Sorensen Named Acting Chair of HSB

Glorian Sorensen, professor of health and social behavior, will serve as acting chair of the Department of Health and Social Behavior while Lisa Berkman, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy, takes a sabbatical this year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto, California.

Grant Given to Study Low Birth-Weight Children as Teens

The Department of Maternal and Child Health has received a $3.5-million grant for a follow-up study of a clinical trial investigating the effects of early education on low birth-weight, premature children.

Marie McCormick, chair of the department, and Stephen Buka, associate professor of maternal and child health in the Departments of Maternal and Child Health and Epidemiology, are co-principal investigators. The grant was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) began in 1984 with more than 1,000 low birth-weight, premature infants. All of the infants were given pediatric care, and parents were referred to services available in their communities to help them and their newborns.

In addition, a group of infants and their parents were randomly selected to enroll in an early education program. The program consisted of home visits from trained workers who fostered parent-child activities and provided family support. Children under the age of three also were taken to day care at special centers where they were further engaged in educational activities. Parents also enrolled in support groups.

The program surveyed the progress of the children at ages one, two, three, five and eight years. The results showed that by age three, children in the intervention program scored higher on IQ tests and possessed better language and spatial skills than their counterparts. The children in the intervention program also had fewer behavioral problems, and their mothers were slightly more likely to be employed. By age five, differences between the two groups of children had diminished.

The follow-up study will investigate the long-term impacts of early education on low birth-weight children by studying the cognitive, behavioral and social functioning of the study participants, who are now age 17.

Environmental Health Grant Renewed

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has renewed a training grant in the Department of Environmental Health for the fifth time since the initial award in 1975. This money, totaling more than $450,000 per year, currently supports four pre-doctoral students and seven post-doctoral fellows.

"Our doctoral students and post-docs are a constant source of energy and new ideas," said Joseph Brain, chair of the Department of Environmental Health and principal investigator of the grant. "They are also our most important product. We are proud of the research and impressive careers of former trainees."

Most trainees who have been supported by the grant have developed research careers centered on the respiratory system.

Mission Hill Walk Raises Thousands of Dollars

More than 250 people, including Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, participated in the Sixth Annual Mission Hill Walk for Health on September 22.

More than $30,000 was raised to support youth programs of Mission Hill, with at least $4,000 turned in by walkers on the date of the walk.

The funds will benefit Mission Hill After School Program, the Mission Hill Pilot School, Mission PRIDE, Mission SAFE, Project LIFE, Sociedad Latina, and the Whittier Youth Service and Enrichment Program.