January 2024 - The Epidemiology Monitor

Epidemiology for Epidemiologists A monthly update covering people, events, research, and key developments Editor’s Note: This month, we are pleased to present an interview with Dr. Kavita Trivedi on infection control and drug resistant organisms along with an article on the recent COP28 conference and the release of the Copernicus Report. In addition, Book Brief returns with the new text – Legal Epidemiology: Theory & Methods.

Please note the call for abstracts for WCE 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa next September!

We continue to provide you with our popular monthly crossword feature, Notes on People, an overview of what we read from the public media, and a listing of upcoming epidemiology events.

Finally, don't miss the Job Bank offerings this month. We have some fantastic opportunities advertised both here and on our website.

Did you miss last month’s issue? Read it here: http://tinyurl.com/y79k5x9a or here: http://tinyurl.com/y5uj586d

In This Issue -2-

Interview with Dr. Kavita Trivedi

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What We’re Reading

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COP28 & Copernicus

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Notes on People

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Book Brief:

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Near Term Epi Event Calendar

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Marketplace – Jobs & Events

Legal Epidemiology: Theory & Methods -14-

Crossword

January 2024

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Volume Forty Five •

Number One

Infection Control and Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDRO) Surveillance with Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Kavita Trivedi Interviewer: Madeline Roberts, PhD, MPH This month we had the privilege of doing a Q&A with Dr. Kavita Trivedi, Director of Clinical Guidance and Communicable Disease Controller for Alameda County Public Health Department. She is an accomplished medical epidemiologist who specializes in infection mitigation and Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms.

EpiMonitor: Your work centers on mitigating infection spread, often in healthcare contexts.

Can you talk about Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MRDO) surveillance efforts in the Bay area—what systems are in place and how this is monitored at the population level?

Dr. Kavita Trivedi

KT: Electronic laboratory reporting is required for specific diseases in California https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/ CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Lab ReportableDiseases.pdf including some MDROs such as Candida auris and Carbapenamase-producing organisms. When these are reported, local health departments also receive a Confidential Morbidity Report from the reporting facility. We follow-up with the patient and their providers to ensure that they prevent transmission of the MDRO to other vulnerable patients in many ways including: notifying facilities upon transfer, implementing appropriate infection control precautions when they are evaluated in any healthcare facilities and working with healthcare facilities in conducting an investigation for exposed patients. Since the Bay Area is made up of many different counties, we collaborate closely with our county public health department colleagues

especially on the prevention of MDROs between our facilities. Local health departments report these data to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and they monitor at the state level. For example, see their Candida auris website for county-level surveillance: Candida auris EpiMonitor: Within the more specific context of health care settings, can you discuss some of the pitfalls you see and, conversely, best practices with respect to infection mitigation?

KT: Acute care settings have staff that are dedicated to infection prevention and control.

However, during the pandemic these professionals were extremely important to hospital operations and many of these professionals were overworked and - Trivedi cont'd on page 3

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- Trivedi cont'd from page 2 overwhelmed creating a considerable turnover in this field. In long-term care facilities, nurses designated as infection preventionists but they often do many other things in the facility, preventing them from focusing on infection prevention. Best practices are the infection prevention team that thoroughly investigates an MDRO exposure in their facility ensuring all exposed patients are identified and offered testing for the MDRO. Another best practice is the infection preventionist from a nursing home who ensures that their residents are transferred to the acute care hospital with an interfacility transfer form notifying the accepting facility that the patient has an MDRO; the accepting facility then can ensure appropriate infection control precautions are implemented.

able to combat our most resistant infections.

Therefore, it is imperative that we use antibiotic Therefore, it is imperative that we use antibiotic stewardship principles now so that we don't enter the post-antibiotic era.

EpiMonitor: Your consulting work and your work at the Alameda County Health Department give you a unique vantage point in public health. What do you see as the biggest challenges currently facing public health in the Bay Area and the U.S.?

KT: The biggest challenge to public health remains meeting the moment and communication. Throughout the pandemic it was difficult for public health leaders to address the need for infection control measures in a way that was acceptable to the public. It is important to continue engaging with the public to see where their understanding is on the public health issues of concern and meet the public where they are and not where public health thinks they should be. It is equally important for public health leaders to work with communications experts to get their message across in a way that is understandable to community members – taking into account timing, nuance, language and unintended consequences. ■

EpiMonitor: PubMed search results show that articles mentioning "antibiotic stewardship" have exponentially increased over the past ten years. Can you talk about the importance of antibiotic stewardship in your work and for the health of future generations?

KT: Modern medicine relies on antibiotics.

Transplantation, chemotherapy and burn management would not exist without antibiotic treatment. It is our duty as stewards of antibiotics to only prescribe them when they are necessary. Many clinicians were trained when we prescribed antibiotics "just in case" there was a bacterial infection and we no longer endorse that rationale.

In the past, when a resistance was encountered, the pharmaceutical industry would develop another antibiotic to combat the new infection.

However, we now have fewer pharmaceutical companies that are engaged in antibiotic development and therefore have few if any new antibiotics (with novel mechanisms) that will be

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COP28 & Copernicus: Health, Sustainability, and Data Approaches for Climate Change Challenges Authors: Madeline Roberts, PhD, MPH Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, MPH

the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health—a strong signal to sound the alarm on severe health implications if there is inaction moving forward.

Two major informers of the state of global climate took place within weeks of each other, COP28 and the release of the Copernicus Report (more on the latter below).

And, rightfully so. The health implications of climate change include changes in disease distribution (often related to vectors, such as mosquitoes), waterborne diseases, heat-related illness, and agricultural production leading to food supply issues. We have previously written on attribution science which uses computational and statistical modeling to differentiate between anthropogenic global warming and expected variability in weather patterns, and the need for risk management and mitigation systems.

COP28 (shorthand for Conference of the Parties, 28th meeting) was held in Dubai from November 30 to December 13, 2023. This United Nations climate summit has been held almost annually since the first meeting in Berlin in 1995. Some of the main duties of the COP are to review the Parties emission inventories and to generate actionable steps to mitigate climate change.

The biggest win? Health was a key theme at COP28 and had the first-ever “Health Day.” Day 4 at COP28 was unique: It was the first time ever that global leaders at COP dedicated an entire day to the health implications and challenges linked to rising temperatures. As the WHO Director General said in his address to delegates:

There were a few big wins in the health and climate space during COP28:

“For far too long, health has been a footnote climate discussion. No more, after what we have seen starting today. We are long overdue for talks around environmental health, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers to include the direct impacts of such climate shocks on human health”.

Dr Maria Neira, Director of WHO Public Health and Environment, highlighted the need to study the increased cases of diseases such as malaria, Dengue fever, and lung cancer that are attributable to environmental factors.

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Choir of voices: Bill Gates, John Kerry and Ministers of health, environment, and finances spoke on climate change and health

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Key events: Public-private partnerships for healthcare climate action, and relevant financial commitments

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Estimates on future health outcomes presented: Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause tens of thousands of excess deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.

- COP28 cont'd on page 6

One hundred and twenty-three countries signed

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- COP28 cont'd from page 4 What were some of the highlights outside of health?

Among the most notable outcomes of COP 28 were consensus around “transitioning away from all fossil fuels to enable the world to reach net zero by 2050” and “a specific target to triple renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030.”

Other highlights included the conversation around regenerative food and sustainable fashion. Estimates (data visualization by Our World in Data, shown below) place the total burden of food and agriculture between 25 to 35% of global greenhouse emissions. Sandrine Dixson-Declève, co-president of the Club of Rome noted about COP28 “The food day was really important and brought forward several

pledges that we were part of, indicating how important it is to shift towards a regenerative food system. This was one of the key outcomes.”

Approaches to regenerative agriculture include crop diversification, restoring soil carbon content, and minimizing soil disturbances. One example of work being done in this area is The Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program (FOLUR) initiative by the World Bank.

Among other endeavors, this program focuses on eight primary commodities—cocoa, coffee, corn, livestock, palm oil, rice, soy, and wheat— and how to achieve sustainability in these areas.

FOLUR has initiated projects in high-volume producing countries for these eight commodities, and is working to curb issues such as deforestation and loss of biodiversity.

- COP28 cont'd on page 6

Your Ad Should Be Here Do you have a job, course, conference, book or other resource of interest to the epidemiology community? Advertise with The Epidemiology Monitor and reach 35,000 epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and public health professionals monthly.

Advertising opportunities exist in this digital publication, on our website and Facebook page, and in our Epi-Gram emails.

For more information please contact: Michele Gibson / michele@epimonitor.net

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COP28 cont'd from page 5

Another point of interest was the COP28 sustainable fashion show held at Expo City in Dubai (images from the show here). The fashion industry is responsible for approximately

4-8% of global greenhouse emissions, and is both a major water consumer and polluter.

Interestingly, quantifying the extent to which - COP28 cont'd on page 7

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COP28 cont'd from page 6 the fashion industry contributes to environmental harms has been subject to a dearth of scientific research, sometimes resulting in erroneous data and inappropriate generalizability. In 2019, Google partnered with Stella McCartney and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to attempt to better quantify the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

Together they developed a tool, Materials Impact Explorer, which aims to measure “environmental risk across regions as it relates to environmental factors such as air pollution, biodiversity, climate and greenhouse gasses, forestry and water use.” The tool is intended as a resource for textile and apparel entities to inform sustainability decisions. It is now overseen by Textile Exchange

not legally binding, and emissions reductions are left to the will of individual countries.

And real change is becoming more desperate.

Shortly after COP28 concluded, on January 9, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service released their annual report. If you experienced last summer, it will not surprise you that the report found July and August 2023 were the hottest two months on record dating back to the 1850s. However, 2023 also was the first year in which every day surpassed 1°C above the pre-industrial level for that time of year, and nearly half of the days were greater than 1.5°C warmer than the pre-industrial level. The report attributed the notably large increase in global average temperature from 2022 - 2023 to a transition from La Niña to El Niño conditions, among other factors.

One of the central challenges of COP agreements and declarations is that they are

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COP28 cont'd from page 7 Perhaps most striking is the prediction that a 12-month period ending in January/February 2024 will exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level. The 1.5°C mark is the Paris Agreement threshold beyond which the impacts of climate change become larger and more severe, especially for vulnerable ecosystems. Although as we approach that threshold we have already begun to experience extreme weather events.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) represents 39 small islands and coastal states among the most vulnerable to climate change.

Countries such as Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands may become uninhabitable within a few decades or less. Risks

they face include evolving weather patterns and “king tides”, which, in addition to jeopardizing these low-lying nations and their crops, pose a major threat to safe drinking water.

We were struck by this comment from Sandrine Dixson-Declève, which seems to echo into other international and national arenas at present: ”It’s a sobering moment. There’s a real vacuum in leadership, and we can only ask ourselves whether our institutional systems are fit for purpose and whether we really are delivering on the great challenges that we have before us.”

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Your Ad Should Be Here Do you have a job, course, conference, book or other resource of interest to the epidemiology community? Advertise with The Epidemiology Monitor and reach 35,000 epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and public health professionals monthly.

Advertising opportunities exist in this digital publication, on our website and Facebook page, and in our Epi-Gram emails.

For more information please contact: Michele Gibson / michele@epimonitor.net

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Understanding the Role of Legal Frameworks in Shaping Public Health A Book Brief on Legal Epidemiology: Theory and Methods By: Alexander C. Wagenaar, PhD Epidemiology and related fields conducting scientific evaluations of the population health effects of public policies typically report studies with major limitations. Studies are often atheoretical, without a clear articulation of the underlying theory on the expected mechanisms of effect between a legal change and health outcomes. When random assignment to treatment conditions is not possible, studies often do not include a full complement of other important research design elements available to strengthen causal inference. Finally, studies often pay little or no attention to measurement consistency, reliability and validity, especially for independent variables designed to measure changes in laws or policies.

Legal Epidemiology: Theory and Methods, a new text published by Wiley, advances science by directly addressing the above limitations.

Edited by Alex Wagenaar, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula and Scott Burris, a team of 23 distinguished scholars from a diverse set of public health and social science disciplines deliver a thorough primer addressing issues that arise specifically in legal epidemiology—the scientific study and deployment of law as a factor in the cause, distribution, and prevention of disease and injury in a population.

Law is critical as a mechanism of influence on the public’s health, well-being, and equity. In shaping physical and social environments, and in shaping individual and social behaviors, law serves as a systemic intervention—one we saw clearly during the height of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Law can also serve as a barrier to systemic interventions, as we have seen with harm reduction efforts related to opioids. A

holistic consideration of legal environment therefore is important for addressing the ongoing challenges around the social determinants of health and most other areas of research in epidemiology. Law is at the root of most major public health advances, and yet we have historically not paid sufficient attention to improving its scientific assessment.

The book’s first two chapters provide a framework for situating the field of legal epidemiology within the broader field of public health. Then six chapters lay out theories relevant for understanding mechanisms of - Legal cont'd on page 10

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-Legal cont'd from page 9 legal effect from public health, sociology, criminology, social psychology, and economics, closing with a chapter integrating concepts and mechanisms from diverse disciplines. Part three of the book lays out specific practical steps for the measurement of legal variables, ensuring reliable and valid indicators required for highquality scientific studies. The final major section of the book focuses on research design considerations that are central for making causal inferences concerning effects of law on the public’s health, including RCTs, controlled time-series trials and natural experiments, as well as qualitative and cost-benefit studies of public health policies.

The text is particularly helpful to PhD students, post-docs, and career scientists interested in the social determinants of health, and studying effects of regulations, laws and other public policies on population-level health outcomes.

SCOTT BURRIS, JD, is Professor of Law and Public Health at Temple University, where he directs the Center for Public Health Law Research, and Professor in Temple’s College of Public Health.

PART ONE Frameworks for Legal Epidemiology 1. A Framework for Research in Legal Epidemiology Scott Burris, Alexander C. Wagenaar, Jeffrey W. Swanson, Jennifer K. Ibrahim, Jennifer Wood, and Michelle M. Mello 2. Law in Public Health Systems and Services Research Scott Burris, Glen P. Mays, F. Douglas Scutchfield, and Jennifer K. Ibrahim PART TWO Understanding How Law Influences Environments and Behavior

Contents Foreword to the First Edition Michelle A. Larkin Forward to the Second Edition Sandro Galea Preface Editors: ALEXANDER C. WAGENAAR, PhD, is Research Professor at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

ROSALIE LICCARDO PACULA, PhD, holds the Elizabeth Garrett Chair in Health Policy, Economics & Law in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.

3. Perspectives from Public Health Kelli A. Komro and Alexander C. Wagenaar 4. Law and Society Approaches Robin Stryker 5. Criminal Theories Wesley G. Jennings and Tom Mieczkowski 6. Procedural Justice Theory Tom R. Tyler and Avital Mentovich 7. Economic Theory Frank J. Chaloupka and Rosalie Liccardo Pacula 8. The Theory of Triadic Influence Marc B. Schure, Kazi Faria Islam, and Brian R. Flay 9. Integrating Diverse Theories for Public Health Law Evaluation Scott Burris and Alexander C. Wagenaar

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-Legal cont'd from page 10 PART THREE Identifying and Measuring Legal Variables 10. Picturing Public Health Law Research: The Value of Causal Diagrams Jeffrey W. Swanson and Jennifer K. Ibrahim 11. Measuring Statutory Law and Regulations for Empirical Research Evan D. Anderson, Sue Thomas, Ryan D. Treffers, and Alexander C. Wagenaar 12. Coding Case Law for Public Health Law Evaluation Mark Hall

Foundation of America Request for Proposal Prevalence and Incidence Study Make-A-Wish® creates the hope that children and families need when faced with their darkest challenge - and we need to make sure we find all those that are eligible for a wish. Critical illness changes everything about a child’s life.

PART FOUR Designing Legal Epidemiology Evaluations

While our vision is “to grant the wish of every eligible child” our last estimates for the prevalence and incidence of our eligible medical conditions were completed more than 12 years ago. There is great urgency to refresh the data related to time and eligibility changes – ultimately, helping us to identify and reach the kids who may qualify for a wish more readily.

13. Randomized Trials in Legal Epidemiology Harold Pollack, Alida Bouris, and Scott Cunningham 14. Natural Experiments: Research Design Elements for Optimal Causal Inference Without Randomization Alexander C. Wagenaar and Kelli Komro 15. Qualitative Research Strategies for Public Health Law Evaluation Jennifer Wood 16. Using Cost-Effectiveness and Cost Benefit Analysis to Evaluate Public Health Law Rosalie Liccardo Pacula 17. The Future of Research in Legal Epidemiology Scott Burris, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, and Alexander C. Wagenaar

We are seeking a mission-critical comprehensive understanding of the gap in reach through this request for proposals (RFP). Specifically, we are seeking proposals that target three over-arching objectives: 1. Estimate community (at a zip code level) and national level prevalence and incidence for our wish eligible medical conditions; 2. Explore disparities in reach, including gender, age, race/ethnicity, and rural/urban, across each disease category; 3. Propose a sustainable model that can be updated every 6 years.

References

CLICK HERE to view full RFP -11-

Join EpiMonitor on our Facebook page at: https://bit.ly/2U29gUA or on Twitter at: @theEpimonitor or on Instagram at: @epimonitor -13-

Epi Crossword Puzzle – January 2024 P(A|B) = {P(B|A) ´ P(A)} / P(B) Our crossword puzzle was created by by Dr. Richard Dicker—A former CDC employee and notquite-retired epidemiologist. For an online version go to: http://tinyurl.com/d2wmkps7

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- Crossword Questions cont'd on page 15

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-Crossword Questions cont'd from page 14 Across

Down, cont

1. Instagram and Spotify, for example

1. "Feed ____, starve..."

5. Belch

2. Variable needed for 64-Across' theorem

10. Gouda alternative

3. 2005 "Survivor" island

14. Procrastinator's study plan for a final

4. Texting, for short

15. Word before cycle or calendar

5. Go by, as time

16. Andes capital

6. Currency used by the Chennai-based FETP

17. Alternative to acrylics

7. Potentially offensive

18. Company supposedly named after one founder visited an orchard

8. City southwest of Bogotá

19. "Terrible" czar

10. Bring out

20. Hawaii's Mauna ___

11. When the quotient is a whole number

21. TN / (FP + TN)

12. Amo, amas, ___

23. Topic on a hepatitis B questionnaire

13. Word in the translation of "e pluribus unum" 21. Brain grooves between the gyri

25. Criticize, slangily 26. Type of eye surgery (abbr.) or letters contained in Jamaica’s most famous reggae artist

9. Not kosher

22. In song, she's "Sweet as apple cider"

27. Word after True or False

24. How Midtown Manhattan but not Downtown Boston is laid out

32. "Zits" or "Doonesbury"

27. Statistical distractions

35. "A Chorus Line" number

28. Ltr. holder

36. Fiddle stick

29. "Fancy that!"

37. Part of PVP

30. Part of R.S.V.P. 31. She sheep

42. By-invitation-only epi org.

43. ...---...

44. "Don't make ___!"

45. Word after True or False 48. Singer DiFranco

32. Nighttime device for some 33. Snack item since 1912 34. Type of RNA 38. Show with spinoffs set in Miami and New Orleans

49. My Chemical Romance genre

39. "Mazel ___!"

50. Nickname for Jack Kevorkian or Peacock TV series surgeon

40. Nashville university, colloquially 41. Friend, to Françoise

54. TP / (TP + FN)

46. Possible text to loved one during a disaster

59. Lingerie item

47. French pronoun

60. Gymnast Korbut

48. Whistler, e.g.

61. The savory one of the five basic tastes

50. Union of two similar molecules

62. Pinocchio, at times

51. Tolerate

63. Atoll protector 64. His theorem is the title of this puzzle

52. School of Public Health is to teach as FETP is to...

65. First two words of admission of guilt

54. Common Excel command

66. Container weight

55. Zeno of ___

67. ____-type (standard deviation in Paris), or perhaps where you put items intended for purchase online

56. Eustachian, for one

68. Contradict

58. _____ con Dios (Spanish expression)

53. Robust

57. 18-Across product 62. Tupperware topper

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What We're Reading This Month Editor's Note: All of us are confronted with more material than we can possibly hope to digest each month.

However, that doesn't mean that we should miss some of the articles that appear in the public media on topics of interest to the epi community. The EpiMonitor curates a monthly list of some of the best articles we've encountered in the past month. See something you think others would like to read? Please send us a link at info@epimonitor.net and we'll include it in the next month.

Public Health Topics ♦ Measles and Misinformation Are Two Huge Public Health Threats (Time via AppleNews) http://tinyurl.com/bd7kfdpv ♦ As measles spreads in England, health authorities warn the outbreak could snowball (NBC News) http://tinyurl.com/bf9snnnp ♦ Milestone in malaria battle as first EVER mass vaccination campaign begins in Africa (Daily Mail) http://tinyurl.com/2r4pzzek ♦ A potent antibiotic has emerged in the battle against deadly, drug-resistant superbugs (LA Times) http://tinyurl.com/53jkmh7e ♦ We got lucky with the mystery dog illness (The Atlantic via AppleNews) http://tinyurl.com/2mnbjtnz ♦ A deadly new outbreak is testing Africa’s ambitious public health efforts (Vox) http://tinyurl.com/mw7eu335 ♦ Despite 'game-changing' new RSV shots, uptake lagged among infants, adults: Experts (ABC News) http://tinyurl.com/y7zys9vu ♦ Scientists Made A Discovery In Alaska Could Have Gone Wrong Fast (BuzzNet) http://tinyurl.com/2b3wk47x ♦ Arctic 'zombie' viruses in Siberia could one day be released by Earth's warming climate and trigger a new pandemic, scientists warn (Daily Mail) http://tinyurl.com/3fj2xvfz

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- Reading cont'd on page 17

[Type a quote from the document or the summary of an interesting point. You can position the text box anywhere in What Use We're Reading Month - con't from 16 box.] the document. the Text Box Tools tabThis to change the formatting of the pull page quote text

Public Health Topics, cont. ♦ NYC issues public health advisory about social media, designates it an "environmental health toxin" due to its impact on kids (CBS News) http://tinyurl.com/3btfj2pn ♦ Alzheimer's May Begin With Weird Vision Problems (Newsweek) http://tinyurl.com/yc6zaxe9 ♦ Pet Dragons Linked to Rare Salmonella Strain in U.S. and Canada (NY Times) http://tinyurl.com/bdhfazfd

COVID-19 ♦ Highly mutated COVID variant ‘Pirola’ JN.1 is spawning. Its descendants are climbing the charts, as the global death toll mounts (Fortune) http://tinyurl.com/2urt9wah ♦ There’s a Huge COVID Surge Right Now and Nobody Is Talking About It (Wired) http://tinyurl.com/4jpc58sn ♦ A discovery in the muscles of long COVID patients may explain exercise troubles (NPR) http://tinyurl.com/3rx23hed ♦ New, highly mutated COVID variants ‘Pirola’ BA.2.86 and JN.1 may cause more severe disease, new studies suggest (Fortune) http://tinyurl.com/fupvhkzn ♦ Highest levels of COVID infections seen in Bay Area wastewater surveys since they began (San Francisco Chronicle) http://tinyurl.com/pnm9n8ms ♦ Evidence mounts that COVID in pregnancy can cause health issues in babies (NBC News) http://tinyurl.com/yy8t2969

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Notes on People Do you have news about yourself, a colleague, or a student?

Please help The Epidemiology Monitor keep the community informed by sending relevant news to us at this address for inclusion in our next issue. people@epimonitor.net

Apppointed: North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) is pleased to announce Kimberly Weis as its new chief data officer. As chief data officer, Weis will have a pivotal role in shaping how NDIT leverages data to drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and achieve better outcomes for stakeholders.Weis, who holds a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology, began her professional career in genetic epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. In 2004, she relocated back to her home state of North Dakota and worked at North Dakota Department of Health for five years.

Appointed: Boston College School of Social Work Professor Summer Sherburne Hawkins, a social epidemiologist whose research interests include health disparities among women and children, has been appointed as the inaugural associate director of BC’s Global Public Health and the Common Good interdisciplinary undergraduate program. University administrators expressed praise for Hawkins, who joined BCSSW in 2012, and is assistant director of BC’s Institute of Early Childhood Policy; she has published in prominent peer-reviewed public health journals on such topics as tobacco and cannabis use, maternal morbidity and mortality, infant feeding practices, and preventive health services.

Appointed: Manya Magnus, PhD, MPH, has been named Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Milken Institute School of Public Health.

Magnus, who started January 2, has served as a professor of epidemiology, interim Chair of the Department of Epidemiology, the principal investigator (multiple) for the NIH/DAIDS-funded DC Clinical Trials Unit (DC CTU), and coDirector of the NIH-funded DC Center for AIDS Research. For more than 30 years, Magnus has conducted applied epidemiologic research that focuses on innovative biomedical and structural interventions to prevent HIV transmission.

Appointed: Ruth Etzel, MD, PhD, an eminent pediatrician and environmental epidemiologist, has been named Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Health. Etzel was appointed to serve a five year term, from January 2024 until January 2029.

Etzel is internationally recognized for her work on reducing children's exposures to indoor air pollutants such as tobacco smoke and molds.

Near Term Epidemiology Event Calendar Every December The Epidemiology Monitor dedicates that issue to a calendar of events for the upcoming year. However that often means we don't have full information for events later in the upcoming year. Thus an online copy exists on our website that is updated regularly.

To view the full year please go to: http://www.epimonitor.net/Events The events that we are aware of for the next month follow below.

February 2024 February 2-5

https://bit.ly/3FDOYu8

Short Course : The Placebo Effect / Erasmus MC / Rotterdam, The Netherlands February 5-9 https://bit.ly/3FDOYu8 Short Course : Using R For Decision Modeling in Health Technology Assessment / Erasmus MC / Rotterdam, The Netherlands February 12-16 https://bit.ly/3lRZeDf Winter Program : Winter School in Clinical Epidemiology / UMIT / Tirol, Austria February 12-23 http://bit.ly/2sTfuhj Summer Program: Public Health Summer School / University of Otago / Wellington, New Zealand February 22-28 https://bit.ly/3GK6I61 Short Course : Genetic Epidemiology / University of Bristol / Virtual February 23-24 https://bit.ly/3FDjNPJ Conference : 2024 Health Datapalooza / Academy Health / Arlington, VA February 27 https://tinyurl.com/45zm374d Conference : Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting / RSTMH / Lagos, Nigeria February 28 https://tinyurl.com/jcc4uwj3 Conference : RSTMH –Research Progress in West Africa / RSTMH / Lagos, Nigeria February 28 – March 1 http://tinyurl.com/epybnybr Short Course : Improving your Stata: data management, publication-quality outputs and automating tasks / University of Bristol / Virtual

March 2024 March 1-3 https://tinyurl.com/2k8nvnms Conference : Global Conference on Public Health and Epidemiology / Globatl Conference Group / Vancouver, Canada March 3-6

https://tinyurl.com/4r4rred5

Conference : 29th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) / Intl Antivirus Society-US /

CROI / Denver, CO March 4-8 http://tinyurl.com/wkhee8uy Short Course : Implementation Science / Erasmus MC / Rotterdam, The Nehterlands

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March 2024 continued March 4-8

http://bit.ly/33XqJSJ

Short Course : Intensive Course in Applied Epidemiology / University of Aberdeen / Aberdeen, Scotland March 4-8 http://tinyurl.com/2fkh6ejx Short Course : Introduction to Linear and Logistic Regression Models / University of Bristol / Virtual March 4-8 https://tinyurl.com/2bwca379 Conference : SER 2024 Mid-Year Meeting / Society for Epidemiologic Research / Toronto, Canada March 4-8 https://bit.ly/3v2gRXS Short Course: Introduction to the Analysis of the Next-generation Sequencing Data / Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands March 4-13 http://tinyurl.com/yh8ce5ha Short Course : Public Health Across the Life Course / Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, MC March 7-10 https://tinyurl.com/4yxpzp3m Conference: CUGH 15h Annual Global Health Conference / Consortium of Universities for Global Health / Los Angeles, CA March 11-13 https://tinyurl.com/34x5tnn5 Conference: Teaching Prevention 2024 / Assn for Prevention Teaching & Research / Alexandria, VA March 11-15 https://bit.ly/320OvlT Short Course: Advanced Clinical Trials / Erasmus MC / Rotterdam, The Netherlands March 11-15 http://tinyurl.com/4h6997jd Short Course: Introduction to Network Meta-Analysis March 17-19 https://tinyurl.com/mrxhrcy5 Conference: 47th Annual Conference - American Society of Preventive Oncology / ASPO / Chicago, IL March 18-19 https://tinyurl.com/342wpz83 Conference: The Future of Preventive Medicine and Public Health / Peers Alley Conferences / Amsterdam, The Netherlands March 18-22 https://bit.ly/3G3VhZr Short Course : Advanced Decision Modeling / Erasmus MC / Rotterdam, The Netherlands March 18-22 https://bit.ly/32uyVPE Short Course : Causal Inference for Assessing Effectiveness in Real World Data and Clinical Trials / UMIT / Tirol, Austria March 18-24 https://tinyurl.com/2p9fmtep Conference : Epi Lifestyle Scientific Sessions – 2024 / American Heart Association / Chicago, IL March 18-28 http://tinyurl.com/4kzuxcys Short Course : Repeated Measurements / Erasmus MC / Rotterdam, The Netherlands March 20-22 https://svepm2024.com Conference : Annual Meeting - Society for Veterinary Epidemiology / SEVPM / Uppsala, Sweden March 20-26 https://tinyurl.com/mryhh3w7 Short Course: Item Response Theory / EpidM / Virtual

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March 2024 continued March 21-23 http://tinyurl.com/2fkh6ejx Conference: 2024 ASPPH Annual Meeting for Academic Public Health / Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health Arlington, VA March 25 http://tinyurl.com/2yw6dpxy Short Course: Introduction to Quantitative Bias Analysis / University of Bristol / Virtual March 25-26 https://tinyurl.com/4esnxfvh Conference: 2nd International Conference on Epidemiology and Public Health / Coalesce Research Group / London, England March 28-29 https://tinyurl.com/57z9dr6j Conference: 96th Annual Meeting - American Epidemiological Society / AES / Berkeley, CA

Assistant / Associate Professor Tenure-Track The Department of Epidemiology within the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and the Dartmouth Cancer Center invites applications for a tenure-track position as Assistant or Associate Professor. We seek applicants to lead an independent, innovative research program in cancer epidemiology, including but not limited to cancer prevention, etiology, early detection, survivorship, health disparities, molecular epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, or lifestyle/behavioral research. Dartmouth Cancer Center offers a dynamic and interactive environment with a commitment to research excellence. The faculty appointment will be in the Department of Epidemiology, with membership in the Cancer Population Sciences research program.

Dartmouth is highly committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive population of students, faculty, and staff. We seek applicants who work effectively with individuals from all backgrounds, including but not limited to: racial and ethnic minorities, women, those who identify with LGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, are from lowerincome backgrounds, veterans, and first-generation college graduates. Applicants should state in their cover letter how their teaching, research, service, and/or life experiences prepare them to advance Dartmouth’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Qualifications Candidates must have a Ph.D. and/or M.D. degree and relevant postdoctoral research experience.

Application Instructions Applicants should upload a cover letter, a curriculum vitae (without impact factors), a description of proposed research (3 pages or less), a teaching statement, and a statement on how their teaching, research, service, and/or life experiences prepare them to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at Dartmouth through this interfolio https://apply.interfolio.com/99545 link. Three referees should provide letters of recommendation. Consideration of applications will continue until the position is filled.

For further information check here: http://epimonitor.net/2023-3806-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

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Chair and Tenured Full Professor Faculty Position Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington (IU SPH-B) invites applications for the position of Chair and Tenured Full Professor. We are seeking applicants with strong research, leadership, and administrative records, who value our dual disciplines of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the interdisciplinary space between them, and who will be champions for faculty, student, and staff success.

Individuals are sought who will contribute multidisciplinary perspectives, conceptual and methodological diversity, and research leadership and mentoring strengths to the Department’s efforts toward academic excellence in research and to teach approaches for primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary disease prevention in order to ultimately improve public health in Indiana and beyond. This 12-month appointment would ideally start July 1, 2024 although a different hire date is possible.

Applications received by January 15, 2024 will receive priority consideration however, additional applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Qualifications: Candidates must hold a doctoral degree in epidemiology, biostatistics or a closely related field, ideally from an accredited school of public health or related educational institution. Candidate must also demonstrate a record of scholarly achievement appropriate for a senior career level, including extramurally funded research as a principal investigator, current funding or strong potential to secure external funding, the ability to collaborate across disciplines, and a positive team spirit.

Finally, candidate are expected to reside in Bloomington, Indiana to permit full engagement with the department, school, campus, and community.

Application Procedure: Please provide a 1) curriculum vitae, 2) cover letter no longer than 5 pages in length summarizing your qualifications and interest in the position, which includes your managerial and leadership philosophy, managerial and leadership experience, managerial and leadership training in preparation to Chair a Department, a research statement, a statement of teaching interests, and a diversity statement. If selected as a finalist, we will additionally request a list of six (6) references; references will be contacted if you are selected for a finalist interview/job offer. Interested candidates should submit applications at https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/21810. View full job listing here: http://tinyurl.com/4vhd23nb

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