News & Events

Sharon Medcalf, MEd

Faculty Highlight – Sharon Medcalf was instrumental in the establishment of the College of Public Health’s new programs in emergency preparedness. She developed four core courses for the professional certificate and master of science programs and directs two of the courses each semester. She is pleased to observe a growth in enrollment of students who recognize the importance of a basic understanding of this field, in preparation for their careers in the health care arena. Ms. Medcalf is currently in the process of converting all… Continue Reading

Saad Alshahrani, MD

Student Highlight – Dr. Saad Alshahrani graduated from King Faisal University Medical School in Saudi Arabia in 2004. As a new graduate, Dr. Alshahrani was full of enthusiasm to practice medicine. He worked as a general practitioner in King Abdulaziz Hospital in Dhahran City, working closely with the management in the area of health and fitness. From that time, he began to think deeply about the health status of his community. He found that although Saudi Arabia had many modern hospitals with advanced technology, common… Continue Reading

Gleb Haynatzki, PhD: Developing Statistical Models for Disease to Prevent, Treat, and Improve Quality of Life at the Individual and Population Level

Spotlight on Research at COPH – Dr. Haynatzki’s research focuses on developing statistical models for disease to prevent, treat, and improve the quality of life in individuals and whole populations. Statistical modeling is currently the most accepted approach to modeling random phenomena that are studied in the biomedical and population health sciences. Dr. Haynatzki’s past research was focused on osteoporosis, bone biology, violence prevention, and glaucoma screening. He currently works with researchers on the UNMC campus on the design and analysis of research studies, both… Continue Reading

Do JuSTIce

Public Health Community Advisory – Men’s Health Month each June is celebrated across the country with screenings, health fairs, media appearances, and other health education and outreach activities (http://www.menshealthmonth.org/). National HIV Testing Day is on June 27. One in five people living with HIV in the U.S. don’t know they have it. National HIV Testing Day raises awareness about how people can take the test and take control (http://healthfinder.gov/NHO/PDFs/JuneNHOToolkit.pdf). Locally in Nebraska, Do JuSTIce (which stands for Douglas County Jail Uniting with Students to Impact… Continue Reading

Gluten and Health

Public Health in the National News – The relationship between gluten and health is currently receiving quite a bit of attention. Gluten is a major storage protein component in wheat, rye, and barley. Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease triggered by ingestion of gluten. It is estimated that 1% of the population in the United States is affected by CD. In this disease, the immune system reacts to gluten by attacking the lining of the small intestine (villi) in genetically susceptible individuals, leading to… Continue Reading

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