February 21, 2008
School of Public Health and Community Medicine highlights recent achievements
Faculty and staff of the UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine have logged many accomplishments over the past year. Here are some of the highlights.
Department of Biostatistics
Norman Breslow, professor of Biostatistics has been named the recipient of the 2008 Zelen Award from the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard University, the 2008 Greenberg Lecturer in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina, and the winner of the 2008 Callaert Leadership Award in Biostatistical Education and Dissemination from Universiteit Hasselt, Belgium. His own department had already established the annual Breslow Lecture in recognition of his leadership in Biostatistics.
Patrick Heagerty, professor of Biostatistics, was named founding director of the Center for Biomedical Statistics (CBS). The CBS will allow the Department of Biostatistics to better respond to requests for statistical assistance from biomedical researchers at the University, from early planning stages of health sciences research through publication of study results.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Elaine Faustman, professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, received a $26 million, five-year grant as part of the new National Children’s Study, a $3.2 billion effort to understand the links between environmental, social, psychological, and genetic factors and chronic children’s health problems such as asthma, obesity, autism, diabetes, injuries, and schizophrenia. The UW joins 21 other centers nationwide to examine multiple factors influencing children’s health.
Kathy Hall, communications director of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and graphic artist Cathy Schwartz, of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, won the Best of Show in the publications division of the Society for Technical Communication Puget Sound 2007-2008 competition. Their winning entry, the department’s 2007 calendar, describes the range of the department’s research, teaching and service activities. For a copy of the calendar, contact Kathy Hall at kjhall@u.washington.edu.
Joel Kaufman, professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, will lead one of three national DISCOVER centers funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical treatment of diseases caused by environmental factors. The UW Center (the others are at Hopkins and Columbia) will focus on understanding the impact of traffic-related air pollution on cardiovascular disease.
Department of Epidemiology
Laura Koutsky, professor of Epidemiology, was featured in the September 24, 2007 issue of Pacific Northwest Magazine for her ground-breaking research on the human papillomavirus (HPV), which led to the first HPV vaccine. HPVs are responsible for most cervical cancers, the second most common cancer among women and the leading cause of cancer related deaths in developing countries.
Noel Weiss, professor and former chair of the Department of Epidemiology and first-ever winner of the UW’s Graduate Mentor Award was named the recipient of the 2007 Lilienfeld Award by the American College of Epidemiology at its annual meeting last September. This is the College’s most prestigious award and is given for lifetime achievement in honor of Abraham Lilienfeld, outstanding teacher, scholar, and founder of the College. Other recipients of the award include some of the most distinguished members of the profession, including Sir Richard Doll, William Foege, and D.A. Henderson.
Department of Health Services
Frederick Connell, professor of Health Services and associate dean for academic affairs, was selected as a 2007 Fulbright Scholar. He is currently spending a nine-month sabbatical as visiting professor at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences School of Public Health in Dharan, Nepal, the country’s only school of public health.
Carolyn Watts, professor of Health Services, was recently appointed by Governor Gregoire to the new Health Insurance Partnership Board, which was created by statute during the last legislative session. The Board’s responsibility is to design a connector-like option for low income employees of small businesses to make health insurance more accordable for them.
Department of Global Health
Amy Hagopian and Mary Anne Mercer, faculty in the departments of Global Health and Health Services, received the American Public Health Association’s International Health Section Distinguished Service award last November.
For more information about the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, please contact Holly Weese at hweese@u.washington.edu or 206-685-6643.
