SisterFriend and the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences hosted an event to encourage discussions about menstrual hygiene in the region and to raise awareness about it as a critical public health issue. Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, the author of Periods Gone Public , gave a talk about her first-hand account in the fight for menstrual equity.
W. Paul Duprex, a distinguished molecular virologist and vaccine designer, will lead the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Vaccine Research (CVR). “I’m excited to be joining an institution with such a proud history of vaccine development and a top-notch group of scientists doing incredibly innovative infectious disease research,” said Duprex. He will also hold the Jonas Salk Chair for Vaccine Research at Pitt.
WITF - The state has partnered with Pitt Public Health and the Aetna Foundation to combat the crisis. Aetna Chief Medical Officer Harold Paz says the goal of the partnership is to make sense of data more quickly so the state can give the right resources to each community. Pitt's role is to help interpret that data, while Aetna is providing a one-million dollar grant.
PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE - "This is an area where the approach of data-driven analytics and modeling expertise can make a significant difference," said Dean DONALD BURKE. "The ultimate goal is to allow officials to target the best resources to save as many lives as possible. A lot of data is there already but siloed, hidden, and unused."
THE ROANOKE TIMES - A team including Virginia Commonwealth University Pitt Public Health researchers looked at 20 years of deaths for each of Virginia’s cities and counties and found that overall, in the white population, death rates decreased by 16 percent. However, death rates rose dramatically among young and middle-aged whites.
WASHINGTON POST - Travelers headed to Brazil should make an appointment for a yellow fever vaccination. “If you are going for tourism, you should definitely get the vaccine,” said EPI’s ERNESTO MARQUES. The CDC recently raised the level of concern in response to a yellow fever outbreak. The agency expanded its warning to travelers unvaccinated tourists contracted the mosquito-borne virus in newly identified hot spots.
SIERRA - Ten facilities are responsible for more than 70 percent of all the industrial air pollution in Allegheny County. County-wide reports have found that air throughout the region can be dangerous to breath, with one study from Pitt Public Health finding that the county was in the top 2 percent in the U.S. for cancer risk from air pollution.
HEALTH AFFAIRS - "Identifying Gender Minority Patients' Health and Health Care Needs in Administrative Claims Data" is the title of a recent article by ANA PROGOVAC (HPM '15) appearing in the top-tier health policy journal. Progovac was also invited to speak on her work as part of a press briefing panel focused on advancing health equity.
TRIB LIVE - Public health leaders, including DEAN DONALD BURKE, urged Gov. Tom Wolf to decriminalize syringe and needle exchanges. Evidence has shown that needle exchanges staunched the rapid rise of HIV cases in Pittsburgh. Burke said Wolf has the power to prevent widespread outbreaks of viruses by making clean needles readily available. "If he doesn't, I can guarantee an HIV epidemic in the state of Pennsylvania," Burke said.
HEALIO - In 1998, researchers submitted the initial NIH grant for the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study, designed to examine bone loss and fracture risk factors in older men. Much less is known about fractures and osteoporosis in men than in women. Although osteoporosis is still considered a woman’s disease, a man aged 60 years has a 25% chance of experiencing a fracture in his lifetime, says EPI’s JANE CAULEY.
BIOPHARMA DRIVE - Nearly one in four patients picking up their prescription drugs from the pharmacy counter paid a copay which exceeded the price the insurer paid the pharmacy, according to an analysis of sampled reimbursement and insurance claim data published in JAMA. The disconnect between what patients pay out of pocket and the true cost of the drug (including rebates) is the real problem, says HPM’s WALID GELLAD.
LA TIMES - The FDA announcement is great news, said BCHS’ ERIC DONNY. He and other researchers found that reducing nicotine substantially leads smokers to be less dependent on cigarettes and smoke fewer of them was found in a study by and other researchers. "If you just reduce it a little, people might smoke more to make up the difference. They need to reduce it a lot." Regulators should consider a 95% to 97% reduction.
As an international student, LYCIA NEUMANN always had the intention to take the skills she has learned at Pitt Public Health back to her home in Brazil. Because of the scholarship, she was able to study the profile and unmet needs of cancer patients' family caregivers in Brazil. Her experience has taught her important lessons, such as, " Go with a good plan and a contact. Don't wait to develop your project until you get there."
“Pittsburgh is a great city,“ said BRENDAN DECENSO. “But take opportunities to go work elsewhere – it will change you for the better.” After seeing frustrating inequalities among countries related to HIV, he was inspired to practice medicine internationally. He organized a project for himself in Lima, Peru and says that h would not have been able to have the experience he had without the aid from the scholarship.
IDM's GIOVANNA RAPPOCCIOLO presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections ion biomarkers and genetics of cell cholesterol dysregulation in HIV non-progressors. Co-authors include IDM faculty J MARTINSON and C RINALDO and recent doctoral graduate DIANA DELUCIA.
Pitt's Office of Diversity and Inclusion now has a web page up listing review committee, information on how to submit comments, and a link to the letter from Dean Burke requesting that the formation of a review committee to consider the name of Parran Hall.
Pitt Public Health marks 70 years with a two-day celebration of the history and future of public health education, practice, and research. Giving the keynote address is David Satcher, MD, PhD, former U.S. Surgeon General, and founding director and senior advisor of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Satcher has an extensive track record of leadership, research, and community engagement.
University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston has offered KEVIN MELODY (IDM '17) a postdoctoral fellowship in a BSL-4 research group headed by Thomas Geisbert. Due to the security and proficiency needed to perform the work, Kevin will undergo extensive training before beginning high-containment pathogen-related research.
"A great company in a great industry," says ZACHARY SWAN (IDM '16) who has recently secured a position as a Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Strategy Scientist at a CRO in the Research Triangle Park named Cato Research.
ASPPH FRIDAY LETTER - Pennsylvania leaders of ASPPH member schools issued a joint letter to Governor Tom Wolf, urging him to remove barriers to syringe service programs in the Commonwealth. DEAN DONALD BURKE was among the signers. Syringe service programs are among responses the opioid crisis recommended by the National Academy of Sciences.