HSPH members are invited to bring their lunches and can receive a $1 discount off lunches at Sebastian's by showing Harvard IDs.

This event is not open to the public.

Receive Free Flu Vaccination on November 3 and 10

HSPH members with valid Harvard photo IDs may receive a free flu vaccination on November 3 and 10 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Kresge 101.

Physical Activity and Urban Design Conference

Free registration is now open for "Promoting Physical Activity and Health by Urban Design," a conference sponsored by HSPH and the Harvard Design School, on Tuesday, November 4 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 600 Atlantic Ave. (across from South Station).

With obesity emerging as a serious public health problem in America, better health can be accomplished and quality of life improved by combining changes in diet with regular physical activity such as walking and bicycling, in-line skating and jogging. While there are amenities such as bike paths in some cities, there are few design innovations in the U.S. for creating multi-use paths.

The conference will focus on how infrastructure can be changed to bring physical activity opportunities close to where people live and incorporate exercise as a routine part of the day.

Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at HSPH, will open the conference and introduce the health issues and research needs. Ichiro Kawachi and Steven Gortmaker, both professors in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, will also make presentations, along with HSPH Visiting Scientist Anne Lusk.

They will be joined by speakers from Harvard Design School, Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, the Charles River Conservancy, Boston Architectural Center and elsewhere.

Discussion sessions will address Safe Routes to School, Urban Issues, Suburban Issues, Senior Issues, Campus Travel Issues, and Boston-area Greenways.

RSVP is required. To register or see the agenda, visit the web site available at www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthdesign.

HSPH Alumna Named to NIH Public Representatives Council

HSPH alumna Ruth Browne, SD '00, was one of nine individuals tapped this year by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to serve as a member of the Director's Council of Public Representatives (COPR). The group is a federal advisory committee that advises the NIH Director on issues related to input and participation in agency activities, the research priority setting process, and NIH's outreach programs. They join 12 current members of the Council, which includes the executive director and CEO of AARP and the chairperson of the Department of Pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Browne is now an assistant clinical professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. She has served as the Executive Director of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH) since the organization was founded in 1993. At AAIUH, she created behavioral health intervention programs in low-income communities of color, calling upon community leaders at churches, schools and other neighborhood gathering places to help spread health messages.

Additional information about COPR is available at http://copr.nih.gov.

New Exhibit at Countway Documents Long Medical History at Harvard

The Countway Library of Medicine has mounted a new exhibit called "A Broad Foundation: Milestones of Medical Education at Harvard, 1783-2003."

The display traces the evolving history of education at Harvard Medical School--faculty, students, curricula and buildings--from the establishment of the school in the 18th century to the present day. Highlights include Rembrandt Peale's oil portrait of John Warren, the founder of Harvard Medical School (HMS); a rare letter from the first two HMS graduates; records of the application of the first female and African-American students; student lecture notes of neurologist Harvey Cushing; documents from the 1870 campaign of President Charles Eliot to reform medical education and Harvard's periodic considerations of the purpose and goals of its educational programs; and models of pathological anatomy and instruments from the collections of the Warren Anatomical Museum.

The Countway Library is at 10 Shattuck Street. The exhibit is on display in the main lobby and the Lower Level 2 of the library.

For additional information, contact Jack Eckert at 617-432-6207 or jack_eckert@hms.harvard.edu.

Hu to Speak at Boston Museum of Science

Howard Hu, professor of occupational and environmental medicine
in the Department of Environmental Health, will speak at the Museum of Science, Boston, on October 31 at 11 a.m. The talk will be on "The Future of Public Health through the Lens of Blood: Pestilence and Progress." The event is open to the public with museum admission. For more information, visit www.mos.org

Free Mindful Meditation Classes Available Each Tuesday Lunch Hour

Lilian Cheung, a lecturer in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH, and David Arond, a clinical instructor in pediatrics at HMS, lead a mindfulness meditation every Tuesday in Kresge 203. Session 1 takes place from 12:30 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. Session 2 takes place from 1 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. All HSPH members are welcome.

The sessions may include shared readings and meditating while sitting or walking. According to the organizers, the sessions can help people handle stress better, think more clearly, improve concentration skills, become more creative, have more energy, and feel more content and peaceful.

For more information, contact darond@massmed.org or lcheung@hsph.harvard.edu.

HSPH Members can Join Zipcar for $20/Year

HSPH employees and students can register for Zipcar for just $20 a year. The deposit of $300 is waived. Zipcar is a network of 130 cars located throughout Boston and Cambridge. Once a member, individuals have 24-hour, self-service access to new cars and can reserve cars by the hour over the Internet or by phone. There are two cars in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, one at the 375 Longwood Garage and one at Simmons College. The cost of the cars in the Zipcar network range from $8.50-$10.50 per hour, plus 18 cents per mile after 125 free miles. The cost includes gas, insurance and maintenance fees. The fee to have a car for a full day is $75 to $95, plus 18 cents per mile after 125 free miles. To register, visit http://www.zipcar.com/crimson.