Public Health Research@Maryland 2013 was held on Tuesday, April 16, at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union. The day-long event featured speakers, panel discussions and showcased dozens of research posters from a diverse group of students, faculty and external researchers.
Welcoming Remarks
Dr. Wallace D. Loh, President, University of Maryland, College Park
Dr. Jay A. Perman, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Dr. E. Albert Reece, Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Jay S. Magaziner, Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Jane E. Clark, Dean, University of Maryland School of Public Health
Keynote: Smallpox: Death of a Disease... a Historic Saga
D.A. Henderson MD, MPH
Distinguished Scholar, UPMC Center for Biosecurity
Professor, University of Pittsburgh (Public Health and Medicine)
Dean Emeritus and Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Founding Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies
Keynote: Bioterrorism: Fear, Response, Complacency
D.A. Henderson MD, MPH
Distinguished Scholar, UPMC Center for Biosecurity
Professor, University of Pittsburgh (Public Health and Medicine)
Dean Emeritus and Professor,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Founding Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies
Networking Round Tables
Over 150 participants joined one of 15 roundtable discussions on topics ranging from aging research to tobacco control. The groups identified and defined research opportunities, funding options and future collaborative projects.
Dr. Robin Puett, assistant professor in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (School of Public Health), co-led the roundtable discussion about the use of mapping, satellite technologies and geographic information systems (GIS) to advance public health research. Puett is working with Dr. Tatiana Loboda, assistant professor in the Department of Geographic Sciences, to understand how Maryland’s “built environment” is affecting public health.
“We can pair the satellite data on how land use has changed over time with data on physical activity and obesity rates in communities,” Puett said. “With this information, we can design interventions to create healthier communities.”
The initiative includes expertise from both campuses in the areas of geographical science, environmental science and epidemiology.
Other identified opportunities included:
- Lactation interventions and public policy’s role in facilitating breastfeeding in public spaces. (Family, Child and Adolescent Health)
- Develop a Research on Aging Network (RAN) across the two campuses and beyond that will facilitate networking to foster new research and make others aware of existing research, such as the creation of Communities for a Lifetime (aging friendly communities program). (Aging Research)
- Expand studies related to climate change adaptation and impacts on health, building on work with MD Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Pursue NIH funding for research related to children's health. (Environmental Health and Environmental Justice Table)
- Build Global Health strategic plan for both campuses jointly and create a central portal for all global health information and opportunities (Re-engineering the Approach to Global Health)
- Establish a team and pursue funding to support the evaluation and assessment of Maryland’s recently funded Health Enterprise Zones in (1) Capitol Heights, Prince George’s County, (2) Greater Lexington Park, St. Mary’s County, (3) Dorchester and Caroline Counties, (4) West Baltimore, and (5) Annapolis with the unfunded sites serving for comparison. (Addressing Disparities with Health Enterprise Zones)
Doctoral Student Awards
- Raphael Gaeta (Department of Health Services Administration, UMD SPH), "Community Health Needs Assessment for Prince George's Hospital Center & Laurel Regional Hospital"
- Christina Greene (Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, UMD Baltimore), "Association Between Psychological Distress & Unintentional Non-Occupational Injuries Among U.S. Adults"
- Gaya Hettiarachchi (Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, UMD College Park), "Drug Delivery by Novel Cucurbit[n]uril-Type Molecular Containers"
Masters Student Awards
- Edward Grant (UMD SPH, Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics), "Selection of Fixed and Random Effects in Linear Mixed-Effects Models with Applications to TAAG"
- Barbara Zappe Pasturel (UMD SPH, Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health), "Socioeconomic and Environmental Disparities in the Risk of Campylobacteriosis in Maryland"
- Olga Moshkovich (UMD SPH, Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics), "The Attitudes and Behaviors of Young Adults Regarding Provision of Alcohol to Underage Youth."
Undergraduate Student Awards
- Claire Stevens (UMD SPH, Dept. of Kinesiology), "Anxiety's Effect on Performance in an Attention Task"