CATalyst - Winter 2019

WINTER 2019

CONNECTING APPALACHIA:

BROADBAND INTERNET MEANS BETTER OUTCOMES FOR CANCER PATIENTS

IN THIS ISSUE CPH LEADERSHIP TEAM DEAN

Donna Arnett PhD MSPH ASSOCIATE DEAN

FOR ADMINISTRATION

Paula Arnett DrPH MBA ASSOCIATE DEAN

FOR PRACTICE & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Angela Carman DrPH MBA ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH

Teresa Waters PhD

02

11

STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

CENTERS FOCUS ON RURAL HEALTH

ASSOCIATE DEAN (INTERIM)

06

FOR STUDENT & ACADEMIC LIFE

Paula Arnett DrPH MBA ASSISTANT DEAN

FOR INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE

Tomi Akinyemiju PhD

INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE MAKES A SPLASH

DIRECTOR

OF COMMUNICATION

Allison Elliott-Shannon MA DIRECTOR

OF PHILANTHROPY

Shelley Ward

MAGAZINE WRITER/EDITOR

Allison Elliott-Shannon MA DESIGNER/PHOTOGRAPHER

Justin Sumner PRINTER

Copy Express, Lexington KY To request additional copies or for questions or comments, contact allison.elliott@uky.edu or write to: UK College of Public Health 111 Washington Avenue Suite 212 Lexington, KY 40536

04

12

FOCUS ON FACULTY

A NEW HOME FOR CPH

Facebook @ukcph Twitter @ukcph Instagram @ukcph cph.uky.edu

10 CONNECTING APPALACHIA

Dear Friends and Alumni: Welcome to a new issue of Catalyst, the magazine of the UK College of Public Health.

I hope 2019 is off to a happy and healthy start for you and yours.

For the College, 2018 was a year of growth.

We earned re-accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. We hired new faculty, including department chairs. We educated more undergraduate students than ever and began offering a new accelerated BPH + MPH degree path. Our Office of Inclusive Excellence introduced new initiatives, including a deliberate effort to recruit diverse faculty.

On the research front, our faculty investigators launched new funded projects focused on countering the opioid crisis, improving the lives of Kentucky children, and creating better outcomes for rural cancer patients. Our impact on rural Kentucky communities — already substantial — grew through work by our faculty and research centers with regional and national agency partners. And in 2018 the College became the home of the new UK Center for Innovation in Population Health — a multidisciplinary center dedicated to pursuing multisectoral (public, private, academic) solutions for population health.

In December 2018, the UK Board of Trustees reviewed the plan for campus modernization, which includes a home for CPH in a fully renovated and modernized Scovell Hall on South Limestone Street. With nearly 70,000 gross square feet, this historic building will provide enough room to bring the College under one roof while accommodating future growth.

In 2019 the College will work with experts in UK facilities, philanthropy, and finance to make the goal of a new and permanent home for the College a reality. Alongside other campus modernization projects included in bond approval already granted by the state, the Scovell renovation will also be supported through the University’s Kentucky Can comprehensive fundraising campaign. With a new home on campus, we can educate more students, produce more research, and heal more communities. The future is indeed looking bright for CPH. As you read this issue, perhaps you may see yourself in these stories of individuals who push themselves every day to learn more, be more, and do more to build a healthier world.

I hope you will feel compelled to join us as we work toward our goal of improved population health in Kentucky and beyond.

Let’s show the world what Kentucky can do.

Sincerely,

Donna K. Arnett, PhD, MSPH Dean, UK College of Public Health

WINTER 2019 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 1 ]

Students and Alumni

MAANASA MANCHIKANTI

HUONG LUU

Maanasa Manchikanti spent Summer 2018 in Barcelona, Spain, where she completed an internship with health technology firm B-WOM. Through UK Education Abroad, she had the opportunity to live with other UK students in Barcelona and travel throughout Europe.

Dr. Huong Luu came to UK from her home city of Hanoi, Vietnam, with her medical degree already in-hand. Luu graduated with her PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in December 2018, and plans to spend the next year working as a biostatistician for the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center before pursuing her longterm goal of a faculty career.

Bachelor of Public Health, Junior

“I had previously done job-shadowing in a healthcare environment, preparing for my goal of becoming a pediatric oncologist,” Manchikanti said.

“This internship, which focused on technology to help women take control of their health, shed new light for me on the stigma affecting women’s health choices.”

What advice does Manchikanti have for students who want to follow her path by fitting academics, research, service, travel, experiential education, and a dose of fun in four years?

“Be proactive and plan in advance. And be openminded. Consider going somewhere or having an experience you never would have seen yourself doing. You will learn a lot about yourself.”

Get the full story on this accomplished BPH student at http://cph.uky.edu/catalyst.

PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 2018

Luu’s research focuses on the use of prescription drug monitoring program data to inform understanding of opioid use. With her faculty mentor Dr. Svetla Slavova, associate professor of Biostatistics, Luu developed computational tools and conducted a series of studies to evaluate trends and patterns in opioid prescribing, with the aim of providing recommendations for policy responses to the opioid crisis.

What is Luu’s advice for prospective graduate students?

“Identifying research topics you are interested in early is very important…Professors at CPH are reachable, outstanding, inspiring, and very helpful to provide you with timely, practical, and thorough advice and guidance, which I consider the most important advantage of our program.”

Learn more about how this PhD grad is fighting Kentucky’s opioid crisis at http://cph.uky.edu/catalyst.

[ 2 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | WINTER 2019

Alumni Spotlight ETHAN TREY CARDWELL Master of Public Health, 2018

Trey Cardwell graduated from the College of Public Health with an MPH in May 2018. He is currently living and working in Lesotho, where he was sworn into service as a member of the Peace Corps on December 13. Cardwell will spend two years in Lesotho as part of the 88th cohort of volunteers, working with the Paray Mission Hospital in the Thaba Tseka district. His work will focus on the Adolescent Health Corner with the goal of increasing youth-friendly services — particularly those related to HIV/AIDS. “Being the only MPH in my Peace Corps cohort and focusing my studies on sexually transmitted infections while at UK has put me at a particular advantage. During our Peace Corps training sessions we actually discussed the history of public health and theories like the stages of change. Due to my public health background I was able to co-facilitate sessions — how to use a male and female condom for example.”

What inspired Cardwell to serve in the Peace Corps?

“We spend so much time learning about how we as public health professionals will be able to use our degrees to help others, and for me this was my chance to dive right in. Getting to use the knowledge I’ve garnered at UK and serve as an ambassador for my country is very important to me. Americans now more than ever need to remember what really makes us great; it’s the action of presidents like John F. Kennedy establishing organizations that work towards peace and friendship amongst nations (the Peace Corps). I’m honored to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.”

Cardwell is also using his time in the Peace Corps to contemplate his career steps at the end of his service. “I would love to move to London to pursue a PhD in Global Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, but I’ve got two years to think on that.”

What is Cardwell’s advice for other public health graduates contemplating a future with the Peace Corps?

“Do it! There are some things you just can’t learn in a classroom and there are very few experiences that would compare to this one. Your degree is only a bonus to all that you will learn through service.”

WINTER 2019 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 3 ]

A Year of Faculty Growth July 2018

August

Dr. Heather Bush

Dr. Joseph Benitez

became chair of the Department of Biostatistics.

joined the College as assistant professor of Health Management and Policy.

Dr. Marc Kiviniemi

joined the College as chair of the Department of Health, Behavior & Society.

Dr. Emily Slade

joined the College as assistant professor of Biostatistics.

New Funded Research Supports Kentucky Children Dr. Christina Studts, assistant professor of Health, Behavior & Society, is principal investigator on a new $3.4 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, focused on psychosocial interventions designed to support children with hearing loss or deafness and their families.

In addition to Studts, the R01 faculty research team includes Dr. Matthew Bush, associate professor in the UK College of Medicine, Dr. Joneen Lowman, professor in the UK College of Health Sciences, and Dr. Philip Westgate, associate professor of Biostatistics in CPH. Julie Jacobs, MPH, serves as project director. left to right: Jacobs, Westgate, Studts, Lowman, Bush

[ 4 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | WINTER 2019

Read the full news release at cph.uky.edu/catalyst.

October

Dr. Anna Kucharska-Newton joined the College as associate professor of Epidemiology.

December

Dr. Kimberly Tumlin

joined the College as assistant professor of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health.

Dr. Erin Haynes joined the College as chair of the Department of Epidemiology.

Dr. Sarah Vos

joined the College as lecturer in Health Management and Policy.

Jockey and Equestrian Initiative Leads on Safety Dr. Kimberly I. Tumlin, assistant professor of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, is the associate director of a new multidisciplinary project at UK focused on making equestrian sports safer for humans and their horses. The Jockey & Equestrian Initiative (JEI) is housed within the UK Sports Medicine Research Institute. Dr. Carl Mattacola of the UK College of Health Sciences serves as director.

“Jockeys and riders are inherently at risk, participating in a sport where injury rates are high, safety equipment is often inadequate, and adoption of safer behaviors is frequently inconsistent,” Tumlin said. “But systems and policy to support safe sport practices are emerging, with the JEI in the forefront of an effort to build sustainability of health and safety among equestrians.”

The Racewood MK9.5 is custom built and is the world’s first fully immersive interactive racing simulator.

Read the full news release at cph.uky.edu/catalyst.

WINTER 2019 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 5 ]

Inclusive Excellence Makes a Splash During the Fall 2018 semester, the CPH Office of Inclusive Excellence, led by Assistant Dean Tomi Akinyemiju, sponsored the “CPH: Let’s Talk!” series. Students, faculty, and staff came together for interactive presentations by experts drawn from across the University. They tackled some tough topics and learned from each other’s diverse perspectives.

“Let’s Talk!” Speaker Series • Understanding Military Culture and Associated Transition Issues UK Veterans Resource Center • QPR and Suicide Prevention UK Counseling Center • Safe Zone UK Office of LGBTQ* Resources • Cross-Cultural Communication UK Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives • Consent Culture UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center • Green Dot Overview UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center

2018 Highlights: • Student and Faculty/Staff Inclusion Committees formed. These groups of dedicated advocates for inclusion will serve as an advisory council for Dr. Akinyemiju.

• CPH co-sponsored the Feast on Equality, an initiative of the UK Office of LGBTQ* Resources.

• UK was named a Diversity Champion by INSIGHT into Diversity, for the second year running.

• UK became the only Southeastern Conference university ranked in the top 25 schools for LGTBQ* support by the Campus Pride Index (with a perfect five-out-of-five score).

• A series of “Coffee and Conversation” gatherings gave the College community the chance to have open discussions about what’s working – and what needs improvement – to build a culture of inclusion at CPH.

Upcoming Inclusive Excellence Initiatives: • Going forward, CPH will emphasize inclusiveness in all faculty searches by including in every position advertisement an affirmative statement of commitment to all forms of diversity — including attracting candidates of diverse backgrounds, who wish to teach and mentor a diverse student body, while working in a College that emphasizes research focused on traditionally understudied populations.

• A film series focused on diversity and inclusion will provide a platform for students, faculty, and staff to participate in discussions about current events.

• Dr. Akinyemiju is putting together a climate survey to gather more information on attitudes toward inclusion and diversity at CPH, with the goal of informing future programming.

Learn more at http://cph.uky.edu/diversity.

left to right: LTJ Alumni Group President Lee A. Jackson; UK Vice President for Institutional Diversity Sonja Feist-Price; UK President Eli Capilouto; Tsage Douglas; Dr. Timothy Crawford; CPH Dean Donna Arnett

Lyman T. Johnson Awards Two members of the College of Public Health community were among those honored by the UK Alumni Association Lyman T. Johnson African American Alumni Group in October 2018.

Bachelor of Public Health student Tsage Douglas was named a Lyman T. Johnson Torch Bearer. Dr. Timothy Crawford, DrPH alumnus, received a Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award. The awards were presented by the UK Office for Institutional Diversity, the UK Provost’s Office, and the UK Alumni Association.

WINTER 2019 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 7 ]

2018 APHA Annual Meeting November 10 - 14, San Diego, California

Between oral presentations, poster sessions, learning institutes, and section meetings, CPH scholars were in full force at the 2018 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting.

Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the College enjoyed the Alumni Networking Reception Monday night, co-sponsored by the UK Alumni Association. [ 8 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | WINTER 2019

The CPH crew also found some time for fun in the California sun.

Partnership Between FDA, UK, UNC Will Shape Opioid Regulatory Decisions The U.S. Federal Drug Administration has awarded a four-year $3.3 million contract to researchers at the UK College of Public Health and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) to conduct studies to help the agency evaluate emerging technologies and provide information vital to making regulatory decisions.

IN $3.3 MILLION FDA FUNDING

2 1

POWERHOUSE UNIVERSITIES COLLABORATION TO STOP THE OPIOID CRISIS

Dr. Svetla Slavova, associate professor of Biostatistics and faculty researcher with the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC), will lead work that includes collaboration with the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) system, the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Her team will continue to develop electronic linkages of prescribing, mortality, and toxicology data in Kentucky.

Other partnering institutions include DePaul University, Sawbuck Productions, Urban Survivors Union, the UK College of Pharmacy’s Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, and the University of Louisville. The multidisciplinary project team includes pain management physicians, pharmacists, ethnographers, people who use drugs, people living with chronic pain, statisticians, epidemiologists, state government officials, and policy makers.

“We will develop a panoramic portrait of the opioid crisis, rather than a series of isolated data snapshots,” said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, senior research scientist at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and lead investigator on the project. “We’ll fundamentally improve the quality of information available to the FDA for regulatory decisions regarding opioids.”

“This project unites UK and UNC – both powerhouses of research and practice in the areas of injury prevention and opioid addiction – in our common goal of turning the tide of the opioid crisis,” said CPH Dean Donna K. Arnett. “The work undertaken by this impressive group of researchers will develop new tools to support FDA decision-making on opioid deterrence, with the potential to greatly improve population health nationwide.”

“The data will then be used to provide the FDA with improved monitoring of emerging medication risks,” Slavova said. “The timeliness of data availability could revolutionize our concept of what can be learned about newly marketed drugs.”

Faculty at UK and UNC will conduct research to help the FDA better understand the use of opioid therapies and products designed to prevent abuse – and the impact of the products on use, overdose, and fatalities.

The research will increase the FDA’s knowledge of data systems and methods used in studying the impact of new medications as well as develop new data resources and methods that will be available as open-source research tools.

Dr. Svetla Slavova WINTER 2019 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 9 ]

Ready for LAUNCH:

Bridging the Digital Divide to Improve Cancer Care

Dr. Robin Vanderpool, associate professor of Health, Behavior & Society and director of Community Outreach and Engagement at UK Markey Cancer Center, is leading a project to help bridge the broadband health connectivity gap in Appalachia. LAUNCH (Linking & Amplifying User-Centered Networks through Connected Health): A Demonstration of Broadband-Enabled Health for Rural Populations in Appalachia will target areas facing the dual challenges of higher cancer mortality rates and lower levels of broadband access. The initial geographic focus will be rural Kentucky.

According to the CDC, rural Americans are still more likely to die from cancer than their urban counterparts. The situation is particularly acute in Appalachia, where cancer “hotspots” are often overlaid with gaps in broadband service. This means that the promises of 21st-century connected care are out of reach for many Appalachian regions already struggling with high cancer diagnosis and mortality rates.

“Kentucky leads the nation in cancer incidence, and it’s our responsibility here at the UK College of Public Health and the Markey Cancer Center to help reduce the burdens of cancer on our citizens.”

“Research suggests that when patients report symptoms electronically to their care providers, they are almost twice as likely to report improvements to health-related quality of life than those in a disconnected control group,” said Dr. Bradford Hesse, chief, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, National Cancer Institute. “Electronically connected patients were also less likely to be admitted to the emergency room and had greater survival rates than patients in the control group. Collaborating with the FCC is a vital step for improving cancer outcomes for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”

“Kentucky leads the nation in cancer incidence, and it’s our responsibility here at the UK College of Public Health and the Markey Cancer Center to help reduce the burdens of cancer on our citizens,” said Vanderpool. “This collaboration will allow us to connect an underserved population to resources that can help patients manage the symptoms that accompany cancer treatment and beyond, ultimately leading to an improved quality of life.”

LAUNCH is the first project under a memorandum of understanding signed by the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force and the National Cancer Institute, focused on the ways in which increasing broadband access and adoption in rural areas can improve the lives of rural cancer patients. Highlighting the power of public-private partnerships, current project stakeholders include cancer experts, researchers, technologists, and industry representatives from CPH, the UK Markey Cancer Center, Amgen, and the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Robin Vanderpool

Centers Focus on Rural Health SCAHIP Helps FFA Members Prevent Injuries Every year the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention (SCAHIP), led by Dr. Wayne Sanderson, provides a station on agricultural health and safety in the Education Section of the National FFA conference. The conference is attended by more than 60,000 students from junior and senior high schools in all 50 states and the U.S. territories. SCAHIP provides instruction on injury prevention, particularly related to tractors and agricultural machinery. This year the virtual reality experience was a big hit with FFA members. Learn more at http://www.uky.edu/scahip.

RCPC Fosters Collaboration in Eastern Kentucky The Rural Cancer Prevention Center (RCPC), led by director Dr. Richard Crosby and associate director Tom Collins, MPH, is working with rural communities to fight cancer through prevention and early diagnosis. In September, the RCPC hosted a site visit team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The groups gathered in Hazard, Ky., to meet with representatives from the Kentucky River Health Department and other community stakeholders, to learn first-hand the RCPC’s impact on the lives of rural residents. Learn more at http:// www.uky.edu/rcpc.

RUHRC Highlights Latest Research The Rural and Underserved Health Research Center (RUHRC) held its annual symposium on November 12.

Scholars from multiple institutions gathered to discuss pressing issues in rural health, including opioids, vaccines, rural hospital closures, and the health of coal miners. Dr. Ty Borders, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky Endowed Chair in Rural Health Policy and professor of Health Management and Policy in the College of Public Health, also serves as director of the RUHRC. Learn more at https://ruhrc.uky.edu/.

WINTER 2019 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 11 ]

Why I Give: Faculty Perspective

“Within a few weeks of my arrival at the UK College of Public Health, Dean Arnett launched a fundraising campaign for a new facility, made a lead contribution, and encouraged faculty to consider joining her in supporting the college.

I thought, ‘Chris and I have turned our whole lives upside-down to move here, I need to do my part to help CPH get their forever home!’

Our contribution comes directly out of my paycheck, so it is easy and painless to honor the commitment.”

Teresa M. Waters, PhD Professor and Chair, Department of Health Management and Policy Charles T. Wethington, Jr., Endowed Chair in the Health Sciences

[ 12 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | WINTER 2019

Dear Friends of CPH, We take seriously our role as the University of Kentucky and as the University for Kentucky. That’s why in September 2018, UK launched an historic effort on behalf of this special community and on behalf of our Commonwealth and all those we serve.

Kentucky Can: The 21st Century Campaign is a $2.1 billion fundraising effort to ensure that more students attend our University without incurring debt, that more knowledge is created, and that more resources are generated to support the facilities that make our work possible.

The College of Public Health is taking center stage in the Kentucky Can campaign, with a planned $42 million renovation of Scovell Hall to create a permanent home for our growing student body, our world-class faculty, and the professional staff who support our mission to improve health in Kentucky and beyond. With a modernized facility large enough to bring the College under one roof, we can educate more students, produce more research, and change more lives than at any time in our history.

Right now, we need our friends and supporters more than ever. We are focused on creating more opportunities for students, on giving our faculty the freedom to address today’s most pressing health problems, and on building a brighter future for people in the Commonwealth and across the globe. We will do this through new scholarships, endowed professorships and chairs, and support for paradigm-shifting research.

May we count on you to help us show the world what Kentucky can do? Gifts of any size are appreciated, but we also want to meet you to learn about your story and why the work of this College matters to you. To connect with the College of Public Health, please contact me by email at shelley.ward@uky.edu or by telephone at 859.323.4551.

Thank you for your leadership and support as we enter an exciting new chapter in the life of the College of Public Health.

Sincerely,

Shelley Ward Director of Philanthropy shelley.ward@uky.edu 859.323.4551

WINTER 2019 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 13 ]

College of Public Health

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 51 LEXINGTON, KY

College of Public Health University of Kentucky 111 Washington Avenue Lexington, KY 40536

http://cph.uky.edu/ An Equal Opportunity University