American Statistical Association webinar, 5/23

Following the recent publication of a special issue of The American Statistician on “Statistical Inference in the 21st Century: A World Beyond p< 0.05” that features 43 papers on alternatives to p-values, the National Institute of Statistical Sciences is inviting you to a free webinar that provides a synopsis of the alternative ideas covered in the special issue and encourages additional discussions around this important topic.

The webinar will be held on Thursday May 23, 12-2pm ET (9-11am PT). Following is lineup of the speakers for the webinar (all times are ET).

12:00 Esra Kurum, (University of California, Riverside)
Introductions and moderator guidelines

12:05 Nicole Lazar, (University of Georgia)
“History of the topic and the motivation for American Statistical Association’s and The American Statistician’s involvement in
this topic”

12:25 Daniel Jeske, (University of California, Riverside)
“Overview of some of the technical matter found in some of the alternatives found in the special issue of The American
Statistician.”

12:55 Jessica Utts, (University of California, Irvine)
“How we might teach and influence inter–disciplinary collaborations”

1:15 Nell Sedransk, (Director-DC, National Institute of Statistical Science)
“Translation to other contexts: social science and big data research”

1:30 Q & A with the audience and speakers
Moderated by Esra Kurum

The webinar will use Zoom and is free to the public. Please register for this event HERE.

Summer Practicum with Georgia Department of Public Health

**Unpaid Summer Internship**

The Georgia Department of Public Health is seeking qualified candidates to work with the Enteric Disease and Emerging Infections Program Team, under the Acute Disease Epidemiology Section.

This Intern position is 10 – 40 hours/week or less (part-time) for the Summer semester. The Intern position can be used to satisfy college credit or practicum hours.

Job Description:

The Georgia Department of Public Health is looking for a current MPH student to assist in patient interviewing, data entry, data collection, data management, medical chart reviews, and other clerical work. The position includes calling cases and controls to conduct interviews related to communicable disease surveillance, special studies, and outbreaks during weekday, weeknight, and weekend hours. Data entry and management responsibilities will include using various databases, such as Excel, Access, and the Georgia electronic notifiable disease system. Although the person filling this position will have the opportunity to learn about notifiable disease surveillance in general, the focus will be following up on reportable enteric disease cases, such as cases of Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, Listeria, Vibrio, Yersinia, Cryptosporidium, and Cyclospora, as well as surveillance duties for invasive bacterial diseases under the Emerging Infections Program.

As part of a practicum experience, the student will:

1. Gain an understanding of how notifiable disease surveillance functions.

2. Understand how outbreak investigations are conducted.

3. Have an opportunity to analyze notifiable disease surveillance, study, and/or outbreak data.

Agency:

The Georgia Department of Public Health is the lead agency entrusted by the people of the state of Georgia with the ultimate responsibility for the health of communities and the entire population.

Goal:

Prevent disease, injury and disability; promote health and well-being; prepare for and respond to disasters.

Minimum Qualification:

Proficiency in Microsoft Office

Preferred Qualification:

Experience conducting interviews

Location:

2 Peachtree St NW, Atlanta GA 30303

If interested or if you have questions, please contact Hope Dishman (Hope [dot] Dishman [at] dph [dot] ga [dot] gov) or Nadine Oosmanally (Nadine [dot] Oosmanally [at] dph [dot] ga [dot] gov)

Volunteer for DataFest, 4/5-4/7

The workshops focus on using Python and R for data cleaning and visualization. QTM has kindly offered to let some of our students sit in on those tech workshops. Since the workshops are meant for undergraduates participating in DataFest, the team organizing the event has asked that if we enroll in any of those workshops, we also sign up for a ~2-4 hour volunteer shift during Datafest.

If you plan to attend any of those workshops, please sign up through the links above.

How to Network

Networking can be difficult, especially if you are introverted or intimidated by the role of someone with whom you’d like to connect professionally. Here are some things I have learned during my time at Rollins:

1 Approach every networking event as an opportunity to have a conversation. I remember Rodger mentioning this at a workshop I attended. There are many areas in public health and having this flexible mindset helps you to learn about areas you weren’t as familiar about while also helping you to be more relaxed when you talk to a giant in your field.

2 Start networking early (before you are looking for a practicum or full-time job). You never know what opportunities will be available and sometimes you’re just in the right place at the right time. Even if someone isn’t in your topic area, their network could inform them of a great opportunity you’d be interested in.

3 Take advantage of the events Rollins holds for mock interviews etc. I have come out of these events with 1-2 people to follow-up with and it always helps to have feedback on interviewing skills.

4 Never dismiss anyone as unimportant. Public health is a small collaborative field. The person overhearing your conversation in the elevator might just be your supervisor one day.

Other steps you can take to network:

Join the LinkedIn Rollins Alumni Group: Emory University — Rollins School of Public Health Alumni Association

Attend CDA workshops: CDA LinkedIn Workshop (4/10, 12 pm – 1 pm)

Emergency Preparedness & Outbreak Response Networking Night, 4/4

Join SORT, HERT and EPSNA for Emergency Preparedness and Outbreak Response Networking Night April 4th. Please RSVP in handshake if you plan to attend.

Introduction to Literature Review Workshop, 4/8

Delta Omega is sponsoring a literature review workshop on Monday, April 8^th from 12:00-12:50pm.  Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

RISE Mini Grant Program

Are you interested in receiving funds for research or conference travel or dissemination/ training? Apply to the RISE Mini-Grant Program for financial support for research and training opportunities.

2019 Public Health Ethics Forum, Abstracts due 3/15

Ethical Dilemmas in Child and Adolescent Health

Friday, April 26, 2019

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Tom Harkin Global Communications Center

1600 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30333 USA

Graduate Student Poster Contest

Call for Poster Abstracts

Submission deadline: March 15, 2019

Since 2015, the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University and the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have co-hosted the annual Public Health Ethics Forum on CDC’s main campus. The initial forum commemorated the 100th anniversary of the creation of National Negro Health Week by Dr. Booker T. Washington – founding president of, then, Tuskegee Institute. This year, the forum will examine ethical issues that must address planning and implementing public health programs intending to improve health outcomes for children and adolescents – particularly among minority populations.

There are documented disparities in child and adolescent health, such as racial/ethnic disparities in the prevalence of pediatric obesity, cancer mortality rates, and injury deaths from motor vehicle crashes, firearms, and suffocation. Structural and other barriers contribute to these disparities, and perceived inaction to address them gives rise to public concerns of tolerance for largely preventable health inequities. The 2019 Public Health Ethics Forum will bring these and other structural ethical dilemmas to the forefront and will identify practical ways that public health practitioners can engage with other sectors to advance health equity for children and adolescents.

Students who are enrolled in graduate-level schools and programs with majors or concentrations in public health, public policy, education, criminal justice, social work, psychology and any major that provides a relevant frame for analyzing ethical issues for child and adolescent health are invited to submit an abstract describing research they are conducting and that can be presented in a poster format. The content of the abstract should focus on ethical issues that underlie the delivery of public health programs focused on children and adolescents who are members of minority populations. The abstract can focus on topics including, but not limited to, the following: contextual factors, SES, nutrition (e.g., food insecurity, access to healthy foods), factors in the social and physical environment that create barriers to healthy lifestyles and choices, cultural

influences, geography (rural vs. urban), generational change, social determinants of health (e.g., exposure to drugs, gangs, etc.), technology (e.g., the digital divide), access to health care, acceptance, surveillance, (mis)trust in providers and systems, fairness, as well as adverse childhood experiences. The abstract/poster content is not limited to initial or first time offerings and can include content previously presented at other local, state, or national conferences. Because of limited resources, CDC cannot provide the cost of travel and accommodations for participants who will be participating in the 2019 Public Health Ethics Forum. There will be no registration fees required for the summit activities. We are in the process of reserving a block of rooms at a hotel for forum participants.

Abstract Requirements

The abstract should be in MS Word, double-spaced, 12 point font Times New Roman. All abstracts must follow the structured format below:

* Background: Study objectives, hypothesis, or a description of the problem;

* Methodology: Study design, including a description of participants, procedures, measures, and appropriate statistical analyses;

* Results: Specific results in summary form; and

* Conclusions: Description of the main outcome of the study or the intended outcome with supporting data.

Abstracts are limited to a maximum of 275 words, including subheadings. Author(s) must provide 4 to 6 descriptive keywords. All abstracts will be peer reviewed and should be clearly written, well structured, error free, in an appropriate format, and formal scientific tone. Notification of the abstract review status will be sent by March 22, 2019. Ten (10) abstracts will be accepted for a poster presentation. Submission of an abstract is considered acknowledgement that if accepted, the author will register for and attend the 2019 Public Health Ethics Forum to present the poster. While faculty members and professionals may serve as advisors to the students as they are preparing their abstract/paper, faculty members and professionals may not serve as co-authors. We are asking that only students serve as authors and co-authors. CDC and Tuskegee University researchers and practitioners, as well as forum presenters and the top three poster abstract winners will be encouraged to submit a paper for publication in the Journal of Healthcare, Science and the Humanities.

Abstracts must be submitted as an email attachment to: keh2 [at] cdc [dot] gov by Friday, March 15, 2019 by 5:00 PM EST. Any questions related to the Call for Abstracts should be directed to Dr. Karen Bouye at keh2 [at] cdc [dot] gov or by phone at 770-488-8199.

Epi Mock Interview Wrap-up

We had a great EPI Mock Interview and Networking Night last month and heard from students that feedback about the S.T.A.R. Method of responding to questions was very helpful.

The S.T.A.R. Method is a way of answering resume-based interview questions that provides interviewers with clear, concrete and concise answers. Interview questions that are answered in the S.T.A.R. Method get to the heart of what a candidate ACTUALLY did in a previous work experience.

Use the S.T.A.R. Method to frame your responses to most behavioral-based interview questions:

Situation – Describe the situation in detail while being concise and straightforward. Make sure to give enough detail so that the interviewer can understand the situation at hand. Pretend you’re talking to a friend – don’t start in the middle of the story. And don’t assume they’ve read your resume.

Task – Detail what your task or obstacle was (even in a group setting).

Action – Detail what your actions were to complete the task or overcome the obstacle.

Result – Detail what the result of your action was and the outcome of the situation

For more information about interviewing, look at the Office of Career Development’s Interview Prep Guide.

Research Coordinator Position

Sumner Lab, University of California, Los Angeles

An experienced, independent, and highly organized individual is sought for a full-time Research Coordinator position in the Sumner laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Psychology Department, run by Jennifer Sumner, PhD. The position will begin in summer 2019 (ideally August). Our research examines how the experiences of stress and trauma relate to accelerated aging and risk for chronic disease. Most of our studies are focused on identifying the psychological and biological mechanisms linking stress and trauma with disease risk.

Under the supervision of Dr. Sumner, the individual in this position will be involved in managing an active research lab with several grants and participate in many aspects of the research process, including recruitment of research participants, development and maintenance of a database for participant recruitment and tracking, preparation and submission of IRB applications, data collection using a variety of modalities, supervision of volunteer research assistants, and data management. These duties will primarily focus on a study examining key dimensions of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in trauma-exposed individuals and how they relate to early markers of cardiovascular risk. Data collection for this research involves acquisition of psychophysiology and eye tracking data, along with assessments of trauma exposure, mental health, and cardiovascular health and biomarkers.

Duties and Responsibilities:

* Prepare and submit IRB applications

* Recruit participants

* Develop and maintain databases for participant recruitment and tracking

* Collect data from participants across multiple levels of analysis, including trauma exposure and mental health assessments, psychophysiology, eye tracking, and cardiovascular health assessments

* Oversee collection and storage of biological samples for biomarker assays

* Supervise a team of research assistants in data collection and data management

* Manage, clean, and organize data for analysis

Qualifications:

* Bachelor’s degree in a relevant academic area (e.g., psychology, neuroscience)

* Experience working or volunteering in research lab settings

* Experience with data management and analysis is preferred

Please contact lab coordinator, Jacob Julian, for details on how to apply: jej11190 [at] gmail [dot] com