November 2023- The Epidemiology Monitor

Epidemiology for Epidemiologists A monthly update covering people, events, research, and key developments Editor’s Note: This month, with conflicts raging around the world, we look at harm to non-combatants and how it is tracked. Closer to home, we look at one of the projects to address heart attacks in youths in sporting events and other out-of-hospital venues. Finally we return to our archives for a speech by Michael Marmot on health inequality that was given just prior to the COVID pandemic.

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

We continue to provide you with Notes on People, an overview of what we read from the public media, and 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: https://bit.ly/3ESwndI or here: https://bit.ly/3EVM58g

In This Issue -2-

Counting Civilian Harm in Conflict Zones

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What We’re Reading

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Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

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Notes on People

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Archives: Michael Marmot on Health Inequality

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Near Term Epi Event Calendar

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Call for Abstracts for WCE 2024

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Marketplace – Jobs & Events

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Crossword

November 2023

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Volume Forty Four •

Number Eleven

Counting Civilian Harm in Conflict Zones Author: Madeline Roberts, PhD, MPH

aid and future risk mitigation. She summarized three main objectives for death tolls:

On October 24, the Duke Global Health Institute hosted a seminar titled “Human Rights, Health and Conflict: Counting Civilian Harm.” This panel addressed the epidemiology of conflict and war. The stated aim of the seminar was to cover the challenges of accurately quantifying these harms from an epidemiological perspective, as well as how to improve the role of international humanitarian law to minimize—and hold perpetrators accountable for - the range of harms that impact civilian life. With the understanding that the cumulative civilian impact of war extends beyond death tolls, the principal question the panel sought to answer was: “How do we count the civilian harms caused by war and conflict?” The panel consisted of Drs. Debarati Guha-Sapir, PhD, and Mara Revkin, JD, PhD, moderated by Catherine Admay, JD.

1. Accountability (perhaps most important): international humanitarian law plays a primary role here, but this is also a moral imperative to honor those who die, so that their deaths are not in vain.

2. Advocacy: get the help to where it’s needed.

3. Programming: programming of resources to respond to people’s needs. Ask the questions, who is dying, where, and why (i.e., are they dying of disease or violence?)

On the issue of accountability, Guha-Sapir made the point that death toll estimates are directly related to the credibility of their source. She discussed the politics of death tolls: they can be artificially inflated (to garner international attention and aid) or deflated (which could be more relevant after natural disasters if a government does not wish to be implicated for an insufficient response).

In her previous work in disaster and conflict, Debarati Guha-Sapir has identified holes in the evidence base for risk mitigation of natural disaster and civil conflict. These holes originate from the inability to appropriately quantify loss of human life in crisis settings. Guha-Sapir co-authored a BMJ article titled “Science and Politics of Disaster Death Tolls”, which captures both the role and importance of epidemiology in disaster settings: “Establishing who died, how, and where—basic epidemiological questions—also helps direct resources to the most vulnerable populations, increasing the effectiveness of humanitarian measures.”

On the panel, Guha-Sapir discussed how contention over death tolls detracts from actual

Common approaches to death toll estimation include estimating excess mortality (evaluating death in times of conflict compared with figures from the same time period in previous years) and a mortuary and/or death certificate approach. There are limitations to both and potential biases that must also be considered.

For example, a mortuary approach may be subject to bias in that counting casualties may occur where combat violence is most intense to the neglect of other areas.

- Civilian cont'd on page 3

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- Civilian cont'd from page 2 Dr. Mara Revkin posited that scholars have been systematically underestimating the cost of war because they often focus primarily, or exclusively, on death as the main indicator.

More difficult to observe, measure, and quantify are sexual violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), human rights violations, and impacts on education and child development.

The concept of cumulative harm encompasses not only the immediate consequences following a strike but also aims to assess the aftermath that makes it difficult for civilians to recover after war. Revkin offered an example from her field research in Mosul, when schools began to resume education after conflict. She observed that school playgrounds had been converted into informal burial grounds during the war, with lasting logistical and psychological ramifications for daily activities once school resumed.

facilities damaged during conflict—counting the number of healthcare facilities destroyed, their locations, and the somewhat more subjective question of the extent of damage (i.e., broken windows) or destruction (i.e., operating rooms are no longer functional).

During the Q&A section of the panel, Dr. Chris Beyrer added to the discussion that the Syrian conflict is the first where WHO is actively engaged in quantifying and confirming attacks on healthcare facilities, healthcare providers, and ambulances. Before this, “there was no formal mechanism to confirm these kinds of attacks…if you don’t systematically count, you really can’t say.”

This panel addressed a painful, volatile topic with humility and professional excellence and highlighted the strength of interdisciplinary teams such as epidemiology and international humanitarian law. We came away thinking about how our skills as epidemiologists can be applied for aid and advocacy even in the most unthinkable human experiences and the dire need for continuing to develop rigorous methods to assess the broad set of harms stemming from conflict. ■

One aspect of cumulative harm is damage to property and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare infrastructure, ambulances, and healthcare workers. The National Academies found more than 4,000 attacks against health care workers and facilities over between 2016 and 2020. One analytic approach relevant to this issue is the spatial analysis of healthcare

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Stakeholder Education of Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Authors: Sara B. Stephens, MPH, Santiago O. Valdes, MD, Jennifer Bard, Brittany Hainesworth, MBA Out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest is a catastrophic event that is associated with significant mortality in children. Nontraumatic, nonviolent, and unexpected in nature, out-ofhospital arrest is caused by lethal heart rhythms (or arrhythmias) like ventricular fibrillation.

Subsequent death from sudden cardiac arrest is known as sudden cardiac death (SCD). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 1,500 individuals under the age of 25 years die from SCD every year. Incidence of pediatric cardiac arrest is between 8-10 cases per 100,000 children, with more than 90% of episodes being fatal. Further, among survivors, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can result in profound neurologic deficits, limiting children from leading a normal life. Given the unexpected nature of and high mortality associated with these events, children who appear otherwise healthy and asymptomatic can experience SCD. Therefore, early detection and prevention of SCD in children remains a challenge.

including CPR and AED training. Project ADAM is one public health success story exemplifying the importance of academic engagement with communities and stakeholders, as well as community-based programs focused on prevention as the science of SCD’s causes continuously evolves.

Project ADAM was initially created in 1999 after the death of Adam Lemel (right), a 17-year-old high school student from Wisconsin who suffered from SCD while playing basketball. At the time, his heart was found to be in ventricular fibrillation, a fatal arrhythmia that prevents the cardiac ventricles from effectively pumping blood to the rest of the body. If an AED had been available, it could have saved his life.

SCD advocacy often focuses on partnering with community stakeholders to educate partners on the use of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the case a child has an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. One such organization, Project ADAM, is a nationwide nonprofit that partners with local schools to educate personnel on outof-hospital cardiac arrest and implement a coordinated response in the event of an arrest,

- Cardiac cont'd on page 6

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- Cardiac cont'd from page 4 In partnership with Children’s Wisconsin, his parents Patty and Joe Lemel created Project ADAM (AEDs in Adam’s Memory) to make sure AEDs are available in schools and help the respond in case of a cardiac arrest.

In concordance with the ADAM Act signed by President George W. Bush in July 2001, Project ADAM has maintained a Public Access Defibrillator program. Through this program, schools work with Project ADAM to design an emergency response plan in the case of SCD in a student or staff member, get connected with their local emergency medical services, and receive CPR and AED training. Since the creation of Project ADAM the organization has expanded into 31 states with 41 hospitals, and over 200 lives have been saved through Project ADAM affiliate programs.

Since its initial inception, nearly 25 years ago, there have been more than 28 affiliated chapters, partnerships in more than 800 schools, established in 22 states. This growth has ultimately resulted in lives of students and personnel saved as schools develop a systematic, schoolwide response to appropriate respond to a cardiac arrest, delivering timely response where every second counts. One recent example of this is Jeremiah (right), a Houston-based elementary school student who suffered from a cardiac arrest in 2022. When Jeremiah had his event, school staff was able to appropriately perform CPR and administer an AED to help stabilize him until emergency medical services arrived to transfer him to a children’s hospital for specialized cardiac care.

Since his cardiac arrest, both Jeremiah and his twin brother, Jayden, were diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, one of the conditions often responsible for out-of-hospital arrests when undiagnosed or untreated.

Organizations like Project ADAM have been instrumental for community education and establishing public access defibrillator programs throughout the US. Given the aim of these organizations is preventing the devastating effects of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, SCD advocacy has been fundamental for tertiary prevention.

Within the academic community, however, efforts have often focused on primary and secondary prevention, such as identifying genetic causes of conditions increasing risk of lethal arrhythmias or heart enlargement (i.e. cardiomyopathy).

Alongside clinical experts, epidemiologic research has been particularly helpful in identifying pediatric populations at highest risk of out-ofhospital cardiac arrest/SCD. Simultaneously, - Cardia cont'd on page 6

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Cardiac cont'd from page 5 Project ADAM has gained momentum as clinical experts, administrators, educators, and other stakeholders partner with the organization to implement Public Access Defibrillator programs throughout US schools. Despite this gained momentum, however, additional collaboration between epidemiologists, clinicians, and stakeholders is needed.

similar geographic disparities for children are present, and subsequently, give organizations like Project ADAM data so that they can increase their efforts in those locations. Keeping in mind the key role that clinical input can play in tailoring findings toward clinical audiences in academics, Project ADAM is a public health intervention whose benefits are not wellunderstood on a population level.

Epidemiologists championing this SCD advocacy can play a critical part in informing community stakeholders of Project ADAM’s progress, appeal to schools considering partnerships with Project ADAM based on evidence of their work, forge relationships with families and clinicians for future work, and support the voice and work of families working to advocate for improved SCD awareness. We do, however, have a lot more data to collect and use to implement further community programs designed to improve outcomes following cardiac arrest in children, ensuring they can lead happy, healthy lives. ■

Epidemiologists can be particularly instrumental as they have the statistical expertise to robustly evaluate the effectiveness of Project ADAM training within schools. Prior adult literature identifies stark racial and ethnic disparities, citing that more predominantly Black neighborhoods had lower rates of AED usage and more predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods had lower CPR administration.

Among children, however, more rigorous data identifying disparities within populations is needed. Understanding where these disparities lie can be particularly informative for schoolbased interventions designed to reduce adverse outcomes associated with pediatric out-ofhospital cardiac arrest are needed.

Additional resources can be found at: https://www.projectadam.com/

Epidemiologic expertise can identify if / where

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The Epi Wayback Machine - Articles From Our Archives July 2019

Michael Marmot Delivers Yet Another Wake Up Call at Harvard About Inequalities in Health “Crisis”, “Calamity”, “Disaster” are All Used to Describe Negative Changes in Life Expectancy Author: Roger Bernier, MPH, PhD Michael Marmot is Director of the Institute of Health Equality at the University College London Research Department of Epidemiology & Public Health and a well-known champion for social determinants of health. He delivered the annual Cutter Lecture in early May at the Harvard School of Public Health entitled “Social Justice, Health Equity, and the Social Determinants of Health.”

Life Expectancy As Index The cornerstone of Marmot’s cause for alarm described in the Lecture is the stall or fall in life expectancy in England in 2011 which until then had been increasing by one year every four years since the 1920’s. If you believe that health tells us something fundamental about how well a society is meeting the needs of its population, said Marmot, then this is a “crisis” and the cause urgently needs to be uncovered. Using additional data, Marmot showed that life expectancy at birth is decreasing in some sections of the UK and is worse for the poorest women. Not only is this a “calamity”, he said, but the inequalities are getting worse and that this is a “disaster”. He went on to present similar data about life expectancy and inequalities in the US population.

Amenable To Change Marmot then presented indirect evidence that heath inequalities can be reduced and life expectancy can be improved through government actions. He correlated changes in government administrations in the UK and US with changes in life expectancy and infant mortality, respectively, with populations faring worse with conservative or Republican administrations. These changes are correlated with the percentage of Gross Domestic Product being spent on social programs with the US ranking only 23rd among OECD countries.

Role of Money Marmot also went on to describe how having more money or purchasing power does make a difference in life expectancy at birth in different countries, but only up to a certain threshold.

Above the threshold, other factors play into the health determinants. For example, life expectancy in Costa Rica, Cuba, and Chile is similar to that in the US, however, the GDP per capita is much higher in the US. Something else is driving health in these situations besides purchasing power.

Another way of illustrating this disparity is to note that poor persons in Baltimore with the same purchasing power as persons in Costa Rica have a life expectancy of only 63 years versus 77 in Costa Rica.

One cannot expect to continue gaining in life expectancy, according to Marmot, if inequalities are on the rise. He went on to suggest that the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote.

-7were not the causes of recent losses in life expectancy, but rather that underlying

- Marmot cont'd on page 8

-Marmot cont'd from page 7 Causal Model Marmot described both 1) structural drivers such as racism, economic systems, and cultural factors and 2) conditions of daily life such as early life experiences as having impact on health equity and leading a dignified life. An approach to health and well-being Marmot endorsed is one he uncovered in New Zealand’s Department of Treasury which states that “a well-being approach can be described as enabling people to have the capabilities they need to live lives of purpose, balance, and meaning for them.”

Closing Observations “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” These words from Martin Luther King were invoked by Michael Marmot to parallel and encapsulate his own two-pronged strategy of using evidence-based policy (truth) in a spirit of social justice (love) to combat social inequalities.

To listen to the Cutter Lecture, readers may visit: https://bit.ly/2x1ykBH ■

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Epi Crossword Puzzle – November 2023 Disease-B-Gone Our crossword puzzle was created by by Dr. Richard Dicker—A former CDC employee and notquite-retired epidemiologist. For an online version go to: https://tinyurl.com/3tfnanf7

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- Crossword Questions cont'd on page 12

-Crossword Questions cont'd from page 11 Across

Down, cont

1. Bob Marley was one

5. Time-series model (abbr.)

6. Soccer's Chastain or music's Carlisle

6. Opposite of single malt 11. Subscription to buy local produce (abbr.)

14. Knight's personal protective equipment 15. Settle, as a debt 16. Halloween mo.

17. Disease-be-gone globally, e.g., 3-Down and 31-Across 19. His wife looked back and became a pillar of salt 20. Arthur Miller's salesman 21. Part of NIH 23. Column heading for foodborne outbreak 2-by-2 table 25. Last name in cosmetics 28. Gyro bread 29. One of the Three Bears 31. See 17-Across (declared in 2011) 34. "The Princess Bride" weapon 36. Relish 37. Angst 40. He suggested cutting the baby in half 44. Cover 46. Dodge 47. Disease that may be next for 17-Across 52. Prince William's school 53. Flair 54. Strait-laced 56. MD lifelong learning requirement (abbr.)

57. 87, 89, and 93 are common grades 60. Ship's slip 62. Golf gadget 63. Disease-be-gone from a country or region 68. The Diamondbacks, on scoreboards 69. Pop singer Mann 70. Boss of the Oompa-Loompas 71. Prime meridian std.

72. MCATs and GREs 73. Bottled fuel

7. Tennis call 8. What most of us who read this newsletter do, in brief 9. Chemical formula for lye 10. Unit of force 11. Lassie's breed 12. Belonging to ragtime composer Joplin 13. Let's leave it _______ 18. Current NFL quarterback Derek 22. What you hope the IRB will do to your protocol 23. Res ___ loquitur 24. Croquet area 26. Lt.'s subordinate, in the Navy 27. Secret-keeping contracts (abbr.)

30. Writer Huffington 32. President Morales of Bolivia 33. Chandler Bing, for Mattew Perry (may he RIP) 35. Editor's word for remove 38. Mini-stroke (abbr.)

39. India has achieved 63-Across of this treponemal tropical disease 41. One strategy for enrolling controls 42. Baseball's Blue Moon 43. Aloha State bird 45. Drunkard 47. Assign location, e.g., to a photo 48. Helicobacter pylori can cause these 49. Sheepish response to "Where did the last cookie go?"

50. Disease associated with bats or raccoons in the U.S.; dogs in many other countries 51. Appearance 55. Texas accent 58. No ice for your glass of Glenmorangie 59. Holocaust author Wiesel 61. 'Vette option 64. AOL chats, once 65. Site in NY for "Fashion's Biggest Night Out"

Down 1. Actress Issa

66. River to the Volga (hidden in SPOKANE, for those who are not Russian geography experts)

2. Opposite of dep.

67. "If I Ruled the World" rapper

3. See 17-Across (declared in 1980) 4. Brouhaha

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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 ♦ Scientists have discovered what may be the first “vampire” virus (WAPO via Apple News) https://tinyurl.com/42p6wan4 ♦ Why are so many scientific studies being retracted? (Mother Earth News via Apple News) https://tinyurl.com/2bs6f3hf ♦ Infants are born with syphilis in growing numbers – a sign of a wider epidemic (NYT) https://tinyurl.com/2z86dcyh ♦ The Vampire Bat is moving closer to the US. That’s a problem. (Wired Magazine) https://tinyurl.com/4a8v3hn4 ♦ The viral threat almost nobody is thinking about (The Atlantic via Apple News) https://tinyurl.com/rjr2vf7j ♦ Excruciating hornet sting leaves Rome dinner party guest on crutches as plague spreads (The Guardian) https://tinyurl.com/557xek9j ♦ The surprising success of operation warp speed (Vanity Fair via Apple News) https://tinyurl.com/37874n9a ♦ Strep throat is rising in some areas of the country (NBC News) https://tinyurl.com/3am6uc8k ♦ Why we don’t trust public health anymore (Prevention Magazine via Apple News) https://tinyurl.com/225y7rr6

- Reading cont'd on page 14

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[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 13 box.] the document. the Text Box Tools tabThis to change the formatting of the pull page quote text

Public Health Topics, cont. ♦ How to use the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data: research design and methodology (MMR Journal) https://tinyurl.com/ycyebm4c ♦ Nicaragua Study Contradicts Long-Held Belief about Dengue Immunity (AAAS) https://tinyurl.com/mpjuayyc ♦ Unpublished study finds elevated cancer rates on US military bases (Reuters) https://tinyurl.com/yhkjc2ey

COVID-19 ♦ Who is dying from COVID now? This group represents 90% of the deaths (San Francisco Chronicle) https://tinyurl.com/mrf5szdc ♦ Decoding long COVID, pathophysiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management https://tinyurl.com/yc39zktt ♦ Sewage data shows large COVID-19 spike in Escanaba [MI] (Daily Press) https://tinyurl.com/yc6vwaa8 ♦ Former state epidemiologist says Sweden's COVID strategy misunderstood (Medical Xpress) https://tinyurl.com/y2sk3euu

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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: Judd Walson, MD, MPH, has joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as chair of the Department of International Health and as professor in the Department’s Global Disease Epidemiology and Control program. He assumed the role on November 14, 2023. Walson, whose work focuses on low- and middle-income settings, comes from the University of Washington, where he held several positions since 2007, most recently professor of Global Health, Medicine (Infectious Disease), Pediatrics, and Epidemiology.

Appointed: Julie Kapp, an associate professor of public health in the University of Missouri’s College of Health Sciences, has been appointed to the Publications Board of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Kapp was selected to serve a three-year term on the board, which will run from November 2023 until November 2026. Kapp is nationally recognized by the American College of Epidemiology as a fellow for her significant and sustained contributions to the field. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Psychology Today, USA Today and Yahoo! Health.

Appointed: Douglas Landsittel has been named the new chair of the Department of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. Landsittel will join UB in February from the Indiana UniversityBloomington School of Public Health, where he has served as the James A. Caplin, M.D. Chair in Evidence-based Public Health and chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 2021. Prior to joining Indiana UniversityBloomington, Landsittel held numerous academic appointments and leadership positions at the University of Pittsburgh.

Appointed: The Global Virus Network (GVN) today announced the appointment of Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, as President of the GVN. Dr. Vermund is the Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health, former Dean of the Yale School of Public Health (2017-2022) and serves as a Professor in Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Vermund’s research has mainly focused on health care access, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, and prevention of HIV transmission among general and key populations, including mother-to-child.

Notes on People con't from page 15 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

Appointed: James Luby, M.D., an infectious disease specialist, epidemiologist, and 55-year member of the UT Southwestern faculty, has been appointed Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine. He joined the faculty of UT Southwestern in 1967 and has served the University in multiple ways during his tenure, including as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases from 1975 to 1997. For many years, Dr. Luby headed UT Southwestern’s viral diagnostics lab.

Passed: Wu Zunyou, an epidemiologist who helped drive the country's strict zero-COVID measures in China that suspended access to cities and confined millions to their homes, died on Friday. He was 60. Wu's health had been poor.

He disappeared out of the public eye for months last year while battling cancer.

Wu, who earned his master’s and doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles, had spent much of his early career working on HIV/Aids prevention in China. Wu was instrumental in developing China’s flagship policy in the HIV epidemic among intravenous drug users, according to his biography on the UCLA website Passed: Judith Schwartzbaum, an epidemiologist whose groundbreaking research focused on the relationship between the immune system and the development of glioma (a form of brain cancer). Born in Alameda, California, in 1945, and raised in Los Angeles, she earned multiple degrees in history before shifting to epidemiology, and in 1991 began a long, distinguished career at the Ohio State University's College of Public Health, from which she retired in 2022. https://tinyurl.com/5dfvw68x

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Notes on People con't from page 16 Do you have news about yourself, a colleague, or a student?

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Passed: Public Health Servant Dr. Douglas Huber, of Newton, died peacefully at home, on November 7, 2023, following a short illness. Douglas pursued undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona, earned his MD at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency at the University of Oklahoma's Health Sciences Center. Douglas discovered his love for "the anonymous gift of public health" in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and earned a Master of Science in Medical Demography at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Subsequently, Douglas enjoyed five decades of rewarding work in epidemiology and international public health, working in more than 40 countries to improve health at the population level. https://tinyurl.com/yeyrfw94

Passed: Gary Marsh, PhD, of McMurray, PA passed away on October25, 2023.

Gary was Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and the Founding Director of the Center for Occupational Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health.

He graduated with honors with a BS in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh, and a MS (Hyg) and PhD in Biostatistics from the Graduate School of Public Health at the young age of 25. He joined the faculty of the Department of Biostatistics in the Graduate School of Public Health in 1978 until his retirement in 2020. Gary also served as Interim Chairman for the Department of Biostatistics in the Graduate School of Public Health. Gary became a Senior Principal Health Scientist at Stantec ChemRisk in 2015. https://tinyurl.com/yc5kry87

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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.

December 2023 – No Events Scheduled

We Need Your Event List The EpiMonitor is in the process of assembling our 2024 calendar of worldwide epidemiology and biostatistics events. These events include conferences, summer programs, short courses and more. Please take a moment to send us your event information so you are included in this year’s calendar.

Advertising opportunities for your events exist in this digital publication, on our website, all our social media platforms, and in our Epi-Gram emails.

Michele Gibson / michele@epimonitor.net

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Open-Rank, Tenured / Tenure-Track Faculty Position The Department of Epidemiology and Prevention in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine is experiencing a period of tremendous growth and opportunity, with several ongoing faculty searches underway. With this posting, we are actively recruiting multiple faculty at all ranks who are tenured or tenure-eligible. We are specifically seeking to recruit epidemiologists with methodologic research interests and experience in conducting clinical trials, pragmatic trials, or applying causal inference and pharmacoepidemiology methodologies for target trial emulation.

These positions will significantly contribute to Institutional goals for leveraging our uniquely positioned health system and integrated academic mission to execute clinical trials at scale within the health system. Faculty recruited in these roles will have opportunities to lead in the development of systems, including clinical and electronic health record (EHR) resources, that are critical to high-impact clinical trial infrastructure, trial implementation, and target trial emulation. For methodologists, there will be opportunities to design EHR-based real world cohorts for pragmatic trials and epidemiologic studies that span the entire health system, including the South and Midwest regions of the United States. Individuals with interests in target trial emulation, transporting clinical trial treatment effects to real world cohorts, and pharmacoepidemiology are encouraged to apply. This position recruitment may reside in either Winston-Salem or Charlotte, North Carolina. The new strategic partnership between Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Atrium Health, and Advocate (below) has created an unparalleled opportunity for epidemiological research.

Wake Forest University School of Medicine Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) serves as the academic core of Advocate Health and is among the top 50 research institutions in the United States. Advocate Health (AH) is a large, integrated healthcare delivery system that serves nearly 6 million patients annually and is the fifth largest nonprofit health system in the nation. The health organization is comprised of more than 1,000 care sites and 67 hospitals across 6 states spanning the Southeastern and Midwestern portions of the United States. The expertise, size, and scope of our highly integrated enterprise positions us to be uniquely poised to identify mechanisms of disease, and address barriers and challenges associated with the translation of research into effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of disease.

Qualifications ♦ Desire and ability to work collaboratively across disciplines ♦ Active research portfolio demonstrating methodologic research interests and experience in conducting clinical trials, pragmatic trials, or methodological skills in harnessing real world data sources for target trial emulation and causal inference, commensurate with rank ♦ An established record of obtaining extramural funding ♦ Exceptional methodological skills relevant to the conduct of clinical trials, pragmatic trials, and/or target trial emulation methods using EHR data resources ♦ Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ♦ Commitment to teaching and mentoring graduate, post-graduate, junior faculty, and/or clinicians

Interested candidates may submit their curriculum vitae and cover letter to Bridgette Harris Blackwell (bblackwe@wakehealth.edu) and Elizabeth Jensen, MPH PhD (ejensen@wakehealth.edu). Applicants whose research experience and interests are determined to align with the strategic goals for growth of the Department will be offered the opportunity to provide a Research Statement, Statement of Teaching Philosophy (optional) and sample publication(s). These positions will remain open until all anticipated positions are filled. Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to achieving diversity among its faculty and staff.

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Faculty Fellow Research Assistant Professor Bridge to Faculty Program The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (DEB) in the Arnold School of Public Health (ASPH) (www.sph.sc.edu) at the University of South Carolina (USC) invites applications for a Faculty Fellow at the rank of Research Assistant Professor to join USC’s Bridge to Faculty program. Bridge to Faculty is a program designed to recruit talented early-career scholars as Faculty Fellows at the rank of Research Assistant Professor with the goal of transitioning them to tenure-track faculty members after two years. Bridge to Faculty aims to attract and retain promising scholars with an emphasis on underrepresented early-career scholars.

We invite applications from outstanding scholars whose work contributes to, advances, or expands the boundaries of epidemiology or biostatistics and will have completed a doctoral degree (e.g., PhD, ScD, DrPH) in epidemiology or biostatistics or related disciplines between July 1, 2019, and July 1, 2024. Candidates should demonstrate evidence of potential for high-quality scholarly research and the potential for excellence in teaching and competing for external research funding. Candidates with research expertise from all areas of epidemiology and biostatistics will be considered. Examples of epidemiology faculty expertise are infectious disease epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, epidemiology of aging, perinatal epidemiology, cancer epidemiology, social epidemiology, nutritional epidemiology, and epidemiology of cardiometabolic outcomes. Examples of biostatistics faculty expertise are multivariate analysis, high-dimensional data analysis, multilevel modeling, network analysis, Bayesian modeling and survival analysis, genetics, brain imaging, functional data analysis, longitudinal data analysis, and precision medicine.

How to apply: Qualified candidates should submit the following: 1) cover letter describing your interest in being a Bridge to Faculty scholar at USC, with relevant personal and professional background. Identify 1-2 departmental faculty members who could serve as your mentor(s). 2) curriculum vitae; 3) transcripts (indicating completion of PhD after July 1, 2019 or expected completion of PhD by July 1, 2024); 4) research statement; 5) teaching statement; 6) a statement sharing how your experiences related to diversity, equity, and inclusion can help advance USC’s goal of cultivating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus (1-3 pages). Varied socioeconomic and cultural experiences, diversity-related research, teaching goals emphasizing diversity, and first-generation college graduate status should be highlighted in the statement; 7) up to two writing samples, 8) three letters of recommendation. If you have not yet defended your dissertation, include a letter from your dissertation supervisor confirming that the PhD will be completed by July 1, 2024. To ensure full consideration, application material should be submitted through uscjobs.sc.edu at: https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/155821 For additional information please contact search committee co-chair Dr. James Hébert, Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (jhebert@mailbox.sc.edu).

For Full Information: http://www.epimonitor.net/2023-3790-Epidemiology-Job-Opening.htm

Faculty Position – Epidemiology Open Rank / Tenure Track The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics invites applicants for an open-rank tenure-track position at the Assistant, Associate or Full Professor level in epidemiology. Requirements include a Doctoral Degree in epidemiology, or in related field with additional epidemiology training. Academic rank will be commensurate with experience.

Areas of ongoing research within our department include women's health, reproductive/perinatal/pediatric health, psychiatric and addition epidemiology, aging and neuroepidemiology, cardiovascular epidemiology, cancer epidemiology, environmental health, COVID-19, health services and health policy, health equity, and social determinants of health. We welcome applicants who have complementary areas of research, a strong record of scholarship, and either evidence of or potential for an independent, externally funded research program with national visibility. Teaching in graduate (MS, PhD), professional, and/or undergraduate programs is expected, along with mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion within all aspects of research, instruction, and service. This position offers a competitive salary, excellent benefits and a competitive start-up package.

Candidates should apply on-line at https://jobs.msu.edu for posting #905857 Applicants will submit the following: 1) a curriculum vitae, 2) A statement (2-page maximum) of scholarly activities, research, and teaching interests, 3) A statement (1-page maximum) documenting philosophy and contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion in scholarship, instruction, and/or service and 4) names of three recommenders. For additional information visit https://epibio.msu.edu/ . Questions regarding the positions should be addressed to the Search Committee Coordinator, Clarice Drumgoole ( drumgool@msu.edu ) Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2023, and the position will remain open until filled. All qualified applicants that submit their application will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability, or protected veteran status.

Associate / Full Professor Public Health The Public Health program in the Department of Kinesiology in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at the University of Texas at Arlington, invites applications to fill a tenured position at the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor. This position offers an exciting opportunity to join a talented, committed faculty to make substantial contributions to the continued growth of our academic and research programs in a thriving Public Health program in the Department of Kinesiology. We currently offer a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, a Graduate Certificate in Public Health Studies, a Graduate Certificate in Diversity and Equity in Public Health, and a Master of Public Health with concentrations in epidemiology and urban health. This position will be instrumental in building upon our success and continuing to shape an already dynamic and expanding Public Health education and research program. In addition, as a Carnegie R-1 "Very High Research Activity" institution and as a Texas Tier One institution, the University is poised to experience widespread growth in the near future.

Special Instructions to Applicant To apply applicants should go to https://uta.peopleadmin.com/postings/26017 and submit the following materials: ♦ Curriculum Vitae ♦ Cover Letter ♦ Unofficial Transcripts ♦ Contact information for 3 references ♦ Statement of research interests including your current accomplishments as well as your short- and long-term research goals.

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Questions may be addressed to Dr. Matthew Brothers at matthew.brothers@uta.edu. Full information is available here: https://tinyurl.com/mrfffv86

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