CSDE-news Bulletin

November 20, 2007

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CSDE WEEKLY SEMINAR: No seminar -- UW holiday
CSDE ANNOUNCEMENTS: CSDE's Small Grant deadline is December 1st
CSDE AFFILIATE & FELLOW NEWS: Jennifer Stuber and Brian Flaherty -- New course offering, Health Disparities: The Case of Tobacco
CAMPUS SEMINARS & EVENTS OF INTEREST: TODAY: Special Epi and Global Health Seminar -- Robert Fontaine; Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences Seminar -- Ivan Jeliazkov
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES: NIH New Innovator Award Program in biomedical and behavioral research
TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Postdoctoral Position, Department of Geography -- University of Iowa; Postdoctoral Researcher -- Princeton University Office of Population Research; NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship -- Princeton University Office of Population Research; Assistant Professor in Maternal and Child Health -- UC Berkeley, School of Public Health; Research Associate -- CARTA, The Center for Applied Research & Technical Assistance; Developmental Psychology/Human Development -- National Children's Study, NICHD
OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST: Catalyst Web Tools -- regularly scheduled downtime, new releases, and non-UW access; The Population Reference Bureau has added new content to its website; Med 560 Advanced Topics in Global Health; Chronicle of Higher Education article on the rise of Global Health Programs

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CSDE WEEKLY SEMINAR

No seminar -- UW holiday

CSDE ANNOUNCEMENTS

CSDE's Small Grant deadline is December 1st

CSDE's new small grant program for 2007-08 provides direct support to demography research projects and working group collaborations. This developmental program is supported by our Population Research Infrastructure Program award from NICHD and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Priority for seed grant awards (up to $15,000) will be given to pilot studies and preliminary research by junior faculty and by mid-career faculty who are pursuing new directions in population research. Support for multidisciplinary working groups (up to $5,000) will fund series of meetings or discussions that explore new opportunities for collaboration and new approaches to complex problems. Successful proposals will exhibit outstanding scientific merit, innovation, and a high probability of generating new extramural funding.

Proposals are due on December 1, 2007. For more information, click here.

CSDE AFFILIATE & FELLOW NEWS

Jennifer Stuber and Brian Flaherty -- New course offering, Health Disparities: The Case of Tobacco

Biweekly, Wednesdays 3:30 - 5:20 PM
Winter-Spring Quarter
Location: Soc W 306
Register for Winter 2008 for either Soc W 598, HSERV 590, or PSYCH 550

Prerequisite: Post-doctoral or doctoral students in social work, public health, behavioral sciences or a related discipline; others by permission of instructor.

Maximum Course Enrollment: 20
Credit: 2 credits

This seminar, targeted at faculty, post-doctoral fellows, doctoral students and advanced Master’s students, will introduce multiple disciplinary perspectives on, potential explanations of and interventions for health disparities in tobacco use and tobacco related disease. This course is dually relevant for scholars interested in general health disparities and those interested in tobacco related disparities. Why focus on health disparities in the context of tobacco use and prevention? Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of disease and death in the nation and in Washington (WA) State. Some demographic groups have higher smoking rates than others, and other groups have lower overall smoking rates but suffer disproportionately from tobacco related morbidity and mortality. Demographic groups suffering from tobacco related health disparities include those defined by socioeconomic position, race or ethnicity, disability, geographic location, sexual orientation or gender identity and age.

Local and nationally known scholars in health disparities, such as Tom LaVeist, will serve as discussants. Possible topics include: the development of culturally appropriate interventions and health communications strategies, potential "fundamental causes" (e.g., poverty) of health disparities, policy responses to health disparities, social stress as a cause of health disparities, acculturation processes and health disparities, the biological factors related to health disparities, and protective and resilience factors against high risk health behaviors. Department of Health Tobacco Control staff and community organizations in WA State will be actively engaged as seminar participants.

Questions: Jennifer Stuber PhD, jstuber@u.washington.edu, or Brian Flaherty PhD, bxf4@u.washington.edu

http://depts.washington.edu/tobacco/courses

CAMPUS SEMINARS & EVENTS OF INTEREST

TODAY -- Special Epi and Global Health Seminar -- Robert Fontaine

Dr. Robert Fontaine, Senior Advisor, China FETP will be our speaker. Dr. Fontaine has recently received China's highest honor for his work with the FETP.
"Infectious Disease Control in the Peoples Republic of China: Challenges and Opportunities"

November 20
2:30 - 3:30 PM
Health Sciences Building T-639

The seminar will present the current and past key investigations of the new china Field Epidemiology Training Program and the program overall.

The Peoples Republic of China is home to nearly a fifth of the worlds population. Since the 1980's major economic and social changes have taken place in the Republic. In response to the emergence of SARS in 2003 the government has prioritized epidemic detection, investigation and control. A state of the art surveillance system in realtime now criss crosses the territory and more than 1200 "China CDCs" exist at district, provincial and national level.

The Field Epidemiology Training program seeks to arm new officers with the skills needed for successful field investigations of outbreaks and implementation and monitoring of successful control. To date this elite corps has investigated hundreds of outbreaks. The Director of FETP and the Senior Advisor will present the program and its challenges and successes.

For more information contact Ann Marie Kimball at 206-616-1830.

Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences Seminar -- Ivan Jeliazkov

Ivan Jeliazkov, Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University of California, Irvine
"Estimation of Semiparametric Models in the Presence of Endogeneity and Sample Selection"

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
12:30 - 1:20 PM
Denny 401

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

NIH New Innovator Award Program in biomedical and behavioral research

The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award was created in 2007 to support a small number of new investigators of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative new research approaches that have the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important problems in biomedical and behavioral research. The research proposed need not be in a conventional biomedical or behavioral discipline but must be relevant to the mission of NIH. The New Innovator Awards complement ongoing efforts by NIH and its institutes and centers to fund new investigators through R01 grants, which continue to be the major sources of NIH support for new investigators. Thirty New Innovator Awards were made in 2007.

2008 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program (DP2)
(RFA-RM-08-014)
NIH Roadmap Initiatives
Application Receipt Date(s): March 31, 2008
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-08-014.html

TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Postdoctoral Position, Department of Geography -- University of Iowa

The Department of Geography http://www.uiowa.edu/~geog/ has an opening for a postdoctoral researcher with interests in spatial-temporal autoregressive and spatial-temporal Bayesian hierarchical modeling to work on a NIH funded project that is investigating the short- and long-term health effects of exposure to air pollution. Additional information about the project can be found at: http://jh302-nk-01.iowa.uiowa.edu

Candidates for the position should have expertise in spatial epidemiology and statistics. Programming skills and knowledge of geographic information systems are also required. Applicants should submit a CV and a letter that describes their research background and how their experiences fit the requirements of the position. Also arrange to have three reference letters sent. Emailed applications are acceptable.

Initial appointment will be for one year and can be extended for two additional years, subject to the availability of funds and satisfactory performance. Salary will depend on the experience of the applicant. Review of applications will begin on November 23, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled.

Apply to:
Dr. Naresh Kumar
316 Jessup Hall Department of Geography
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
Tel: (319) 335-0259
Fax: (319) 335-2725
Email: naresh-kumar@uiowa.edu

Postdoctoral Researcher -- Princeton University Office of Population Research

The Office of Population Research, Princeton University, is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to work on a project that examines the biological pathways linking social and economic factors to health among older cohorts in Taiwan.

The candidate should have strong methodological skills and experience in working with large survey data sets.

Appointment is for one-year, with possible renewal, to begin in September 2008. Ph.D. in related discipline required.

Please send letter of application with curriculum vitae, samples of original work, and three letters of reference under separate cover electronically to: ncannuli@princeton.edu (preferred method) or by mail to: Nancy Cannuli, Associate Director, Office of Population Research, Princeton University, 212 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-2091.

Screening of applicants will begin on February 1, 2008 and will continue until position is filled.

See full announcement

NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship -- Princeton University Office of Population Research

The Office of Population Research at Princeton University invites applications for an NIH postdoctoral fellowship.

Candidates must have completed an MD or a PhD in demography, sociology, statistics, or other relevant field before appointment. Holders of NIH fellowships must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Appointment is for one year, with possibility of renewal, and a start date of September 2008.

Please send letter of application, curriculum vitae, 1-3 page projected research plan, writing samples, and appropriate supporting material electronically to Email: ncannuli@princeton.edu (preferred method) or by mail to: Nancy Cannuli, Associate Director, Office of Population Research, Princeton University, 212 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-2091. Three letters of reference should be sent under separate cover.

Screening of applicants will begin on February 1, 2008 and will continue until position is filled.

See full announcement

Assistant Professor in Maternal and Child Health -- UC Berkeley, School of Public Health

The School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, is seeking a new member of the Maternal and Child Health faculty. Candidates must possess strong leadership, teaching, research, and management skills in child or maternal health. The School is particularly interested in candidates who have experience working with students from diverse backgrounds and a demonstrated commitment to improving access to higher education for disadvantaged students. This position is available at the Assistant Professor level beginning Fall 2008.

Qualifications:
Applicants must have a doctoral degree in a social science, epidemiology or other field of public health, biomedical field, or a medical degree, experience in teaching, and demonstrated ability and research interest in MCH.

Applications due December 3, 2007

For full details click here.

Research Associate -- CARTA, The Center for Applied Research & Technical Assistance

CARTA is seeking a full-time Research Associate to assist the Program Director and program staffs in the implementation of the organization’s multiple research projects.

CARTA is a national applied research and technical assistance organization established in 1999. Our mission is to promote the safe and healthy transition of youth to adulthood through research and capacitybuilding of youth-service providers and systems reform. We conduct a wide range of programs and services including demographic and behavioral research on youth development, adolescent health and education disparities, as well as evaluation of youth development and health service programs. In addition, we provide technical assistance workshops and develop resources for youth service providers, and deliver capacity building support activities to community-based organizations to promote social justice and social change.

For full details click here.

Developmental Psychology/Human Development -- National Children's Study, NICHD

NICHD's National Children’'s Study is seeking applicants with expertise in developmental psychology/human development. The basic qualifications are a PhD plus at least a year of additional research experience.

The application deadline is December 14, 2007.

For more information, click here.

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Catalyst Web Tools -- regularly scheduled downtime, new releases, and non-UW access

Regularly Scheduled Catalyst Web Tools Downtime Begins on November 28

In order for system maintenance and software releases to happen as smoothly as possible, the Web Tools will be offline every Wednesday morning from 5:00 - 7:00 a.m. PST, beginning November 28. This means that Catalyst Web Tools will be unavailable to all users, including both owners and participants, during that time. Users who are logged in at 5:00 a.m. may lose their work, so please take the time to notify participants who may be affected.

We realize that this may pose a slight inconvenience to some users, but we are confident that it will improve user experience overall. In the past, users may have experienced slowness in the early morning hours when nightly system maintenance ran automatically, and software pushes occasionally resulted in unanticipated disruptions. Now, with no users connected, maintenance and releases can happen quickly once per week, ensuring access to fast, enhanced Web Tools at all other times.

Please contact us at catalysthelp@u.washington.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

Track the Newest Catalyst Web Tools Releases

So that our users can benefit from new developments as quickly as possible, we follow an agile, iterative design and development process in which each individual Catalyst Web Tool is released in several stages. As part of this process, we release software, new features, and enhancements every Wednesday. Some releases are big and very noticeable â ”an entirely new tool, for example. Others, like performance improvements that make the tools operate faster and more efficiently, may be invisible.

If you are interested in the highlights of our weekly releases, including recent improvements to GoPost and enhanced LaTeX capabilities, you can check in here: http://catalyst.washington.edu/research_development/release.html

You can also learn more about our iterative, user-centered design and development process here: http://catalyst.washington.edu/research_development/dev_process.html

New Log-in System Facilitates Collaboration Beyond UW

The Catalyst Web Tools are designed to support Web-based communication and collaboration for the University of Washington community. In order to facilitate collaboration and communication with individuals not affiliated with the UW, our login system now allows people to log in to Catalyst with a free ProtectNetwork ID.

ProtectNetwork is an independent Identity Provider service available to anyone, and ProtectNetwork userIDs enable seamless authorized access to the Catalyst Web Tools. Currently, ProtectNetwork ID users can access GoPost, Catalyst's online discussion board tool. Expanded access to more tools--including Collect It, Group Manager, QuickPoll, ShareSpaces, UMail, and WebQ--is on the way.

You have doubtless noticed that when you log in to Catalyst Web Tools, you now pass through what is called a "Where Are You From" (WAYF) screen. The goal of WAYF service is to guide you to your Identity Provider. For the time being, your choices of Identity Providers are the UW and ProtectNetwork. In the future, other universities may also be included. If you are working with faculty, students, or researchers at other universities and you would like them to be able to login with the ID that they use at their own institution, please let us know by emailing catalysthelp@u.washington.edu. We will contact the technology staff at their institution to facilitate such collaboration.

The Population Reference Bureau has added new content to its website

Frances Goldscheider, Professor Emeritus at Brown University and Professor at the University of Maryland

Population Reference Bureau’s Discuss Online: "Gender Equality and the Family"

http://discuss.prb.org. You may submit questions in advance and during the discussion. A full transcript of the questions and answers will be posted after the discussion.

Tuesday, November 27
1:00 - 2:00 PM(EST)

The gender revolution in the public sphere has continued apace throughout the industrialized world. Women are leading countries and holding prestigious positions in government, business, and academia. In many countries they are now attaining more education than men. Although women are still constrained by a glass ceiling, they are making real progress in achieving equity with men. In the private sphere of the family, much less change has occurred. Women still shoulder most of the responsibilities. It is important, however, to distinguish between gender inequalities in housework (which men resist sharing) and in childrearing (which women resist sharing).

For women to reach equality with men, these inequities in the public and private spheres need to be addressed. Join Professor Goldscheider as she answers your questions about these issues.

http://discuss.prb.org

ENVIRONMENT

Population, Health, and Environment Assessments in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania

The Population Reference Bureau coordinated a comparative study of population, health, and environment integration and cross-sectoral collaboration in East Africa. Teams from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania assessed the state of population-health-environment (PHE) integration in their respective countries, including identifying relevant stakeholders; assessing the policy environment for collaboration; highlighting the most salient population, health, and environment issues; and describing the current state of integration among projects, programs, and policies. The integrated PHE approach to development places particular emphasis on the population, health, and environment sectors; however, the underlying philosophy is fundamentally one of integration. It can accommodate other sectors, such as agriculture and education, and can be successfully applied to a range of development goals, from poverty reduction to food security to gender equity.

http://www.prb.org/Articles/2007/assessments.aspx

GENDER

Gender Disparities in Health and Mortality

Gender differences in mortality and life expectancy vary by country. But in most countries, men live shorter lives than women. In Russia, for instance, the difference between male and female life expectancy is 13 years (59 vs. 72). In the United States, the male disadvantage is smaller: 5 years (75 vs. 80). And in Bangladesh, there is little or no male disadvantage (42 vs. 42). This article was written by Sandra Yin, associate editor at PRB.

http://www.prb.org/Articles/2007/genderdisparities.aspx

INCOME/POVERTY

Addressing Population in Poverty Reduction Strategies

Poverty reduction strategies form the basis of World Bank and International Monetary Fund assistance in the poorest developing countries. The detailed guidelines, "poverty reduction strategy papers" (PRSPs) are prepared in the host country and influence the investments made in most sectors of development. But because family planning is receiving less attention and dedicated funding since the advent of PRSPs, those who support continued investments in family planning need to understand PRSPs and stay engaged to ensure that funding for family planning is sustained. This policy brief was written by Lori Ashford, technical director of policy information at PRB.

http://www.prb.org/pdf07/povertyreductionstrategies.pdf

Veterans Are More Likely to Be Homeless Than Other Civilians

Although U.S. veterans tend to be better off economically than nonveterans, they are more likely to be homeless than the total civilian population ages 18 and older. In fact, 26 percent of homeless people are veterans, but they make up just 11 percent of the adult population. In 2006, nearly 196,000 veterans were homeless on any given night, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

http://www.prb.org/Articles/2007/popwirenov2007.aspx

TAKE A NUMBER

Population, Health, and Environment News You Might Have Missed

This month: U.S. Gen X women are having more kids and working less than boomer women; immigrants may lower prices; and the transition to adulthood is delayed for young Canadians.

http://www.prb.org/Journalists/TakeANumber.aspx

RSS FEEDS

Subscribe to RSS feeds of PRB news, events, and new content on PRB’s website. You can choose among 13 topics and 6 world regions. When you subscribe to the feed, every time news, events, and feature stories and reports are published to the PRB site, a link to that item is added to your reader.

http://www.prb.org/Rss.aspx

Med 560 Advanced Topics in Global Health

Winter quarter
Fridays, 8:30 - 11:20 AM
HSB Room T635
Instructor: Ann Marie Kimball, Professor of Epidemiology
SLN: 14963

The field of "Global Health Studies" is a broad one. Disciplines within and those outside the health sciences each approach global health with a different optic. Medical doctors and nurses focus on the “biomedical model” of disease, social scientists look at the social systems and economic factors that affect health, public health scientists examine the problems on a population-wide basis, and so on. Integrating the contributions of all fields into a consolidated paradigm is increasingly being recognized as central to success in improving global health.

This course is intended to provide an opportunity for students of the allied health sciences, especially those in public health and medicine, to study selected topics in Global Health. Not everything that is germane to understanding the field of Global Health can be covered in a single elective course, so these topics have been selected because they 1) are currently under discussion by policy makers in a variety of global and national settings, 2) illustrate a scientific methodology that is pertinent to public health and/or medicine more broadly, and 3) have a significant impact on global health. Format will included invited speakers and seminar style discussion. Text: Essentials of Global Health: Richard Skolnick.

Chronicle of Higher Education article on the rise of Global Health Programs

The article, which focuses on NYU, mentions UWs Department of Global Health and that it received a $105-million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i13/13a02501.htm