IPHG News
November 13, 2009: Drs. Holly Tabor and Yvonne Lin have joined the IPHG as associated faculty members. Dr Tabor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Division of Bioethics at the UW and the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's Hospital. Dr. Lin is an Acting Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics in the UW School of Pharmacy and her research focuses on metabolomics.
October 16, 2009: The annual IPHG welcome dinner was a great success today. More than 40 students, faculty, staff, partners, and children attended this potluck event at Melissa Austin's house in north Seattle. There was an abundance of wonderful food and a fun time was had by all, continuing this long-standing IPHG tradition.
September 28, 2009: The IPHG core faculty held a half day curriculum retreat today at the Mountaineeers Building on Sandpoint Way in North Seattle. The goals of the retreat were to 1) Review and refine the learning objectives for the MPH and Ph.D. programs; 2) Consider curriculum revisions to insure courses are aligned with the learning objectives; and 3) Develop action items and follow-up activities. All of the core faculty attended, along with the student representatives, Amy Paul and Jonathan Kocarnik. There were lively discussions, and more information will follow about proposed changes to the curriculum.
September 24, 2009: The IPHG welcomed its incoming class of 12 new students at orientation this morning. The 2009 class includes 6 new MPH students, 3 new Ph.D. students, and 3 new MS in Genetic Epidemiology students. Melissa Austin, Director of the IPHG, described the history and organization of our interdisciplinary degree programs, the new students introduced themselves, and Barb Snyder, IPHG Student Advisor, provided practical information for the new students. Finally, Kevin Schuda, IPHG Manager, took photos for the annual new student directory and poster. Welcome new students!
August 12, 2009: Catharine Riley, MPH, passed the Ph.D. general examination today. Her dissertation project is "Newborn Screening and False Positives: Science, Policies, and People". Her dissertation supervisory committee members are: Cindy Watts (Chair, IPHG and Health Services), Wylie Burke (IPHG and Bioethics & Humanities), Barbara McGrath (IPHG and Nursing), Bobbi Berkowitz (GSR, Nursing).
August 3, 2009: Grace Wang, MPH, successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation in Public Health Genetics today. The title of her dissertation was "Health care transitions among youth with disabilities aging into adulthood: an ecological approach." Her dissertation committee was chaired by APC member Carolyn Watts (IPHG and Health Services). The other committee members were Barbara McGrath (IPHG and Nursing), David Grembowski (Health Services), and the GSR was B. Dudgeon (Rehabilitation Medicine). During this past year, Grace has published 3 peer-reviewed publications with members of her dissertation committee, and has given oral or poster presentations at four national meetings, including the American Public Health Association Annual meeting. Next year, Grace will be a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Center for Translational and Policy Research on Personalized Medicine (TRANSPERS) in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the UC San Francisco.
July 9, 2009: Ulrike "Riki" Peters, IPHG Auxiliary Faculty Member, has been awarded the 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor given by the U.S. Government to early career scientists. Since 1996 the annual PECASE awards have honored the 100 most promising young researchers in the United States whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for strengthening America's leadership in science. The award receipients will be honored in a ceremony this fall at the White House. A nutritional and genetic epidemiologist, Riki studies the link between nutrition and cancer prevention, particularly how the interplay of genetics and nutrition can impact cancer risk. Analyzing blood, DNA and tissue samples from large study populations, her work focuses on integrating genetic and molecular methods to better understand the role selenium, vitamin D, calcium and other dietary components may play in preventing prostate and colorectal cancer. Click here to view her Auxiliary Faculty Profile...
May 29, 2009: The site visit for the 5-year review of the M.S. degree in Genetic Epidemiology was successfully completed with participation from faculty, students, and staff of the program. The review team, Dr. Betty Galluci from the UW School of Nursing and Dr. James Pankow from the University of Minnesota, will submit their report by the end of June. The program will then have a month to respond to their recommendations before the report is presented to the UW Graduate School Council in the fall.
May 27, 2009: Review of Ph.D. program complete: Jerry Baldasty, Dean of the UW Graduate School, submitted his letter summarizing this review to Provost Phyllis Wise today. The letter recommends that "... the program be reviewed again in 10 years and should be commended for its leadership and success both within the UW and internationally," and concludes with "The striking quality and success of the IPHG should make it a model for other interdisciplinary program across campus." Click here to read more...
May 15, 2009: Dr. Grace John-Stewart joins IPHG Auxiliary Faculty: At its meeting today, the IPHG Academic Program Committee approved Dr. John-Stewart, Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, as an Auxiliary Faculty member. Dr. John-Stewart, whose research includes studies of genetic correlates of HIV-1 transmission, plans to serve as chair of Kristin Beima's dissertation committee. Click here to view her Auxiliary Faculty Profile...
April 14, 2009: On April 2nd, seven prospective IPHG students for fall 2009 enrollment visited the UW to attend the School of Public Health luncheon. It was a great opportunity for attendees to meet other prospective students and hear Pat Wahl, Dean of the School of Public Health, talk about the UW SPH. Afterwards, prospective MPH and PhD students met with the IPHG Director, Melissa Austin, followed by a meeting with current students. Prospective MSGE students met with the MSGE Director, Karen Edwards. Some visitors also attended the UW GO-MAP Prospective Student Days events on April 2 and 3. As the 2009 admissions cycle rolls to an end we are very pleased. We will probably have a total of around 13-14 outstanding new students enrolling in the three degree programs (approximately 7 MPH, 3 PhD, and 3 MSGE) this coming fall. Welcome!
March 6, 2009: The review recommended "continuing status" of the Ph.D. degree with the next review in 10 years. In its written report, the internal reviewers described our Ph.D. program as "an innovative interdisciplinary program that is the first of its kind in the world...this forward looking program has revealed itself to be exceptionally strong...an inspiring model for other interdisciplinary programs." The external reviewer remarked that "Training in PHG is urgently needed...the UW program has superb and internationally known faculty...the quality of PHG training is remarkable...the students are strong and academically diverse." These documents, the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) report, and the IPHG response to the review are available at http://depts.washington.edu/phgen/degreeprograms/Grad_School_Review.shtml. The final step in the review process, discussion by the Graduate School Council, will take place in the next few months.
February 6, 2009: IPHG Ph.D. review site visit was a great success! On January 8-9, 2009, the UW Graduate School conducted its 5-year review of the Ph.D. program in Public Health Genetics, resulting in a recommendation that the degree be granted "continuing status" with the next review in 10 years....read more... The review committee was chaired by Dr. Sandra Bajjalieh (Professor, UW Pharmacology), and included Dr. Kathleen Woodward (Director, UW Simpson Center for the Humanities and Professor of English) and Dr. Muin Khoury (Director of the Office of Public Health Genomics, CDC, Atlanta). The site visit included interviews with faculty, students, alumni, advisory board members, and administrators.
In the written report, the internal reviewers described our Ph.D. program as "an innovative interdisciplinary program that is the first of its kind in the world...this forward looking program has revealed itself to be exceptionally strong...an inspiring model for other interdisciplinary programs." The external reviewer remarked that "Training in PHG is urgently needed...the UW program has superb and internationally known faculty...the quality of PHG training is remarkable...the students are strong and academically diverse."
All review documents are available at http://depts.washington.edu/phgen/degreeprograms/Grad_School_Review.shtml
January 12, 2009: Catharine Riley's Public Health Funding Experience:
As part of a seminar course taught in the School of Social Work last quarter, I became interested in an advocacy effort to save local public health funding, in particular the $19.5 million budget cuts that were being proposed for the King County Department of Public Health. The issue of public health funding surfaced in light of a huge budget crisis facing King County and other counties in Washington, as well as the $6 billion budget deficit the state of Washington will tackle in this upcoming legislative session.
At the time I became engaged in the public health funding advocacy effort, King County was facing program and services cuts in the following areas: Public Health Centers and Family Planning Centers, Public Health Laboratory services, Communicable Disease Program investigation and control activities, Immunization services, Tuberculosis Program prevention activities, Child Care Health Program services, Emergency Medical Services, Medical Examiner's Office, Zoonotic Disease program and the Drinking Water Program.1 All of the programs and services in danger of being cut are basic and essential public health services and part of the web of programs that together improve the public's health. These are not extraneous programs; they are foundational to a solid public health system.
I was, and continue to be, concerned about the negative consequences of a weakened local public health infrastructure. I wanted to speak out about my concerns. On November 10, 2008, I testified before the King County Council. I was one of 101 people to testify that day. The experience was both educational and invigorating. Although I wondered how the King County Council members could hear my voice among the 101 others they heard that day, it was exciting to be part of the process.
This issue now resides at the state level. In an effort to find a solution to the public health budget crisis, the King County Board of Health has recommended several strategies for securing a designated public health funding source. During this process I also had the opportunity to meet with a member of the King County Board of Health, which for me was an important part of the educational process. More education and advocacy will be necessary to make sure that local public health departments are adequately funded to provide the necessary and essential public health services. I hope to be part of the larger advocacy effort on this issue across the state.
November 14-16, 2008: The Consortium consists of ten major research universities, both public and private, who joined together in 2007 to identify the barriers to interdisciplinary activity and to share strategies that work. The consortium is led by the University of Minnesota who developed surveys in each of eight "function areas" related to interdisciplinarity, including development and fund raising, finance and budget, space and capital planning, collaborative technologies, equity and diversity, academic administration and governance, research, and education and training. The participating universities all completed the surveys during past year. The purpose of the conference was to share and summarize the findings, and to identify next steps.
November 3, 2008: The Self-Study for 5 year review of the Ph.D. program was submitted to the Graduate School. Site visits are scheduled for January 8th and 9th of 2009.
October 22, 2008: Following the Genome Canada International Conference this week, IPHG core faculty members Wylie Burke and Melissa Austin will meet this week with Canadian colleagues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC to explore a possible U.S./Canada collaboration on public health genomics curriculum
October 15, 2008: The IPHG advisory board met with the faculty and student representatives. The board is chaired by Dean Patricia Wahl and is composed of Deans, Department Chairs, and representative from collaborating institutions and agencies. Following introductions and information on the incoming IPHG students, Dr. Austin presented a summary of the "self study" report to be submitted to the UW Graduate School for continuing approval of the Ph.D. program. The Board endorsed the report, and provided valuable feedback about future directions and strategic planning for the IPHG.
September, 2008: IPHG welcomes the new incoming class of MPH, MS, and Ph.D. students. This year there are 4 new PH.D. students, 7 MPH students, and 1 MS student.
August 12, 2008: Anne-Marie LaBerge successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation "Clinical Practice Guidelines and Their Impact on the Use of Genetic Tests in Practice and on the Definition of the Standard of Care". This fall, Anne-Marie will join the faculty at Hospital Sainte-Justine in Montreal, Canada. Dissertation Committee Members: Wiley Burke (Chair, IPHG and Bioethics & Humanities), Patricia Kuszler (IPHG and Law), Bruce Psaty (Epidemiology and Medicine), Helene Starks (Bioethics & Humanities), Thomas Lumley (GSR, Biostatistics).