Centers & Institutes

Policymakers in Washington, D.C., have reacted enthusiastically to the first annual report on international health aid from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Financing Global Health 2009. The Institute Director, Christopher Murray, was invited to speak to the staff of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in July, when he also spoke to a standing-room only crowd at the headquarters of the Global Health Council.

Christopher Murray

In September, Chris was invited by Gayle Smith, President Barack Obama’s top global development adviser, to be the first speaker outside the federal government to address the Global Health Interagency Policy Committee. The Committee’s goal is to hammer out a strategy to implement the $63 billion Global Health Initiative announced by President Obama in May. The group includes high-level representatives from the State Department, Treasury, Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Defense and other agencies. Chris hopes that the presentations will help the administration make a significant impact on the world’s health by strategically funding and supporting programs and initiatives based on the latest scientific evidence.

Elaine Faustman

Elaine Faustman, professor of DEOHS and director of IRARC, the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication, had a very busy August and early September. In addition to making presentations in South Africa and Rome and co-instructing a course in Nigeria, Elaine and IRARC hosted an event called “Tribal Rights and Fish Consumption Workshop: Issues and Opportunities for the Pacific Northwest.”  Joined by the department’s Superfund Basic Research Group and Continuing Education unit, IRARC brought together participants from across the region, including academicians, government representatives, members of the private sector, environmental advocates, and representatives of 14 tribes to discuss key issues related to tribal fish consumption rates.

Susan Allan

As usual, things are hopping at the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. The Center hosted its 18th annual Summer Institute for Public Health Practice in August, successfully bringing together practitioners from around the world. At the same time, the Northwest Public Health Leadership Institute held its second on-campus session, which offered participants the opportunity to work with practitioners as well as other leadership scholars. The Center offers regular online presentations on preparedness and other special topics, and in September, UW Communication Department Chair David Domke led an online forum on “talking American” and communicating effectively about health care reform. And according to Director Susan Allan, the Center will participate in a new climate change study, helping communities become active partners in the research.

Nancy Whitelaw

The School’s Health Promotion Research Center welcomed Nancy Whitelaw to campus for the summer. Senior Vice President of the National Council on Aging and Director of its Center for Healthy Aging, Whitelaw joined the Center as a Visiting Scholar to meet with local experts and organizations and to review three evidence-based models for healthy aging that engage older adults and community organizations in the area. Those programs are EnhanceWellness, a health promotion program that helps older adults manage their chronic health problems; PEARLS, an in-home counseling program that teaches practical techniques for managing depression to socially isolated seniors; and EnhanceFitness, a physical fitness program.