A Maryland bill that permanently bans hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in the state has received final approval from the Senate with a 35-to-10 vote. Once Gov. Larry Hogan, who announced his support for the anti-fracking legislation on March 17, signs the bill, Maryland will become the third state, following Vermont and New York, to prohibit fracking.
Many faculty members, graduate students, and alum of the Family Science (FMSC) Department attended the 2016 National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Faculty members included Department Chair Dr. Elaine Anderson, Graduate Program Director Dr. Kevin Roy, and Professors Dr. Amy Lewin, Dr. Leigh Leslie, Dr. Ali Hurtado, Dr. Mona Mittal, and Dr. Patricia Barros-Gomes.
Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Laurie Garrett, author of several bestselling books and Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations, warned about the consequences of a collapsing global public health infrastructure and the continued threat of Zika during her Grand Rounds lecture at the University of Maryland on October 17, 2016.
We all know that we can quickly lose cardiovascular endurance if we stop exercising for a few weeks, but what impact does the cessation of exercise have on our brains? New research led by University of Maryland School of Public Health researchers examined cerebral blood flow in healthy, physically fit older adults (ages 50-80 years) before an after a 10-day period during which they stopped all exercise.
Since the 1980s, Black Americans have been overrepresented among the U.S. homeless population, and this enduring reality (Blacks comprise roughly 40.4 percent of the total U.S. homeless population, but only 12.5 percent of the overall population) has serious implications for population health and health disparities, according to Dr. Marian Moser Jones, associate professor in the University of Maryland School of Public Health.
Extreme heat and heavy rainfall are related to increased risk of hospitalization for asthma in Maryland, according to a study by the University of Maryland School of Public Health researchers. Based on over a decade of asthma hospitalization data (115,923 cases from 2000-2012), researchers observed a higher risk of asthma hospitalization after extreme heat or extreme precipitation events. The increases in risk were particularly high during the summer months. Their findings are published in the journal Environmental Health.
On April 6, 2016, the University of Maryland’s Graduate School Government hosted Graduate Research Appreciation Day (GRAD). The event gave Master's and doctoral student investigators from all academic backgrounds an opportunity to share research, obtain feedback from faculty and peers, and hone conference presentation skills in a welcoming, on-campus setting.
Deirdre Quinn was recently accepted into the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) 2016-2017 U.S. Policy Communication Program, a program designed to improve understanding about the process by which research informs the policy environment, and to learn various ways to communicate research findings to diverse U.S. policy audiences. Funding for the program comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – National Institutes of Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Dr. Amy Lewin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Science, received funding from the New Morning Foundation, a South Carolina-based organization that provides sexual and reproductive health education, counseling, and clinical services for young women and teens. Dr. Lewin, along with FMSC doctoral students Deirdre Quinn and Towanda Street, and a community partner, Sharp Insight, will be evaluating the implementation and outcomes from a longitudinal teen pregnancy prevention program.
Following their release of a state-commissioned study on the potential public health impacts of fracking in Western Maryland, University of Maryland researchers are helping to inform the conversation about the potential risks associated with unconventional natural gas development and production.
