Around the School

SAVE THE DATE

February 11, 2008
Dean's Distinguished Lecture — Combating the Obesity Epidemic: Recognizing and Reconciling Research Priorities
Speaker: Shiriki Kumanyika, Associate Dean for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and HSPH Yerby Visiting Professor
Sponsor: Office of the Dean
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Kresge G-2

 

February 14, 2008
HSPH Community Forum - The Meta-Leadership Challenge: Preparing for and Leading During Times of Crisis
Speakers: Leonard Marcus, Lecturer on Public Health Practice, Department of Health Policy and Management, HSPH, and Isaac Ashkenazi, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Sponsor: Office of the Dean
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Kresge G-3

 

Students Asked to Contribute to HSPH WinterSession Wall

HSPH students are invited to contribute to a "WinterSession Wall" now on display in the Kresge cafeteria.

Spearheaded by the Office for Educational Programs, the wall is intended to display information about WinterSession activities, including field trips, courses, internships, and research.

The wall comprises a world map on which HSPH students may use provided pins to indicate where they spent WinterSession. In addition, there is a section on which students may affix short narratives, personal observations and reflections, photographs, or any other visuals or materials that would illustrate aspects of their WinterSession experience. For more information, call 617-432-0090.

 

Faculty Appointment

Charles Nelson has been appointed professor in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health. He also is the Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research at Children's Hospital Boston, and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

 

Swartz Named President-Elect of Public Policy Association

Katherine Swartz, professor of health policy and economics in the HSPH Department of Health Policy and Management, has been named President-Elect of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM). As such, she is responsible for the program to be conducted at the association's annual research conference, which will take place this November in Los Angeles. Then, Swartz will assume the association's presidency for one year. She also was elected recently to the Institute of Medicine.

APPAM is an association to which public policy schools in the U.S. and Canada belong, as well as a small but growing number in Europe and Asia. Many large research organizations in the U.S., for example RAND and Abt Associates, also are institutional members. Additionally, faculty at public health schools are members.

Said Arnold Epstein, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, "Swartz is arguably the country's leading expert on the uninsured and related dynamics in the market place. Her recent book has pushed re-insurance to the forefront of policy discussion. I am sure she will do a splendid job in her leadership role at APPAM."

 

Tickets Available for First HSPH Winter Ball

The HSPH Student Government has organized the School's first annual Winter Ball. Tickets are on sale this week for HSPH students for $20 and are available in the Office for Student Affairs in Kresge G-20. The ball will take place on Saturday, February 23, at 8 p.m. at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge.

This event is for students. There is no limit to the number of tickets that HSPH students can buy or to the number of guests they can bring. Guests do not have to be affiliated with the School, but they must come with an HSPH student. The Student Government also will be selling a select number of tickets to other Harvard graduate schools.

 

Awerbuch Wins Dozor Award from Ben-Gurion University

Tamara Awerbuch, instructor in the HSPH Department of Population and International Health, has received the Dozor Award, given annually by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev to a foreign scientist for his/her contribution in the field of health and medical sciences. She was honored for her work in mathematical epidemiology.

In association with the award, Awerbuch taught a three-week workshop on Mathematical Models in Biology and Public Health.

The workshop examined complex mathematical models as a basis for analyzing biological and social phenomena related to public health. Topics included the analysis of the spread and maintenance of infectious diseases, global warming impact on the environment, demographic modeling, the aging heart, and mutagenicity and toxicity of chemical carcinogenesis. Various mathematical methodologies such as differential equations, difference equations, and probability theory were used to construct and analyze the models.

 

Daffodil Days Fundraiser for Cancer Under Way

Harvard's annual Daffodil Days drive benefiting the American Cancer Society begins in February, coordinated through the University's Office of Government, Community & Public Affairs. Bouquets of daffodils can be ordered this month for $10 each. A special Boyd's plush bear can be ordered for $25, which includes the 12-inch bear with 10 stems of daffodils. All proceeds go to the cancer society. Orders must be placed by Friday, February 29, through a department coordinator. Flowers will be delivered by University Mail Services the week of March 17. For more information, contact Julie Russell at 617-495-4955 or at julie_russell@harvard.edu.

  

Reminder: AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston

The annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will take place in Boston this year from February 14 to 18.