News Release

Annual poster day highlights field experiences of students in three SPH departments.

November 10, 2005 press release from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--Nearly 150 second-year MPH students from the University of Michigan School of Public Health shared photos and findings from their summer internships and field experiences at an afternoon poster session on October 31, 2005. Three of the school's five academic departments hosted the event at the historic Michigan League Ballroom on the university's central campus. Students, faculty, and members of the public sipped punch, browsed the aisles of posters, and discussed the field work carried out in far corners of the globe, as well as rural and urban areas throughout the United States.

The Department of Epidemiology marked its 15th annual research forum in 2005. "This past summer, our master's students had internship experience throughout the world, investigating outbreaks, collecting and analyzing surveillance data, conducting surveys, developing data collection approaches, and doing laboratory work," explained Research Forum Coordinator and Assistant Research Scientist in Epidemiology Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer. "The posters demonstrate the range of applications for epidemiological methods, the interdisciplinary nature of epidemiological studies, and the often immediate application of study results." The subjects of the students' work ranged from a Neighborhood Study of Risk of Dying from Cardiovascular Disease in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a project on surveillance of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus in Michigan (pictured, with author Steve Cali).

The Department of Environmental Health Sciences built on the success of recent years' poster sessions. The subjects of the students' work ranged from silicosis in Zambian copper miners to healthy eating in Detroit. Students rated the value of their paid and unpaid internships in the departmental abstract booklet; students also voted on their favorite presentations. Faculty members formally evaluated each poster, and nominal cash awards were given for two presentations: to Michael Cooper (pictured) for Environmental, Health & Safety Potpourri and to Gerald Houvener for Environmental Health & Safety at the World's Largest Pharmaceutical Company. "We had a wonderful turnout, fabulous poster displays, and interesting discussions," said EHS Professor Rita Loch-Caruso.

The Department of Health Behavior and Health Education mounted its first field experience poster session this year, with 58 students sharing results of their work. Awards were given to Kurt Christensen for The Genetic Alliance and Kathleen Lawrence for The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS). Said HBHE Department Chair Marc Zimmerman, "It was difficult choosing the winning posters, which is a testament to the hard work the students did presenting their diverse and interesting internship projects."

The UM SPH departments of Biostatistics and Health Management and Policy also facilitate opportunities for real-world work experiences for their students.

Health Management and Policy student Josh Karnes's 2005 'Tsunami Tsummer' reports from relief work in Indonesia
Biostatistics resources

Contact: Terri Mellow, director of communications
Phone: (734) 764-8094
E-mail: twm@umich.edu

Tracy Orr of HBHE did her field work at the Legal Assistance Center in Namibia. She compiled information on rape cases from court registers and created questionnaires for survivors and for interviews she conducted with key informants like nurses, doctors, police, and magistrates. Her poster, which received a departmental honorable mention, was entitled Monitoring the Combating of Rape Act in Namibia.

Epidemiology student Laurie Dixon (above with poster) befriended village children while working last summer in Padre Cocha, near a tributary of the Amazon outside Iquitos, Peru. Her 2005 field work assessed Behavioral Risk Factors and Knowledge Assessment of Leptospirosis in Padre Cocha, Peru.

Courtney Vince of EHS spent summer 2005 teaching about nutrition at Michigan's Ypsilanti Farmers' Market. She and colleagues found that "26.9% of market shoppers report that they intend to increase their consumption of fruits/vegetables after exposure to cooking demonstrations and recipes."