SER Presidential Address On Critical Factors Behind The COVID Pandemic Gets Replayed As An Op-Ed In The New York Times “Science Alone Can’t Heal A Sick Society”. That’s the provocative title of a compelling op-ed essay written by McGill University epidemiologist Jay Kaufman and published in the New York Times in mid-September.
Kaufman notes that many theories and explanations have come and gone to explain the patterns observed in the COVID pandemic, but the most consistent association is the same one discovered by Rudolf Virchow in the
1800’s. That is, social factors best account for risks of infection, hospitalizations, and deaths. In short, the pandemic is “socially patterned”. Relational Factors According to Kaufman, while wealth or lack of it explains some of the variation in risks within populations, the best explanations for the patterns observed at the higher levels of states and nations are relational factors such as - SER con't on page 2
IEA World Congress Of Epidemiology Takes Place Virtually Under Australasian Sponsorship Conference Is A Window On The Thinking Of Epidemiologists Today “Data saves lives—but only if appropriately gathered, analyzed, and acted upon”, “Failing to collect accurate ethnicity data amounts to data genocide”, “What the general public want is the truth. They are sick to the teeth of obfuscating politicians. They don’t want things gilded, they want to hear it as it is”. These are some of the statements that emerged from the recent World Congress of September 2021
Epidemiology. It opened on September 4 with a moment of silence to acknowledge the more than 4.5 million people who have died from COVID-19 to date, and with particular mention of epidemiologists and public health workers Among the topic areas covered at the meeting were COVID-19, mental ovascular disease, health and equity, - IEA cont'd on page 7 •
Volume Forty Two •
Number Nine
In This Issue -2Interview With McGill's Jay Kaufman -10Notes On People -13Near Term Epi Event Calendar -14Career & Event Marketplace with 7 Major Job & Event Listings
-SER cont'd from page 1 The Epidemiology Monitor ISSN (0744-0898) is published monthly by Roger Bernier, Ph.D., MPH at 7033 Hanford Dr,, Aiken, SC, 29803, USA. Editorial Contributors Roger Bernier, PhD, MPH Editor and Publisher
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economic equality and social trust. He notes the pandemic has had the greatest impact where political division and social conflict are at more extreme levels. In short, the real problem says Kaufman is that sick societies have sick institutions. Science Also Implicated In his essay, Kaufman reminds readers that epidemiologists are not immune from these divisive social forces since they are both citizens as well as scientists. Science has suffered from politicization by making distorted perceptions and inferences and consequently has come under doubt and suspicion. According to Kaufman, restoring faith in science will require restoring faith in social institutions and this in turn requires a political reckoning. Other Observers Agree Kaufman is not alone in pointing to the role of social dysfunction in battling
COVID. For example, a second guest essay in the Times entitled “American Dysfunction Is the Biggest Barrier to Fighting Covid” has also been published. And in writing about a new book called “Shutdown—How Covid Shook the World’s Economy”, a Times reviewer points out …”we have entered a state of dangerous incoherence: the separate understandings of our world and its risks have become so divergent and so entrenched that they pose their own existential threat by impeding our ability to plan for, prevent, and react to the crises to come.” Epi Monitor Interview Given the significance of these insights and judgments and their importance in addressing the challenges of our times, we interviewed Dr Kaufman to more fully understand his thinking and what he sees for epidemiologists and other citizens of democratic societies going forward. The interview is published here as a special feature in our September issue. ■
Special Feature
Interview With McGill’s Jay Kaufman About The COVID Pandemic And His Experience As An Op-Ed Author For The NYTimes We contacted Jay Kaufman, the McGill University professor of epidemiology and past president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, who authored the Times essay to obtain a fuller understanding of his perspective. He agreed to be interviewed and the candid exchange is published below. Epi Monitor: We are well into the pandemic now. The fourth wave I believe. Was there a specific event or
reason that triggered your writing of the essay at this time? Have you written other pieces about the pandemic? Kaufman: I have co-authored a number of scientific papers on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 over the last 18 months, as well as some newspaper editorials and blog posts on the pandemic, but this NYT essay was the most socio-political in focus. - Kaufman con't on page 3
-Kaufman cont'd from page 2 Plenary Speech The backstory is not so dramatic, really. I served as President of SER from July 2020 to July 2021, probably the worst year ever to be president of anything. At the annual meeting in June, the departing president always gives a plenary speech. I gave a broad talk on lessons learned from the pandemic which included many methodological observations, but I also chose to discuss the politicization of the pandemic because as a social epidemiologist this seemed a dominating issue for me in understanding our responses, as a scientific community, and how these responses contributed or did not contribute to public health policy. Value of Remarks That science is a social process, carried out by people enmeshed in ideologies and institutions is a rather hum-drum observation in fields like sociology and history. Indeed there are departments of “science and technology studies” and a whole professional society (“4S – Society for Social Study of Science”) that describe and dissect these relationships in baroque detail. Compared to that scholarship, my remarks were quite amateurish, but I thought them relevant and timely for a meeting of professional epidemiologists. Big Picture SER meetings can dwell excessively on nerdy statistical or methodological arguments, so I wanted to give some attention to the big-picture topic of our social milieu and the way that it organizes our efforts and their societal impacts. Interestingly, Marc Lipsitch gave an overview of the COVID-19 pandemic for his invited plenary at the
pandemic for his invited plenary at the meeting, and he also discussed political polarization as a special challenge for contemporary health scientists. Times Inquiry The speech was pre-recorded and then broadcast during the meeting in June, and some energetic SER groupies dutifully Tweeted around screen shots of the talk. Soon enough a NYT editor who had stumbled across a Tweet contacted Sue Bevan at SER headquarters and asked for access to the recording of the talk.
“...I wanted to give some attention to the big-picture topic of our social milieu..."
This was provided, and a few weeks later they contacted me and asked me to contribute the text of the speech to be turned into an op-ed. So I sent the text, edited down to remove the methods observations and focusing only on the issues of political polarization and social context. Revisions, Revisions I did not realize what a grueling process lay ahead. The “ship of Theseus” story in philosophy asks if after every plank in the ship is replaced, whether it can still be called the same ship. After weeks of revisions with one editor after another, I am pretty sure that every single word in my essay was replaced at least once. They haggled over everything, including the translation of the Virchow quotes from German.
“I did not realize what a grueling process lay ahead."
But somehow the basic theme did survive, and so that is the whole story of how it got into the NYT. - Kaufman cont'd on page 4
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-Kaufman cont'd from page 3 Twitter
“I don’t think I could try to make that happen if I wanted to."
“...much of the loss of life and the disruption to economies was in some sense preventable..."
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I am in general not a fan of Twitter, and I do not personally have an account. But I am grateful to the SER communications committee, which orchestrates enthusiastic Tweeting of all our SER activities, including my talk. I simply had the good fortune that one of these Tweets fell into the right hands. EpiMonitor: It’s not easy to get an oped published in the NYTimes. I know I have tried and failed a couple of times as they get multiple submissions. Do you have any information about why yours was selected? I believe the title is provocative. Kaufman: My role in getting this published was a relatively passive one, so I regret that I don’t have any specific advice. I don’t think I could try to make that happen if I wanted to. I also have to admit that they did not use my proposed title. Indeed, the article ran under several different headlines, each progressively more provocative, and none of them were written by me or even checked for my approval. I also did not see the artwork until the article was published. EpiMonitor: You mentioned to me that you do not think there is anything so profound or original or astonishing in your commentary. I disagree by the way and wish I had written something so clear and helpful in understanding the significance of the pandemic. Perhaps it is not news that social factors have been very impactful during this pandemic. Granted that, do you believe that political dysfunction is perhaps the most impactful social factor in this US pandemic situation
and in our response to it? If so, it seems to make the pandemic more tragic because so much more of it was preventable. Kaufman: Yes, a point I tried to make is that there has been huge social and geographic variation in the force of the pandemic, in responses to it, and in the relative success or failure of those responses. We talk about parameters like R (reproduction number), IFR (infection fatality rate) and CFR (case fatality rate) as though these are characteristics of the bug, but in fact they result from complex interactions of biology, behavior and context. None of these quantities are stable over time, and the individual and collective behavioral responses are highly patterned by politics, ideologies, media and history. In this sense, yes, much of the loss of life and the disruption to economies was in some sense preventable, although hindsight is 20-20 and it would be preposterous to suggest that we could all have agreed in March 2020 on the optimal course of action. Values and Policymaking Optimal courses of action also necessarily rely on values and when values are not shared, there cannot be a consensus. A great example of that dilemma at this particular moment is the fierce debate over vaccination of children younger than 12 years old. The ethics are cloudy because kids can expect to have such a benign course of SARS-CoV-2 infection that most of the benefit of vaccination would accrue to others, not to the vaccinated child. This is not unprecedented, but it does become controversial because of the inherent uncertainty around novel technologies - Kaufman cont'd on page 5
-Kaufman cont'd from page 4 for a novel infection, the dearth of data because severe disease for kids is rare and adverse vaccine events are rare, and the instability of these calculations over time, because risk/benefits calculations are function of background rates, and therefore also affected by other behavioral responses like masking and adult vaccination behavior. We entrust this complex policy decision to a political process like the US FDA, but they are potentially influenced by commercial and political pressures that don’t reflect our individual values and priorities. The result is a lot of distrust, frustration and confusion, and makes me grateful every day that I am not on any social media so that I am largely unaware of all the screaming back and forth about this kind of thing. EpiMonitor: Developing remarkably effective and safe vaccines so rapidly was a big scientific success I believe in this pandemic. What successes or silver linings do you see in the pandemic experience so far? Kaufman: The mMRA technologies that you refer to are obviously the most promising “silver lining” and Moderna is about to begin a trial applying this technology against HIV infection, a bug that has eluded a successful vaccine for 3 decades. Testing But I hope we also learned important lessons about testing, where the US and Canada lagged disastrously in 2020, and then demonstrated an inexplicable reluctance to deploy inexpensive rapid antigen testing. Stuck in the clinical mindset of diagnostic testing, we
missed the opportunity to deploy a public health model of testing, and this was a costly error. Influenza The absence of any appreciable influenza in the winter of 2020-2021 was another pleasant surprise, and showed the impact of masking and additional hygiene measures on other infectious diseases. As we all know in academia, software for web-conferencing got a huge shot in the arm, too, and will probably be with us forever (for better and for worse).
“...we missed the opportunity to deploy a public health model of testing..."
Publishing The pandemic also changed the face of academic publishing forever, with the sudden prominence of pre-print repositories like medRxiv, and it relocated the nexus of scientific debate from professional meetings to the pugnacious rapid-fire of Twitter. Lessons Learned But I do hope the more important lessons learned are not the technological fixes but rather the logistical, organizational and political ones. We need a robust public health infrastructure, we need high levels of social trust to facilitate vaccination uptake and contract tracing, and we need crucial public agencies like CDC and FDA to be run by long-term professional civil servants rather than short-term political appointees. It is not yet clear whether such lessons will be heeded or not.
“The pandemic also changed the face of academic publishing forever..."
EpiMonitor: Your article ends with the example of Dr Virchow taking an - Kaufman con't on page 6
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-Kaufman cont'd from page 5 activist position vis-a-vis social change by going to the barricades in Berlin to fight for the revolution. Given the importance of social factors in disease, what is your view of the proper role of epidemiologists in bringing about social change.
“I think it hopeless to aspire to be free of social influences..."
Kaufman: The example of Virchow was meant to demonstrate that pandemics are structured by social inequalities and injustices, and that these ultimately require political solutions rather than technological solutions. Indeed, we came up with an amazing technological advance with the mRNA vaccines, but distrust and political factionalism kept that potential miracle from achieving its full potential in the US. Citizen Obligations
"Objectivity as a goal also falls short because policies depend as much on values as they do on facts. "
Virchow was an eminent scientist, but also involved himself politically in a struggle for social justice and equality. We are all citizens of our respective countries who share that same obligation, to be engaged as citizens in parallel with our work as scientists. I think it hopeless to aspire to be free of social influences, which would be incompatible with a human existence that has always been inherently social. Likewise, absolute objectivity is a mythical goal, although we can certainly strive to improve our critical thinking. Objectivity
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A society that facilitates continual challenges to our views is the healthiest one for optimizing our rationality and objectivity, and therefore open
expression is a crucial tenet to uphold in the interests of scientific rigor. Objectivity as a goal also falls short because policies depend as much on values as they do on facts. It is therefore necessary for us to articulate our values, debate them, and reach a democratic consensus, but science alone is not a path to that end. Values do not emerge from a laboratory or a regression model. We need to find them elsewhere. EpiMonitor: Have you had much response to your essay and if so what has been the theme? Kaufman: The essay was published online on a Friday, and I was not prepared for the deluge into my inbox over the week-end that followed. These messages were highly varied in tone and content, some supportive, some disapproving. Many people scolded me for things I neglected and some attached long documents outlining their own idiosyncratic theories or models. Preconceptions I would say that the comments skewed more positive than negative, but people found in the text the particular messages that seemed to support their preconceptions. Those with a progressive commitment to public health lauded the focus on social determinants, and those with antiestablishment suspicions thanked me for pointing out that the institutions of science were corrupted and unreliable. Some comments were strangely offtopic, like the well-known economist who sent me recommendations for what to watch on Netflix. - Kaufman con't on page 12
-IEA cont'd from page 1 health, cardiovascular disease, health and equity, communicable diseases, data linkage, indigenous populations, environmental epidemiology, cancer, women and children’s health, medelian randomization, teaching epidemiology, and genetic epidemiology. Background After the in-person conference in Melbourne was cancelled in 2020 and again in 2021, the 22nd triennial meeting of the International Epidemiological Association (IEA) took place virtually in early September 2021 organized by the Australasian Epidemiological Association (AES) in collaboration with the IEA. According to the Croakey Conference News Service which reported frequently on the meeting, the dual cancellations of the live meeting presented “a raft of challenges to its organizers in transitioning to a virtual event.” Challenges Linda Slack-Smith, social epidemiologist and professor in the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Western Australia and one of the co-conveners of the meeting, told The Epidemiology Monitor “The conference started as a traditional face to face conference and once the COVID-19 pandemic hit we had to monitor what was happening and decide on the best option between limited face to face, mixed mode, satellite approach (with possible face to face engagement in some centers). In the end online only was the best (and it turns out wise) option. But the pandemic showed us we had to be more agile, and I think the learnings
will be useful for future local conferences. Also these considerations meant we had to really think our values and underlying goals in organizing the conference and equity and capacity building certainly featured in that.” She told Croakey News there were real advantages to the virtual format, including the opportunity for persons who might not be able or be privileged enough to attend to participate actively. Anthony LaMontagne, professor of Work, Health, and Well Being at Deakin University also a co-convener told Croakey News the organizers were able to offer full bursaries to over 200 delegates, an almost fourfold increase over previous meetings, to participate in early career workshops and short courses. The Epidemiology Monitor reviewed the Croakey News Service reports and tweets about the meeting and selected several findings and comments to highlight. A special supplemental issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology containing the abstracts submitted for the meeting was published online in September at: https://bit.ly/3zCSbVW
"...we had to really think our values and underlying goals in organizing the conference..."
“...epidemiologic data was “crucial” in being able to adapt and make decisions quickly..."
Selected Highlights Brett Sutton, Chief Health Officer in Victoria, spoke early in the conference to highlight the role that epidemiology has played in Victoria’s response to the pandemic. He emphasized how epidemiologic data was “crucial” in being able to adapt and make decisions quickly with all the initial uncertainties that surrounded the limited knowledge about the new virus. - IEA con't on page 8
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-IEA cont'd from page 7
“...a responsibility comes to each person who is told a story."
Abigail Echo-Hawk, Chief Research Officer for the Seattle Indian Health Board and Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute discussed the inequitable impact of COVID on American Indians and Alaskan Natives. She highlighted shortfalls in collecting adequate data on at-risk populations. In the news report of her presentation, she said “Come to us because you know we have the answers not because you think we have a problem.” She shared a concept from the indigenous community which posits that She said that her remarks at the conference were the equivalent of her telling participants a story and asked “what changes will you make in your practice, organization, or government to ensure inclusion?”
“If we want a fair society and healthy world, we need to understand social inequalities and make epidemiology central.”
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Henrique Barros, President of the IEA, urged participants to build on “epidemiology’s time in the sun” to create a better epidemiology workforce and to focus more on equity. According to Barros “If we want a fair society and healthy world, we need to understand social inequalities and make epidemiology central.” Communication Challenges Given all the interactions with the public and the media which epidemiologists have been having during the Covid pandemic, observations made in a roundtable session on how best to communicate epidemiology to the public are of interest. Themes identified were that epidemiologists need a better partnership with the media, a need to explore other non-traditional ways of reaching the public, and to recognize that communicating during the early
days of a pandemic is both an art and a science. There were calls for more media training of epidemiologists and more epidemiology training for journalists. Policy A session on policy making contrasted the way political scientists and epidemiologists use evidence in informing policies, distinguished the role of epidemiologists from that of politicians who make policy, noted that most media commentary on COVID was too complex for many persons in the community, and noted that epidemiology is only one thread in the stream of considerations of decision makers. Failing to note this can make scapegoats of epidemiologists and the example of the closure of Australian borders with China was used to illustrate this point. Keynote Presentations There were several keynote presentations during the conference including the Ian Prior oration given by Professor Diana Sarfati, National Director of a Cancer Control agency in New Zealand. She made several interesting observations about her agency and the role of epidemiology, including how epidemiologic data identified the disproportionate decrease in cancer diagnoses among Maori patients during the pandemic. These data were able to trigger an initiative to do catching up tests and treatments post-lockdown in the Maori population. Professor K Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Association of India, - IEA con't on page 9
-IEA cont'd from page 8 addressed the problems being posed in controlling the pandemic by misinformation and disinformation. He called epidemiologists and social scientists “Gemini twins” and urged collaboration to better understand the underlying drivers of fake news and information. The problem of fake news has been prevalent in Australia and there have been urgent calls to combat these negative influences on public health also through a multidisciplinary approach. Professor Cesar Victora, Professor at the Federal University of Pelotas gave the closing Richard Doll Oration Prize and called for early career epidemiologists to conduct research to advance knowledge, promote change, and evaluate programs. He described an EPICOVID-19 project he has been involved with in Brazil that managed to do all three of these types of investigations. .It produced good sound epidemiologic findings, created an advocacy component by looking at ethnic differences, and helped to improve immunizations by reporting a 20% decrease in childhood vaccinations during the pandemic. On Attending Virtually Abbey Diaz, a cancer researcher in the Wellbeing and Preventable Chronic Disease Division at Menzies Institute for Medical Research, was part of the WCE 2021 social media team and the Australasian Epidemiology Association's social media officer. She told The Epidemiology Monitor “I thoroughly enjoyed the Congress. I attended almost all sessions and took so much from the keynote presentations. I enjoyed the mix of methods, applied epidemiology, and disciplinary challenges.”
She added, “To ensure I didn't miss a good tweet, I was motivated to absorb the content. For the last five or so years, I have used live tweeting of conferences as a way of note taking and maintaining my focus. At the start and end of each day the social media team briefed and debriefed, which added a social element to the virtual event.” According to Diaz, there was quite a lot of engagement via Twitter. Some people gave "tweetorials" about their conference abstract, some created threads summarizing the on demand content, and others used Twitter to start conversations related to the Congress content. Said Diaz, “my favorite session, though, was the Early Career Researcher (ECR) breakfast social event. I caught up with people I haven't seen in a while and met a number of new people. It wasn't quite the same as meeting old friends at an in-person event, but it provided a boost of energy to get through the last day of the Congress.” To access the series of nine reports on the Congress by Croakey Conference News Service, visit: https://bit.ly/3AGMozY ■
“He called epidemiologists and social scientists “Gemini twins”..."
“I enjoyed the mix of methods, applied epidemiology, and disciplinary challenges.”
Join us on our Facebook page at: https://bit.ly/2U29gUA
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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
Retiring: William Knowler, after 46 years at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Since 1979, Knowler has served as chief of the Diabetes Epidemiology and Clinical Research Section in NIDDK’s Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch. He has devoted decades of research into the behavioral, genetic, and environmental factors for type 2 diabetes and its complications, particularly among Southwestern American Indian populations. To read more about Dr Knowler’s career, visit The NIH Record click here: https://bit.ly/2Y0d2pi Honored: Reiko Kishi, with the John Goldsmith Award given by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. This award was created to honor the legacy of Dr John Goldsmith, one of the organizers, early leaders, and constant supporter of the ISEE. This award is given to investigators for "sustained and outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of environmental epidemiology." Recipients have typically contributed in substantive and innovative fashion to the methods and practice of epidemiology over many years. According to ISEE, Dr Kishi was a trailblazer in the elucidation of various health impacts of developmental exposure to low-level environmental chemicals in birth cohort studies. She is currently a Distinguished Professor of Hokkaido University, Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Sapparo Japan.
Winner: Cesar Victora, of the 2021 Richard Doll Prize in Epidemiology. The prize is awarded by the International Epidemiological Association for a body of scientific research in epidemiology that has advanced understanding of conditions that are important for population health. Dr Victora is Emeritus Professor of Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil, and Director of the International Center for Equity in Health.
Honored: Jaime Hart, with the Tony McMichael Mid-Career Award given by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. This award was created in the memory of Dr Tony McMichael, a world renowned epidemiologist known not only for his scientific work, but also for has compassionate mentoring of junior colleagues. According to ISEE, Dr. Hart has been dedicated to supporting the scientific dissemination and translation of environmental epidemiology research. She is currently Assistant Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School.
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Notes on People, continued from page 10 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
Hired: Sam Byrne, as assistant professor of biology and global health at Middlebury College in Vermont. Dr Byrne’s interest is in health disparities. He will teach epidemiology at Middlebury. He formerly taught at St Lawrence University.
Honored: Colin Soskolne, with the Research Integrity Award given by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. The ISEE Research Integrity Award honors those in environmental epidemiology who have demonstrated exceptional integrity in the face of pressure from special interests. According to ISEE, Dr. Soskolne pioneered the development of ethics guidelines for the profession. He has had leadership roles in supporting the International Network for Epidemiology in Policy’s mission of integrity, ethics, and evidence in policies impacting health. Dr. Soskolne has finally retired, according to "self reporting", after 28 years at the University of Alberta and multiple years of additional volunteer service.
Honored: Gauri Dasai, with the Rebecca James Baker Award given by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. This award is in memory of Rebecca James Baker, a young investigator with a commitment to environmental epidemiology as a tool for improving public health and quality of life. She worked on many international studies with people from different cultures and backgrounds, and was an active member in the Society. The award is given to new investigators who embody her approach to epidemiological research. According to ISEE, Dr Desai’s research interests are primarily in the area of environmental epidemiology, focusing on understanding the impact of environmental toxins on children’s growth and development. She is also interested in understanding the role of diet in mitigating the toxicity of environmental exposures. Her recent research work has been among Uruguayan schoolchildren and Puerto Rican women. Dr Desai is currently clinical assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Buffalo.
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Notes on People, continued from page 11 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
Hired: Michael Osterholm, as Senior Advisor for Beacon Global Strategies, a strategic advisory firm focusing on global public policy, government procurement, and geopolitical risk analysis. Dr. Osterholm is Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, at the University of Minnesota. "I am excited Dr. Osterholm is joining the BGS team at such a critical time," said Andrew Shapiro, Partner and Managing Director at Beacon. "As the ongoing pandemic has demonstrated, the intersection of global health and national security has never been stronger. Dr. Osterholm's expertise and breadth of experience will be a tremendous asset for BGS and our clients. Resigned: Caitlin Pedati, State Medical Director and Epidemiologist at the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) which announced Dr Pedati’s plans to leave the agency effective late October. She plans to pursue new career opportunities, according to IDPH. “I want to thank Dr. Pedati for her outstanding service to the people of Iowa, especially throughout the pandemic,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a released statement. “She has been instrumental to our state’s strong COVID-19 response and a valued member of my team. I wish her much success and happiness in all that she pursues.”
Recognized: Field epidemiologists on World Field Epidemiology Day on September 7. On this day in 1854, John Snow took his findings from his investigation of the Broad Street cholera outbreak to local officials to help lead them to take action to remove the handle on the offending water pump. September 7 has been set aside to recognize and raise awareness of the vital role played by the world’s disease detectives. The Day is sponsored by TEPHINET, the global network of 75 Field Epidemiology Training Programs in more than 100 countries which have graduated more than 14,000 disease detectives.
-Kaufman cont'd from page 6 Hope I am grateful to those colleagues, my fellow epidemiologists, who took the time to express their support, and I hope that as a field we can maintain a high level of public engagement in the media, promoting public health and the importance of investing in our collectives, because pandemic problems cannot be solved by individuals thinking and acting only as individuals. ■
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8 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 two months follow below.
October 2021 Oct 15-18
http://bit.ly/37rpmAI
Conference / IGES 2021 / International Genetic Epidemiological Society / Montreal, Canada Oct 23-27
http://bit.ly/2PA0exQ
Event / Inaugural World Field Epidemiology Day / TEPHINET / Worldwide Oct 28-29 http://bit.ly/34mL0Ew Conference / European Dermato-Epi Forum / European Dermato-Epidemiology Network (EDEN) / Rotterdam, The Netherlands Oct TBA https://bit.ly/3ozUgwq Conference / 13th Annual ISPE Asia Conference / International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology / Seoul, Korea
November 2021 Nov 2-5 http://bit.ly/2KfVzlJ Conference / 15th International Conference on Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics of Infectious Diseases / Tulane University & others / New Orleans, LA Nov 6-7 http://bit.ly/3alftGJ Conference / 2021 Global Conference on Health and Climate Change / WHO / Glasgow, Scotland Nov 10-13 http://bit.ly/2s78HjZ Conference / 16th World Congress on Public Health / European Public Health / Dublin, Ireland Nov 22-23 http://bit.ly/3p0xazj Conference / Infectious and Chronic Disease Conference / Pharmaweb / Capetown, South Africa Nov 30 - Dec 8 http://bit.ly/2K5CCm0 Conference / 8th Intl Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics / Elsevier / Bologna, Italy
2022 Epidemiology Event Calendar Are you planning an epidemiology event for 2022? We have started to build our
calendar issue and we want to make sure your event is included. To submit your event CLICK HERE
Virtual 5-Day Causal Inference for Assessing Effectiveness in Real World Data and Clinical Trials: A Practical Hands-on Workshop 31 Jan - 4 Feb 2022 (early booking deadline 15 December 2021)
When: 31 Jan - 4 Feb 2022
Where: online
Course Faculty: Uwe Siebert, MD, MPH, MSc, ScD Professor of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and HTA (UMIT TIROL), Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and Health Policy & Management (Harvard Chan School of Public Health); Dr. Nicholas Latimer, BSc, MSc, PhD Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics, Health Economics and Decision Science, (University of Sheffield), Yorkshire Cancer Research Senior Fellow Prof. Ian White, MA, MSc, PhD Professor of Statistical Methods for Medicine (University College London); Felicitas Kühne, MSc Senior Scientist (UMIT TIROL). Content: This 5-day online course covers the key concepts and methodological approaches to causal inference in observational and experimental studies with a specific focus on adjustment for time-varying confounding and treatment switching. The course includes graphical concepts (causal diagrams), structural approaches (target trial) and statistical methods (e.g., g-estimation, marginal structural models, and two-stage method). We combine theoretical concepts with practical applications using real world case examples. For more information please go to click here (www.htads.org)
Further courses: Advanced Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis – ONLINE 07 - 09 April 2022 (early booking deadline 21 February 2022) The three-day virtual meta-analysis course for health professionals is designed to provide an introduction to advanced methods for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. For more information click here (www.htads.org)
Post-Doctoral Fellow – Maternal & Child Health Epidemiology Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Department of Research and Evaluation (R&E) conducts high-quality, innovative translational research that benefits the health of its members and the communities from which they come. At Kaiser Permanente, research helps us learn what we need to do to provide better care for our members and promote better health in the community. More than 450 people work at the Pasadena, California-based Department of Research & Evaluation. The department is the primary hub of research for Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC), supporting research by full-time faculty members as well as medical center-based clinician researchers. The Department of Research and Evaluation is seeking Post-Doctoral Research Fellows interested in maternal and child health epidemiologic research studies. This one-year renewable position (funding and performance dependent) will provide mentored experience in field work, proposal development and scientific publication, designed to prepare the incumbent for a productive career as an independent researcher. Essential Responsibilities: Designs, develops and directs well-defined research with supervision from a R&E Research Scientist. Prepares grant proposals and publications independently and collaboratively. Provides consultation and direction to programmer/analysts with regard to data management and analysis strategies. May perform subject assessments or chart reviews or provide direction to research support staff performing these tasks. Submits abstracts to and presents papers at national scientific meetings. Seeks consultation from research scientists for specific scientific and administrative issues. Participates in R&E department meetings and projects as appropriate. Preferred Qualifications: Track record of publication in the peer-reviewed literature and grant-writing experience. Doctoral degree (Ph.D., Dr.P.H., M.D., Sc.D.) in epidemiology, preferably in maternal and child health epidemiology, or clinical doctoral degree + master's degree with formal research training in epidemiology. Competent in advanced research methods, including statistical techniques and study design commonly used in epidemiologic research or related fields. KPSC is a leading managed health care organization with 4 million members of diverse race/ethnicity living throughout Southern California. They are attended by over 6,000 physicians practicing in an integrated, pre-paid delivery system that provides comprehensive health care and pharmaceutical benefits to members of the non-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. KPSC has deployed an extensive clinical information system, including a fully automated medical record system. A description of the Department of Research & Evaluation is available on the web (http://www.kp-scalresearch.org/). It is the home to nearly 30 doctorally prepared investigators and over 300 support staff. The Department is located in Pasadena, a community of 143,000 residents and the home of the California Institute of Technology, the Rose Bowl, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and other historical and cultural sites. Information about the community can be found online at www.visitpasadena.com. Pasadena is in the San Gabriel Valley 15 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles in sunny southern California. For more information or to apply for this position, please click below Please click here for Kaiser Permanente SC R&E Post-doc Maternal & Child Health Epidemiology or visit the Kaiser Permanente job website at https://www.kaiserpermanentejobs.org/ and search 895949 in the keyword field.
Please also email your CV with a cover letter to allan.slatkin@kp.org
KPSC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and offers competitive salary and comprehensive benefit packages.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Cancer Epidemiology & Infectious Disease Epidemiology The Department of Research and Evaluation (R&E) of Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) is seeking a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow interested in cancer epidemiology & survivorship, pharmacoepidemiology, or infectious disease epidemiology. Scientists in the Department of R&E conduct research involving large, diverse populations, providing timely evidence to decisionmakers and the public. The research teams have expertise and experience in performing a vast array of population-based epidemiologic cancer research and infectious disease research, including HIV/STI. Projects range from large, multisite epidemiologic studies on cancer and HIV/STI prevention, diagnosis, molecular markers, treatment and clinical outcomes, and survival. The overarching goal of these studies is to use our large membership and extensive data to generate results that will improve cancer care and contribute to scientific knowledge about cancer outcomes. The research teams work with partners from government, industry, academia, and other health care systems. This one-year renewable position (funding and performance dependent) will provide mentored experience in field work, proposal development and scientific publication, designed to prepare the incumbent for a productive career as an independent researcher. Essential Responsibilities: Designs, develops and directs well-defined research with supervision from a R&E Research Scientist. Prepares grant proposals and publications independently and collaboratively. Provides consultation and direction to programmer/analysts with regard to data management and analysis. May perform subject assessments or chart reviews or provide direction to research support staff performing these tasks. Submits abstracts to and presents papers at national scientific meetings. Seeks consultation from research scientists for specific scientific and administrative issues. Participates in R&E department meetings and projects as appropriate. Preferred Qualifications: Doctoral degree (Ph.D., Dr.P.H., M.D., Sc.D.) in epidemiology, preferably in cancer and/or infectious disease epidemiology, or clinical doctoral degree + master's degree with formal research training in epidemiology and/or biostatistics. Track record of publication in the peer-reviewed literature. Research experience in epidemiology or biostatistics and track record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals. Competent in advanced research methods, including statistical techniques and study design commonly used in epidemiologic research or related fields. A description of the Department of Research & Evaluation is available on the web at http://kp.org/research. It is home to 30+ doctorally-prepared investigators and over 350 support staff. The Department is located in Pasadena, California, a community of 140,000 residents and the home of the California Institute of Technology, the Rose Bowl, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and other historical and cultural sites. Information about the community can be found at https://www.visitpasadena.com. KPSC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and offers a comprehensive compensation package, including employer-paid medical, dental and coverage for eligible dependents. Competitive wages, generous paid time-off and a comprehensive retirement plan are just part of the exceptional benefits offered to Kaiser Permanente employees. For immediate consideration, interested candidates should submit their letter of interest, CV and references to Dr. Kristi Reynolds, Director of Epidemiologic Research (email: allan.slatkin@kp.org) and by visiting www.kp.org/careers, referencing position number 961052. KPSC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and offers competitive salary and comprehensive benefit packages.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Infectious Disease Epidemiology The Department of Research and Evaluation (R&E) of Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) is seeking a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow interested in infectious disease epidemiology and vaccine safety and effectiveness. The R&E of KPSC conducts high-quality research involving large, diverse populations, providing timely evidence to decisionmakers and the public. The research team has expertise and experience in performing a vast array of infectious disease research, including vaccine research studies. Studies range from large, multisite epidemiologic studies on a variety of topics including antibiotic resistance, hospital infections, tuberculosis, COVID-19, and vaccine preventable diseases, to Phase IV vaccine postlicensure observational studies. The research team works with partners from government, industry, academia, and other health care systems. Our vaccine research consists of topics including vaccine safety and effectiveness, vaccines in special populations (e.g., pregnant women, immunocompromised individuals), vaccine uptake and compliance with recommendations, and methodologies for vaccine studies. Findings from studies guide KPSC clinical care improvement efforts, as well as immunization policy and regulatory decisions and provide the public with information regarding risks and benefits of immunization. This one-year renewable position (funding and performance dependent) will provide mentored experience in field work, proposal development and scientific publication, designed to prepare the incumbent for a productive career as an independent researcher. Essential Responsibilities: Designs, develops and directs well-defined research with supervision from a R&E Research Scientist. Prepares grant proposals and publications independently and collaboratively. Provides consultation and direction to programmer/analysts with regard to data management and analysis strategies. May perform subject assessments or chart reviews or provide direction to research support staff performing these tasks. Submits abstracts to and presents papers at national scientific meetings. Seeks consultation from research scientists for specific scientific and administrative issues. Participates in R&E department meetings and projects as appropriate. Preferred Qualifications: Doctoral degree (Ph.D., Dr.P.H., M.D., Sc.D.) in epidemiology, preferably in infectious disease epidemiology, or clinical doctoral degree + master's degree with formal research training in epidemiology. Track record of publication in the peer-reviewed literature. Research experience in infectious disease epidemiology or vaccine safety and effectiveness. Competent in advanced research methods, including statistical techniques and study design commonly used in epidemiologic research or related fields. A description of the Department of Research & Evaluation is available on the web at http://kp.org/research. It is home to 30+ doctorally-prepared investigators and over 350 support staff. The Department is located in Pasadena, California, a community of 140,000 residents and the home of the California Institute of Technology, the Rose Bowl, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and other historical and cultural sites. Information about the community can be found at https://www.visitpasadena.com. KPSC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and offers a comprehensive compensation package, including employer-paid medical, dental and coverage for eligible dependents. Competitive wages, generous paid time-off and a comprehensive retirement plan are just part of the exceptional benefits offered to Kaiser Permanente employees. For immediate consideration, interested candidates should submit their letter of interest, CV and references to Dr. Kristi Reynolds, Director of Epidemiologic Research (allan.slatkin@kp.org) and by visiting www.kp.org/careers, referencing position number 961068.
KPSC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and offers competitive salary and comprehensive benefit packages.
DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION OF GERONTOLOGY - SEARCH REOPENED The Department of Epidemiology and Public Health of the University of Maryland School of Medicine is seeking a division director at the associate or full professor rank for an exciting opportunity to expand and accelerate the growth of the Division of Gerontology. A generous and competitive start-up package will be provided to support the division director’s research initiatives and growth of the division. The successful candidate for the division head position will be a national leader with commitment to conducting and fostering interdisciplinary research in the epidemiology of aging and gerontology, will have a record of extramural research funding, and leadership and management capabilities. The division director is expected to develop and enhance collaborative research within the division, department, and medical system, and actively teach and participate in the department’s training programs for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Opportunities to teach medical students and students in other professional schools on our health services campus also are possible. The division’s seven faculty members have ongoing multidisciplinary research and collaborations across campus, focused on strategies to prevent and improve outcomes from disabling conditions among older persons. Gerontology division faculty collaborate with others throughout the University of Maryland Baltimore campus, which includes six professional schools (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, social work, and law), other University of Maryland campuses, as well as those in other academic and industry settings. The division also is the administrative home for the campus-wide Center for Research on Aging, the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center – funded since 1994, the Gerontology Doctoral Program, and the federally funded Research Training in the Epidemiology of Aging (T32). The department, which is ranked first in NIH funding for like-departments in public schools of medicine, comprises 45 full-time faculty members, has strong research programs in cancer epidemiology, genomic and infectious disease epidemiology, translational toxicology, biostatistics, preventive medicine, and health disparities and population health. The department is also the home for doctoral degree programs in Epidemiology and Human Genetics, and in Gerontology, as well as master’s programs in epidemiology, clinical research, and public health. Qualifications: Ph.D. and/or M.D. with significant experience collaborating in an interdisciplinary research setting, background in epidemiology and/or gerontology, and an established record of extramural research funding are required. For confidential inquiries, please contact Dr. Jack Guralnik at jguralnik@som.umaryland.edu or Dr. Ann GruberBaldini at abaldin@som.umaryland.edu. TO APPLY: Please submit applications online at: https://umb.taleo.net/careersection/jobdetail.ftl?job=170001XK&lang=en#.WjliERVAqss.email Applications should include a cover letter indicating research interests, CV, and names of 3 references. Reference position # 03-307-143. The University of Maryland, Baltimore is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. Minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Tenure Track Assistant/Associate Professor of Epidemiology The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Arnold School of Public Health (ASPH) at the University of South Carolina (UofSC) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in Epidemiology at the rank of either Assistant or Associate Professor. Candidates from all areas of epidemiology will be considered, and particularly encouraged to apply are those with research expertise in infectious disease epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, epidemiology of aging, perinatal epidemiology, social epidemiology, or epidemiology of cardiometabolic outcomes. The successful applicant will be expected to maintain an active research program, teach courses in advanced epidemiologic research methods and other epidemiology courses, mentor graduate students, and contribute to the department and school through professional service. A qualified candidate for the rank of Assistant Professor will have an earned doctoral degree in epidemiology by the beginning date of employment, the potential for excellence in teaching and for external research funding, and demonstrated evidence of high-quality scholarly research. A qualified candidate for the rank of Associate Professor will have an earned doctoral degree in epidemiology plus at least 5 years of experience as a faculty member by the beginning date of employment, a successful track record of competitive external funding in support of research, and a teaching record commensurate with academic rank. Qualified candidates will be capable of 1) teaching doctoral-level courses in the theory and application of epidemiologic research methods that include causal inference, 2) enriching our curriculum in substantive and methodologic applications of epidemiology, and 3) developing an independent research program. Examples of existing epidemiology faculty expertise are nutrition, cancer, perinatal epidemiology, infectious and parasitic diseases, health disparities, genetic epidemiology, social epidemiology, and cardiometabolic outcomes (e.g., diabetes). Abundant collaborative opportunities exist for community-based and clinical research. The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics seeks to promote a diverse and inclusive campus climate and aims to identify suitable candidates with a breadth of scholarly and lived experiences. Home to 30 faculty members, 20 in the Division of Epidemiology and 10 in the Division of Biostatistics, the faculty’s robust research portfolio includes funding from a broad spectrum of federal agencies (e.g., NIH and CDC) and non-profit organizations. More information about ASPH and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics can be found at www.sph.sc.edu. How to apply: Applications require: 1) letter of application; 2) curriculum vitae; 3) research statement; 4) teaching statement; 5) diversity statement that describes how your approach to research, teaching, and service activities contribute to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and 6) contact information for three references. Submit your application at the following link: https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/104470. For additional information please contact Emily Tedesco, tedescel@mailbox.sc.edu, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, 915 Greene St., Columbia, SC 29208, Telephone: (803) 777-7353, Fax: (803) 777-2524. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date is August 16, 2022. The University of South Carolina is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. The University of South Carolina and ASPH condemn racism and injustice in all its forms and actions. The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities on the basis of race, sex, gender, gender identity, transgender status, age, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, genetics, protected veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
Physician-Scientist Faculty Position The Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, NJ invites applications for a tenured or tenure-track faculty position at the associate professor or professor rank. Candidates with research interests in the category of physicianscientist, with expertise in reproductive or perinatal epidemiology, or women’s health are preferred. The ideal candidate should have a broad understanding of epidemiologic methods, and those with interests in causal inference are preferred. The Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences is comprised of seven divisions, including the General Division, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Gynecologic Oncology, Family Planning, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (Reproductive Medicine Associates of NJ) and Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The Department has an ABOG-accredited residency program in obstetrics and gynecology (5 residents per year), as well as a maternal-fetal medicine (1 fellow per year), urban global scholar (1 fellow per year), and reproductive endocrinology and infertility (2 fellows per year) fellowship programs. There are approximately 50 fulltime faculty members in the Department. The ideal candidate The successful applicant will have completed training and board certified in obstetrics and gynecology (sub-specialty training will be an advantage although not required) and doctoral training either in epidemiology or in the basic sciences from an accredited school, with a strong commitment to teaching, mentorship and advising students. Excellent track record of strong peer-reviewed publications, and successful current extramural funding are required. Evidence of well-rounded academic scholarship is essential. Candidates with sustained national and international collaborations are preferred. We are particularly interested in candidates with a passion for clinical care and research in a broad and sustainable focus to understand and advance women’s health, and factors that affect health during pregnancy. Applicants interested in studying mechanisms of obstetrical complications or women’s health, as well as understanding health disparities are encouraged to apply. Applicants should respond via email with an updated CV and letters of reference along with a one-page statement of interest. Please send these materials to: Cande Ananth, PhD, MPH Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences 125 Paterson Street, CAB 2150 New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Contact Name & Email Address: Beth Dillon, MS/Program Administrator: beth.dillon@rwjms.rutgers.edu
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