View in Browser
Department of Public Health Sciences
Thursday, January 28, 2021
CONGRATULATORY FACULTY ANNOUNCEMENTS Division of Epidemiology and Population Health Sciences
Miller School’s Dr. Jennifer Hu Named Director of Public Health’s Division of Epidemiology and Population Health Sciences "Dr. Hu has been a Miller School professor for the past 14 years with an extensive molecular epidemiology research portfolio,” said David J. Lee, Ph.D., professor and interim chair in the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences. “She has also been active in the teaching and mentoring of our graduate students and is particularly well-suited to lead the division.” Division of Health Services Research and Policy
Dr. José Szapocznik Appointed to Prestigious Council on Opioid Response “I thank Dr. Szapocznik for his willingness to share his time and expertise with the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) as we build on our work to support the most effective patient-centered, evidencebased solutions to the opioid crisis,” said Karen A. Scott, M.D., M.P.H., president of FORE. “We began our program planning in 2019 by convening diverse groups of experts from around the country for program advisory meetings and awarded our first grants throughout 2020, supporting projects to improve access to treatment and
recovery services. The Advisory Council will work with us towards our goal of impactful grant-making.� Division of Prevention Science and Community Health
National Institute of Mental Health Awards Dr. Mariano Kanamori Prestigious Grant to Examine How Social Network Structural Factors Affect PrEP Access, Encouragement, Uptake and Adherence The research project grant (R01) is the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and provides support for healthrelated research and development based on the mission of the NIH. The R01 grant will support a study led by Dr. Kanamori that will determine how social networks impact pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake and adherence, a highly-effective medicine people at risk for HIV take to prevent getting HIV from sex or injection drug use, among Latinx men who have sex with men, both those who self-identify as gay and the unstudied group of those who self-identify as bisexual or straight.
ADDITIONAL FACULTY CONGRATULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTS Outstanding Miller School Instructors Honored with George Paff Award Dr. Kenneth Goodman Named Fellow of The Hastings Center
GLOBAL HEALTH IMPACT
Division of Biostatistics
Miller School Biostatistics Professors Develop Model That Can Help Correct Sampling Bias in COVID-19 Studies In a new study published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, J. Sunil Rao, Ph.D., professor and director of the Division of Biostatistics, and Daniel A. Diaz-Pachon, research assistant professor, both with the Miller School of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences, developed a model that led to a three-step correction for sampling bias in COVID-19 studies. Since the publishing of the paper, Dr. Rao and Dr. Diaz have begun new collaborations with scientific leaders in Israel and Colombia. The study was also recently highlighted in the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 research repository.
Division of Prevention Science and Community Health
New Study First to Use Pandemic Stress Index to Document the Effects of COVID-19 on Latinx Sexual Minority Men "COVID-19 has really changed the way in which we have to look at sexual health among those who may be living with or at risk for HIV,” said study senior author Steve Safren, Ph.D., University of Miami’s director of the Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health and the Health Promotion and Care Research Program in the Department of Psychology. "Public Health's Dr. Audrey Harkness quickly amassed the team to develop this important tool, and already people from all over the country and from other countries as well are using it to help guide prevention and treatment research.”
Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas
Pandemic Intensified Need for Palliative Care in Latin America Palliative care advocates from a host of Latin American countries who participated in a webinar in early January asserted that pain-alleviating medicines and care are more critical than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Felicia Knaul, Ph.D., director of the University of Miami's Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, an economist, public health expert, and professor in the Miller School of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences, opened the webinar virtual session by sharing her experience of administrating palliative care and offering a presentation that highlighted the results and recommendations from a Lancet Commission report. The webinar was co-hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, and TĂłmatelo a Pecho.
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS Division of Health Services Research and Policy
COVID-19 Vaccines: Why Some Don't Want it The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines was heralded by many. But in some communities of color, the event was met with skepticism, if not outright distrust. This worries public health officials because it threatens to slow or prevent the mission to achieve herd immunity — and a
return to the semblance of normalcy. Various polls have shown that a sizable number of African-Americans and Latinos are not planning to get vaccinated, with refusal percentages ranging between 25 to almost 45 percent. Division of Epidemiology and Population Health Sciences
Researchers to Study the Impacts of Health Warning Labels on Young Waterpipe Users in Florida Researchers are working on a five-year study—funded by the Florida Department of Health’s Esther King Biomedical Research Award—to adapt health warning labels on waterpipes in Florida. Waterpipe smoking— also known as hookah—has become a leading tobaccouse method across the United States, which may be fueled by the widespread misperception that it is not as harmful as cigarettes. Currently, researchers are recruiting participants 21 and older to participate in the study. Participants will be asked to complete a confidential, brief survey and attend one focus group session through Zoom. To participate in the study, please call or email Alejandra Casas, a research assistant at the Miller School of Medicine, at (305) 2430362 or at axc623@miami.edu. Eligible participants who participate in the study will be compensated up to $66 for their time and effort. Division of Environment and Public Health
Walking Meetings Affect Worker Mood, Productivity and Physical Activity, New Study Finds In the era of COVID-19, walking meetings lasting 30 to 60 minutes are considered a healthy alternative to faceto-face meetings that take place indoors. They generally include the same information covered during traditional seated meetings but are slightly modified for walking. A new analysis of data collected as part of a pilot study led by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences has found that walking meetings affect worker mood and productivity while increasing physical activity levels.
EVENT ON COVID-19 VACCINES
Event by UHealth Fitness and Wellness Center
Ask the Experts: COVID-19 Facts, Myths and Vaccines The public is exposed to COVID-19 information on a daily basis, but not all of it is reliable. In partnership with the All of Us Research Program, the UHealth Fitness and Wellness Center presents COVID-19: Facts, Myths, and Vaccines. University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Olveen Carrasquillo, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and public health sciences and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, who has been on the front lines at UHealth during the pandemic, will debunk some of the major myths being spread around on Friday, January 29, 2020, at 3 p.m.
Connect With Us
SEEN VIRTUALLY IN UM PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES
The Miller School of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences welcomes new and returning graduate students in public health who began their first week of classes on Monday, January 25, 2021.
Department of Public Health Sciences 1120 NW 14th Street CRB 919 Miami, FL 33136 305-243-8331
Related Links About News Divisions Faculty and Staff Research Graduate Studies
For media inquiries regarding the Department of Public Health Sciences, please contact Margie Jimenez, MA, CRA, at mjimenez5@miami.edu and Amanda Torres at axt785@miami.edu
To unsubscribe from the DHPSNEWSLETTER list, click the following link: https://listserv.miami.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=DHPSNEWSLETTER&A=1