position is tenure-track. Salary and start-up funds are highly competitive.

Application Instructions: Interested applicants should email their CV with a note of interest to aaron.thrift@bcm.edu

-16-

Employer.

Faculty Position Environmental Epidemiology

The Section of Epidemiology and Population Sciences in the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, Texas invites applications for a tenure track faculty position to expand capacity within the Program in Population and Environmental Health Disparities. We are seeking candidates for an open rank position who will conduct environmental epidemiologic research in collaboration with faculty members at BCM and elsewhere in the world’s largest and most comprehensive life science and medical complex, the Texas Medical Center. Individuals with interests in joint chemical and non-chemical stressors, exposure assessment, emerging environmental health issues, health disparities, climate change, environmental racism and environmental justice are encouraged to apply.

A top-20 medical school, ranked among the best research-intensive institutions in the USA, BCM is the largest biomedical research campus in the world. BCM fosters an academic environment of inclusion among students, fellows, faculty and staff. The Section of Epidemiology and Population Health is an interactive, multidisciplinary group working to understand how factors affect health and wellbeing in the population. The Section occupies dedicated space on the Baylor College of Medicine main campus.

Department faculty enjoy access to Baylor’s state-of-the art core facilities, outstanding M.D./Ph.D. and Ph.D. graduate programs, a CPRIT training grant opportunities for post-doctoral fellows interested in cancer, a NIEHS P30 Environmental Health Sciences Core Center, and a P50 Center of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research.

Candidates must hold a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, or equivalent) with a strong record of scholarly activity. Candidates should be nationally or internationally recognized scholars with externally funded research programs. The Search Committee hopes to draw from a diverse applicant pool, with applications from women and individuals from underrepresented populations strongly encouraged. Prospective candidates should submit a statement of research accomplishments and research plans (no more than 3 pages total), CV, and a list of at least three references to https://bit.ly/464Upii . Review of applications will begin immediately and remain open until the position is filled. For questions, you may contact Demetrice Dent at Demetrice.Dent@bcm.edu Baylor College of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Equal Access Employer.

Tenure Track Faculty (6 Positions)

The Arnold School of Public Health (ASPH) and the College of Nursing (CON) at the University of South Carolina USC invite applications for six tenure-track faculty positions as part of the inaugural NIH-funded USC FIRST FIIRRE program. The multi-year NIH FIRST (Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation) initiative intends to enhance inclusive excellence at competitively determined institutions across the United States. In the context of USC strategic plan, the FIRST FIIRRE (Faculty Initiative for Improved Recruitment, Retention, and Experience) team has developed a tailored strategy to achieve significant and sustainable institutional culture change by implementing institutional programs and practices that support inclusive excellence. As part of the FIRST FIIRRE cluster recruitment, USC seeks diverse candidates from all areas of public health and nursing who (1) have a research focus on health disparities or inequities within their respective discipline, (2) have a strong record of promoting diversity and inclusive excellence, and (3) have not previously held a tenure-track position.

Successful candidates will have a primary tenure track appointment in either ASPH or CON with the possibility of joint/secondary appointments to other units. These appointments feature 75% protected research time until receipt of tenure and will be expected to contribute to the teaching and service mission of USC. The FIRST FIIRRE program will offer candidates competitive salaries, start-up packages, comprehensive onboarding support, extensive faculty development, and career advancement services, and tailored support from a diverse mentoring team.

Qualifications: Candidates should have a doctoral degree or equivalent training that prepares them for a career as an independent researcher in the broadly defined fields of public health or nursing. Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to conducting rigorous, high-level research with potential for NIH funding, including the production of scholarly publications; have a track record for, or show the potential to receive external funding; and have a strong, documented commitment to inclusive excellence. The FIRST program is especially interested in candidates from groups who are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences, such as racial and ethnic minoritized populations, those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, individuals with disabilities, and women.

Multiple Open Positions: Chair / Assistant Professor / Faculty

The University of Texas at Tyler invites applications multiple positions as outlined below. The Department of Public Health, within the School of Health Professions, offers one undergraduate and two master’s degrees: B.S.-Health Sciences, M.S.-Health Sciences (with online option), and Master of Public Health (fully online). The Department is housed on both the main campus (Herrington Patriot Center) and the Health Science Center campus. The University of Texas at Tyler is an academic component of The University of Texas System and offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to approximately 10,000 students. UT Tyler’s main campus is located on 206 acres in pine and hardwood forests of beautiful East Texas. Additional campuses are in Longview and Palestine, and the UT Tyler Health Center.

Chair

The Chair of Public Health, a tenure-track position, at UT Tyler’s School of Health Professions serves as the academic leader of the department by providing strategic leadership and direction for all aspects of the Department. The Chair will have responsibility for the coordination of the overall academic agenda and education activities in the department, including program assessment. The Chair will lead the Department toward its mission and set a vision for its growth, in alignment with the University and College’s strategic plans. The Chair will be responsible for pursuing and achieving excellence in teaching, research, and service.

More Information: http://www.epimonitor.net/2023-3734b-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

Assistant Professor

The Assistant Professor of Public Health is responsible for the continued development and implementation of Undergraduate and Graduate Public Health curriculum. The faculty member, in coordination with the Department of Public Health, will develop course curriculum and practical examinations for the Department of Public Health. The Assistant Professor of Public Health will be responsible for pursuing and achieving excellence in teaching, research, and service.

More Information: http://www.epimonitor.net/2023-3734a-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

Faculty

Responsibilities/Duties: Teach and mentor undergraduate and graduate students in Health Sciences, Public Health and related areas; engage in research; serve the University, profession and community; and be a collegial member of the Department and School.

More Information: http://www.epimonitor.net/2023-3734c-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

The University of Texas at Tyler is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with a disability. Women, minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

PostDoc Researcher - Cancer & Genetic Epidemiology

A postdoctoral research position in cancer and genetic epidemiology is available at the USC Center for Genetic Epidemiology within the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at USC. The applicant must have a Ph.D. (or equivalent qualification) with training in epidemiology, biostatistics and/or statistical genetics. The postdoctoral fellow will work directly with Drs. Chris Haiman and David Conti on analyzing risk factors, genetic and other omics data from diverse cohorts including the Multiethnic Cohort study, the RESPOND African American prostate cancer study and other large-scale genetics consortia (e.g. NHGRI PAGE and PRIMED). In addition to cancer, non-cancer outcomes will also be examined including anthropometric traits, diabetes and biomarkers, such as lipids, glucose, insulin or inflammatory markers. Studies focused on polygenic risk score development, rare variant analysis and health disparities research will be available. Desired is an applicant familiar with many of the most common analytic tools for genetic association studies. In addition, they will participate in the presentation of their research and in the writing of publications. The position requires a highly motivated individual with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

More Information: http://www.epimonitor.net/2023-3738a-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

Assistant or Associate Professor / Genetic or Molecular Epidemiology

The Center for Genetic Epidemiology within the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC) invites applications for a tenured or tenure track faculty position as Assistant or Associate Professor. The successful candidate is expected to bring or develop an externally funded research program in genetic or molecular epidemiology. Current areas of research activity include studies of genetic susceptibility, biomarkers, metabolomics and the microbiome as they relate to health disparities for common chronic diseases and phenotypes including cancer and metabolic diseases including diabetes. Expertise in genomic analysis and in the initiation of population-based resources for studies of the molecular and genetic basis of disease is desired.

More Information: http://www.epimonitor.net/2023-3738b-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

T32 Postdoctoral Fellowships

Multidisciplinary Training in Ethnic Diversity & Cancer Disparities

The University of Hawaii Cancer Center (UHCC) and University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCCC), both National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Centers, are seeking applications for postdoctoral fellowships in Cancer Epidemiology in a Multiethnic Population. The training program is supported by the NIH/NCI under the T32 mechanism. Trainees will experience the interdisciplinary nature of behavioral, environmental, genetic and epigenetics causes of cancer disparities through individually tailored educational and research experiences. Given that this postdoctoral fellowship is a bi-institutional training program (UHCC: lifestyle, diet/nutrition and biomarkers; USC: genetics/molecular epidemiology, biostatistics/bioinformatics), all postdoctoral fellows will be exposed to a wide range of innovative molecular and traditional epidemiological approaches

More Information: http://www.epimonitor.net/2023-3738c-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

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