Rama Lakshmi

Special Guest Speaker: Rama Lakshmi – New Delhi
Wednesday May 22, 2013
Time: 12-1pm
Location: MCPH 3013

Rama Lakshmi, MA, is a reporter for The Washington Post (1990-Present) who covers a wide range of issues in India: politics, elections, economic reforms, infrastructure, development, social movements, environmental activism, urban transition, climate change, terrorism, foreign policy, education, health care, skill development, Kashmir, religion, arts, culture and lifestyle. She has extensively covered the Bhopal tragedy – one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, which killed more than 15,274 people after poisonous plumes of chemicals leaked from the Union Carbide factory. She is working on a project of a bus-borne museum that will take the experiences of Bhopal gas victims around the country. Ms. Lakshmi won the 2005 American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Award for best deadline reporting of the Tsunami disaster.

Sponsored by:
The Center for Preparedness Education
The Center for Reducing Health Disparities
The Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health

Lunch will be provided for the first 30 attendees.

Live stream video instructions

Kyriakos S. Markides, PhD

College of Public Health
Maurer Center for Public Health
May 21, 2013 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Alice Schumaker, PhD, MPA, MS and Kendra Schmid, PhD

Faculty Highlights – On May 2, members of the College of Public Health (COPH) Governing Faculty were recognized for notable achievements at the Annual Awards Dinner.

Kendra Schmid, PhD

Dr. Kendra Schmid is the 2013 recipient of the College of Public Health Excellence in Teaching Award, honoring a governing faculty member whose outstanding teaching contributions facilitate the highest levels of student learning. Dr. Schmid is an assistant professor in the COPH Department of Biostatistics. She also serves as the director of the college’s master’s programs and the chair of the college’s Curriculum Committee. Dr. Schmid regularly teaches Biostatistics I, one of the core courses in the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, and has developed and taught several other courses. She guest lectures for many courses and resident programs on campus and serves on numerous MPH capstone and PhD committees.

 Dr. Schmid received a bachelor of science (2001) in mathematics from Chadron State College, and both a master of science (2004) and a doctor of philosophy (2007) in statistics from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She joined UNMC COPH Department of Biostatistics in 2007. In 2011, Dr. Schmid received the Young Investigator Award from the Teaching Statistics in the Health Sciences Section of the American Statistical Association, and in 2013 she was awarded a UNMC Outstanding Teacher Award.

 Dr. Schmid’s research area is statistical shape analysis, and she also provides statistical support to many projects on campus. She serves as the primary statistician for the Biostatistics Shared Resource for Communication Disorders at Boystown National Research Hospital, and has been supported on 19 funded projects, including funding for educational activities. Dr. Schmid is the author of over 20 articles and is a member of numerous professional organizations. She also serves as the Nebraska Chapter Representative to the American Statistical Association.

Alice Schumaker, PhD, MPA, MS

Dr. Alice Schumaker is the 2013 recipient of the College of Public Health Alumni Association Spirit of Service Award in recognition of her dedication to the chapter since its inception. Dr. Schumaker is associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Public Health (COPH) and an associate professor in the Department of Health Services Research and Administration. She serves on the UNMC Graduate Council, Education Council, and Interprofessional Education Curriculum Committee. Additionally, she is active on COPH committees of Curriculum, Doctoral Programs, Student Recruitment and Admissions, and Evaluation, and on the Leadership Council. Statewide, she is involved in the Public Health Association of Nebraska as a board member and as the co-chair of the Education Committee, the Nebraska Public Health Practice-Based Research Network, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Statewide Health Improvement Plan, and the COPH Public Health Practice Council. Dr. Schumaker received the COPH Excellence in Teaching Award in 2010. She is passionate about quality in education and was one of the original founders of the joint UNMC-UNO Master of Public Health Program, and later, the UNMC College of Public Health. For recreation, she enjoys hiking, bicycling, and spending time with her children/grandchildren.

2013 Student Award Winners

Student Highlights – College of Public Health (COPH) students were recognized at the Annual Awards Dinner for receiving competitive scholarships funded by generous donors to the college.

The Carruth J. Wagner, MD, Scholarships in Public Health recognize regularly enrolled, degree-seeking COPH students in good academic standing who clearly identify their career goals, their potential for contributions to the field of public health, and their views of public health challenges, and how their leadership in public health may meet those challenges. This year’s recipients are shown below.

Soumitra Bhuyan, MPH

Soumitra Bhuyan, MPH
Doctoral student in Health Services Research, Administration, and Policy

Soumitra Bhuyan received his MPH degree from Western Kentucky University with an emphasis in health education. His primary research interests include health care workforce, primary care, and patient outcome research. Mr. Bhuyan is currently serving as a student liaison for the Health Administration (HA) Section of the American Public Health Association. He also serves as PhD student representative to the COPH Student Admission and Recruitment Committee and as vice president of the Student Association. 

Guangming Han, MD, PhD

Guangming Han, MD, PhD
Doctoral student in Epidemiology

Dr. Han has both an MD and a PhD in clinical rheumatology and has spent the past several years working in China as a physician in the field of rheumatology. In 2011, he received his master’s degree in biostatistics. Dr. Han became interested in epidemiology because many chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, are preventable by eating a healthy diet, doing sufficient physical activity, and avoiding tobacco. His solid background and research achievements in the biomedical and medical fields, his academic experiences, and his practical skills in biostatistics and epidemiology will help him to achieve his career goal of becoming an epidemiologist specializing in chronic disease.

Janelle Jacobson, MPH, CHES

Janelle Jacobson, MPH, CHES
Doctoral student in Health Services Research, Administration, and Policy

Janelle Jacobson previously worked with both state and local public health departments, which has informed her interest in the implementation of evidence-based public health programming and public health systems and services research. As part of her graduate research assistantship, she is currently working with the Nebraska Public Health Practice-Based Research Network. Her research experience has included the areas of public health workforce, public health accreditation, and implementation of quality improvement in local health departments. Her long-term plans are to gain a position in academia and continue working in translational and implementation research.

Xiaqing Jiang, MD

Xiaqing Jiang, MD
Master of Public Health student in Biostatistics

Xiaqing Jiang finished medical school in Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine in 2012. She has been actively involved in volunteer services since she started medical school. Highlights of her volunteer work include providing social support for children with autoimmune diseases, and using surveys and interviews to report on the quality of health service in Shanghai while she was a medical intern. She enrolled in the UNMC COPH in 2012. As an MPH student in biostatistics, she has continued her volunteer work at UNMC. Examples of Dr. Jiang’s volunteer work include the data analysis project in the 2013 Annual Report on Patient Safety for the Nebraska Coalition for Patient Safety, and the statistical analysis in the BRFSS Analysis Report for the Mexican Latino Population for the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services. She hopes to combine Biostatistics with her medical background to further her research in experimental studies related to minority populations with rare diseases.

Veenu Minhas, PhD

Veenu Minhas, PhD
Master of Public Health student in Epidemiology

Dr. Minhas has a PhD in virology and has been working in the field of viral epidemiology for the past eight years. She has been involved in an epidemiological study to investigate the incidence and transmission of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus in Zambia, Africa. This virus causes Kaposi’s sarcoma and lymphomas in immunosuppressed people, especially in HIV+ patients. Her two trips to Zambia sparked her interest in public health, and upon graduation Dr. Minhas wants to remain engaged in infectious disease epidemiology research.

Muna Sapkota, MPharm

Muna Sapkota, MPharm
Doctoral student in Environmental Health, Occupational Health, and Toxicology 

Muna Sapkota is from Nepal and she received her elementary and high school education from St Mary’s High School. She attended the School of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences at Pokhara University from 2002 to 2006, majoring in pharmacy. She attended the School of Pharmacy at the Catholic University of Daegu, South Korea, from 2008-2010, where she obtained a master of pharmacy degree. In April 2010, she came to the United States as a research scholar at Creighton University. In the fall of 2012, she enrolled as a PhD student in the Environmental Health, Occupational Health, and Toxicology Program. Presently her research is focused on the identification and quantification of malondialdehyde, a component of the oxidative stress caused by cigarette smoke inhalation and ethanol consumption. After completing her PhD degree, she plans to work as a postdoctoral fellow.

Raees Shaikh, MPH

Raees Shaikh, MPH
Doctoral student in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research

Raees Shaikh is a third-year PhD student in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program in the UNMC COPH. He is native of Aurangabad City, about 200 miles east of Mumbai, in the Maharashtra State of India. He is a registered medical practitioner in India and worked as a physician before coming to the United States for his graduate education. He earned an MPH degree from Missouri State University. He has been living in Omaha for three years with his wife Sumaira and two daughters, Zoya (3) and Zara (1). He is fluent in three additional languages besides English, and next to spending time with his family, his favorite thing to do in his leisure time is to watch sitcoms.

The Chancellor Robert D. Sparks, MD, Pre-professional/Undergraduate Student Scholarship in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention recognizes regularly enrolled University of Nebraska undergraduate students in good academic standing who are majoring in a field related to health promotion and disease prevention. Scholarship awardees have expressed an interest in a career addressing health promotion and disease prevention. These students also have insight into and understanding of careers related to health promotion and disease prevention, with particular attention to the needs of Nebraska and its citizens.

Dylan Zaner

Dylan Zaner
University of Nebraska Omaha College of Education 

Dylan Zaner is a native of Omaha, Nebraska, and a graduate of Burke High School. Currently, he attends the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he is working towards a bachelor of science degree in public health. He is the director of the Gender and Sexual Orientation Agency on campus and serves as an undergraduate research assistant for the Midlands Sexual Health Research Collaborative. In his free time, he likes to write, play sports, and volunteer in the community. After graduation, Dylan plans to pursue a master of public health degree, with a focus on social marketing.

The Chancellor Robert D. Sparks, MD, Public Health Student Research Award recognizes full-time COPH students in good academic standing who are enrolled in a master’s or doctorate program and have defined a public health research project that demonstrates disease prevention and health promotion through public health education, research, and/or practice, with particular attention to the needs of Nebraska and its citizens.

Soumitra Bhuyan, MPH

Soumitra Bhuyan, MPH
Doctoral student in Health Services Research, Administration, and Policy

Soumitra Bhuyan received his MPH degree from Western Kentucky University with an emphasis in health education. His primary research interests include health care workforce, primary care, and patient outcome research. Mr. Bhuyan is currently serving as a student liaison for the Health Administration (HA) Section of the American Public Health Association. He also serves as PhD student representative to the COPH Student Admission and Recruitment Committee and as vice president of the Student Association.

Gleb Haynatzki, PhD, DSc and Chandran Achutan, PhD

Spotlight on Research at COPH – Two members of College of Public Health (COPH) Governing Faculty were recognized for outstanding achievement in research at the Annual Awards Dinner. Competitive prizes were funded by our generous donors and supporters.

Gleb Haynatzki, PhD, DSc

Gleb Haynatzki, PhD, DSc 

Haynatzki is the 2013 recipient of the College of Public Health Faculty Research Award, which recognizes a member of the Governing Faculty whose research contributes to the advancement of public health science and practice, has been published in refereed journals, has received intramural or extramural funding, and has been presented at regional, national, and/or international conferences.

Dr. Haynatzki grew up in Bulgaria, Eastern Europe. He received a doctorate in mathematical sciences from St. K. Ohridski University in Sofia, Bulgaria, and another in statistics and applied probability from the University of California, which was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at McMaster University, Canada. He has worked in the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at St. K. Ohridski University in Sofia, Bulgaria, and was one of the founding faculty members of the American University in Bulgaria in the early 1990s. He served on the faculty at the Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, collaborating on several research initiatives in osteoporosis, bone biology, violence prevention, hereditary cancer, genetic anticipation in pancreatic cancer, and glaucoma screening. 

Dr. Haynatzki joined the UNMC College of Public Health in July 2008. He is a professor in the Department of Biostatistics, and teaches both beginning level and more advanced, graduate level, biostatistics courses. He works with researchers on campus on the design and analysis of research studies, both designed and observational. These studies range from explaining the causes of health disparities, peripheral artery disease, and pancreatic cancer to Alzheimer’s disease treatment. His statistical methodology work is developing methods for modeling hereditary and sporadic carcinogenesis, and genetic anticipation.

Chandran Achutan, PhD

Chandran Achutan, PhD

Dr. Achutan is the 2013 recipient of the Carruth J. Wagner, MD, Faculty Prize in Public Health, which recognizes a member of the Governing Faculty at the rank of assistant or associate professor who has shown promise in research and service, increases public health awareness, and raises the level of interest in public health careers among students.

Dr. Achutan is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health. He obtained his doctorate in industrial hygiene from the University of Iowa and has extensive expertise in conducting occupational and environmental exposure assessments. His research interests include reducing occupational health disparities. He is a member of the National Council for the Accreditation of Occupational Hearing Conservationists, and has conducted research in occupational noise exposures and hearing loss. Dr. Achutan was awarded an R01 grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to evaluate an intervention designed to protect agricultural workers’ hearing. Dr. Achutan teaches the Environmental Exposure Assessment course, and co-teaches the Public Health Environment and Society course, online. He is interested in combining didactic instruction with hands-on experience for students.

The Honorable John Cavanaugh

Public Health in the Community – The Honorable John Cavanaugh received the 2013 Chancellor Robert D. Sparks, MD, Award in Public Health and Preventive Medicine, in recognition of his distinguished collaboration in advancing effective approaches to preventing disease and promoting health through public health education, research, and practice.

John Cavanaugh is the executive director of Building Bright Futures and a fourth generation Nebraskan. A lawyer by profession and a graduate of the Creighton University School of Law (1972), John was elected to the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature in 1972 and was elected to the United States House of Representatives from the Second District in Nebraska in 1976, where he served until 1981. 

Among his civic activities, Mr. Cavanaugh served for 20 years as a trustee of the Platte River Whooping Crane Habitat Trust and received a Presidential appointment as chairman of the Czech and Slovak American Enterprise Fund. John Cavanaugh currently serves on the Board of Directors of Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs. Cavanaugh and his wife Kathleen have eight children.

The College of Public Health Spring Gala was held on April 6, 2013 at the Joslyn Art Museum.  The gala was a celebration of National Public Health Week with community friends of the college, faculty and staff. 

UNMC Distinguished Scientist award ceremony

On April 30, 2013, six members of the College of Public Health faculty received awards recognizing their scientific research and funding success.

The UNMC Distinguished Scientist award — which is sponsored by the chancellor — recognizes researchers who have been among the most productive scientists in the country during the past five years.

This year’s award recipients are:

• Gleb Haynatzki, Ph.D., DSc, Professor – Department of Biostatistics
• Terry Huang, Ph.D., MPH, CPH, Professor and Chair – Department of Health Promotion and Social Behavioral Health
• Risto Rautiainen, Ph.D., Associate Professor – Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health
• Mohammad Siahpush, Ph.D., Professor – Department of Health Promotion and Social Behavioral Health

The UNMC New Investigator awards go to outstanding UNMC scientists who in the past two years have secured their first funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense or other national sources. New Investigators also had to demonstrate scholarly activity such as publishing their research and/or presenting their findings at national conventions.

This year’s recipients are:

• Ashish Joshi, M.D., MD, MPH, Assistant Professor – Department of Health Services Research and Administration
• James Stimpson, Ph.D., Associate Professor – Department of Health Services Research and Administration

Dr. Ashish Joshi, Dean Ayman El Mohandes and Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, MD

Dr. Mohammad Siahpush, Dr. Sergio Costa, Dr. Terry Huang and COPH Dean Ayman El Mohandes

Elizabeth Lyden, MS

Faculty Highlight – Ms. Elizabeth Lyden teaches Introduction to SAS Programming. This course introduces students to programming for statistical and epidemiologic analysis using the SAS Software System. It is an interactive course taught in the COPH computer lab that focuses on data management and data processing skills, as well as statistical analysis and graphical presentations, all of which are useful to public health professionals. Since 2007, Ms. Lyden has served on two-to-three student capstone committees each year, and in addition, provides SPSS and SAS consultation to students analyzing data for their capstone projects.

Ms. Lyden has been an assistant statistician for the Children’s Oncology Group since 2000 and works closely with Dr. Jim Anderson on the analysis of clinical trials related to pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). She has co-authored 15 articles on RMS. Ms. Lyden is a member of the Center for Collaboration on Research Design and Analysis, through which she provides statistical collaboration to researchers at UNMC. Specifically, she provides consultation, data analysis, and manuscript review for physicians and researchers in infectious disease, orthopedics, neonatology, diabetes, and solid organ transplant. Her particular interest is analyzing data related to solid organ transplant. She frequently looks at predictors of graft and patient survival using time to event analysis.

Ms. Lyden is a member of the COPH Communication Task Force, a strategic planning subcommittee. She has served on the Carruth J. Wagner, MD, Scholarship in Public Health Award Committee. She was a participant in panel discussions of careers in mathematics at Dana College. She also has worked as an instructor of statistics to middle school teachers as part of a National Science Foundation grant.

Elizabeth Lyden, MS, is a statistical coordinator and instructor in the UNMC COPH Department of Biostatistics.

Jiali Zheng

Student Highlight — Jiali Zheng is an MPH student in the biostatistics concentration. She is from mainland China and is currently in her last semester. Jiali received a bachelor of science degree in nutrition science from Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, China. During her four-year undergraduate study in medical school, she was not only exposed to medical and nutritional knowledge, but also developed an interest in the area of public health, especially in biostatistics and epidemiology. At that time, she wanted to be actively involved in disease prevention and control. She embraced a noble goal: to reduce the burden of disease and the need for hospital care through preventive action in the world. Jiali wants to see a world where fewer people resort to expensive hospital care where and when it can be prevented.

Jiali decided to study biostatistics because statistical methods are integral to understanding what is useful, what works, where possibilities may exist, and more. We could never understand disease trends or the impact of risk factors without the rich tools we use in statistical analysis. In the second year of her MPH studies, Jiali learned and gained experience in many of her biostatistics courses. The cases and examples that were used are very much relevant today and are the kind of challenges that would emerge in the real world. She believes that her experience in this program has equipped her with the skills and knowledge that will make for a successful and gratifying career in biostatistics. She particularly applauds the use of data sets and examples in a global context, not relevant to only the United States.

Jiali has built long lasting relationships in the College of Public Health. She likes the faculty and her peers and appreciates the warm, friendly, and open environment in the college. Jiali likes the positive atmosphere and helpful attitude faculty have towards students. She received a lot of helpful suggestions and guidance from instructors. Jiali worked one semester as a research assistant and another semester as a teaching assistant. After she graduates, she plans to pursue a PhD degree in nutrition epidemiology, which is an area that will combine her undergraduate and graduate background and focus on what we consume everyday and the impact of those dietary decisions on health status.