Dozens of University of Michigan School of Public Health faculty, students, and alumni made presentations and received honors at the 2002 American Public Health Association annual meeting in Philadelphia Nov. 9-13.  A complete listing of presenters and topics can be found at http://www.sph.umich.edu/news_events/apha.pdf. Reporters interested in interviewing a UM SPH presenter should contact Terri Mellow at 734-355-9604. Some highlights from presentations included:

• Harold Neighbors talked about race differences in the diagnosis of mood disorders. While many have inferred misdiagnosis because African-Americans are less likely than European Americans to be diagnosed with major depression or manic episode, Neighbors finds African-Americans are less likely to receive a diagnosis of a manic episode even under more controlled research interviewing conditions. Race of clinician has no effect on these patterns. Neighbors’ faculty profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=woodyn

• Sharon Kardia presented on family history and coronary heart disease. A family history of coronary heart disease is a significant predictor of the disease, even after controlling for an individual’s personal risk factors including hypertension or smoking. Kardia discussed how to best understand family risk for heart disease and to use that in prevention strategies. Kardia’s faculty profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=skardia

• Richard Lichtenstein addressed barriers to health insurance coverage to low-income African-American children and their caregivers in Detroit. He reported on a series of focus groups examining why so many eligible children are not enrolled in Medicaid, and a new project designed to reduce the barriers. Lichtenstein’s faculty profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=lichto

• Julie Berson-Grand discussed the applicability of tobacco prevention and control strategies in combating the U.S. adolescent obesity epidemic. She discussed the political and social forces behind successful tobacco prevention policies and the tobacco industry lawsuits, comparing and contrasting tobacco and obesity prevention. Berson-Grand is a doctoral student in health management and policy.

U-M faculty and students also made presentations related to asthma research, including the Community Action Against Asthma household environmental intervention, using a community-based approach to assess health status, and gender-related problems for women with asthma. Others presented on topics from teen smoking to HIV risk factors, from outcomes of a telemedicine experiment in South Africa to debt financing in nonprofit hospitals.

Other highlights of the meeting of interest to University of Michigan School of Public Health faculty, students, and alumni included:

The APHA Mortimer Spiegelman Award (for outstanding biostatistician under the age of 40) was presented to Xihong Lin, UM professor of biostatistics. Earlier this year, Lin also received the American Statistical Association's Noether Young Scholar award, and she was named to a three-year term as editor of the international journal Biometrics, beginning January 2003.  Lin's faculty profile: http://www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=xlin

An APHA Epidemiology Section Student Award (one of five presented) went to UM SPH doctorate candidate Kathleen Bainbridge, MPH. Her paper was co-authored with UM SPH professor MaryFran Sowers, PhD, and addressed the development of a risk instrument for low pre- and perimenopausal bone mineral density.

Special Session in Honor of Recently Deceased Past Presidents of APHA recognized Eugene Feingold of the University of Michigan School of Public Health (see http://www.sph.umich.edu/news_events/53press.html ) and Senator Paul Wellstone. The topic was "Bioterrorism and Universal Healthcare: Where the Rubber Hits the Road."  

Contact: Terri Mellow
Phone: 734-355-9604
E-mail: twm@umich.edu

© 2002 The Regents of the University of Michigan
Updated November 18, 2002