School of Rural Public Health inducts members into honor society

The Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC) School of Rural Public Health inducted an honorary member, faculty member, 12 students and 10 alumni into the local Alpha Tau chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health on May 14 at a luncheon in their honor at the school.

The Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health was founded in 1924 at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health as the honorary society for graduate studies in public health. Honorary members are those possessing exceptional qualifications and having attained meritorious national or international distinction in the field of public health. Faculty members are nominated for outstanding performance in teaching and research, while students are chosen for scholarly performance. Alumni are nominated for actively engaging in public health work.

“Membership in Delta Omega is intended not only to recognize merit but also to encourage further excellence in and devotion to public health work,” said Antonio René, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate dean for academic affairs in the HSC-School of Rural Public Health and Alpha Tau chapter chair. “Delta Omega members reflect dedication to quality in the field of public health and to protection and advancement of the health of all people.”

The honorary inductee and luncheon guest speaker was Lucina Suarez, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of the environmental epidemiology and disease registries section of the Texas Department of State Health Services. Dr. Suarez also serves as an adjunct professor at the school.

Faculty member Thomas McDonald, Ph.D., was inducted with the following students: SangNam Ahn, Patricia Billingsley, Jeffrey Bowman, Jeffrey Buck, Vanessa Cantu, Emma Dishner, Amy Hansen, Ololade (Lola) James, Chelsea Mounce, Michelle Nip, Joshua Vest and Chen Zhang. Inducted alumni were Sarah Carson, Suman Challa, Olga Gabriel, Steve Griesenbeck, Jay Jezierski, Wendy Moreno, Alicia Novoa, Rasul Ramji, Bryan Sisk and Holly Ulbrich.

Dr. Ory part of team examining physical activity, environmental policies in Brazos Valley

Marcia Ory, Ph.D. (above), Regents Professor in the Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC) School of Rural Public Health, is part of a team headed by the Brazos Valley Community Action Agency that recently received $150,000 from the Texas Department of State Health Services to establish Umbrella Partnerships – BE Active in our Town (UP-BEAT).

Dr. Ory will work with Ashley Wilson, M.P.H. (below), research scientist at the HSC-School of Rural Public Health, to evaluate physical activity and environmental policy changes for the UP-BEAT project in the Brazos Valley.

“We are thrilled that support is available to bring together partners from diverse sectors who can make a difference in reducing obesity in our community,” Dr. Ory said.

Julie Ribardo, Ph.D., director of health education and prevention at the Brazos Valley Community Action Agency, will lead the team that includes Judith Warren, Ph.D., Texas AgriLife Extension Service; Theresa Manthei, Brazos Valley Health Department; Corliss Outley, Texas A&M University Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences; and Klaus Koyer Madsen, Texas Health Institute.

ASSE Conference

The Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health hosted during Public Health Week the ASSE Region III Student Professional Development and Leadership Conference. Students from Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas attended the two-day conference, which included a fashion show of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Personal Sampling Devices modeled by some of the School’s students. Ann Marie Boklemann, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, helped organize the conference.

2010 Fun Run

The School of Rural Public Health ended National Public Health Week with the third annual 5K Fun Run on the morning of Saturday, April 10, 2010. This year’s theme coincided with National Public Health Week’s theme, “A Healthier America: One Community At A Time.” The purpose of this year’s Fun Run was to raise money for the School of Rural Public Health’s student scholarship and special project fund as well as provide an opportunity for the Brazos Valley to “kick start” healthy living initiatives thought the run/walk. We had a great turnout with a total of 104 participants ranging from 9 to 60+ years old. The entry fee was $15.00 prior to the race and $20.00 the morning off the race. Each participant received a race bag that included a t-shirt with the national public health week logo, a CCHD aluminum water bottle, hand sanitizer, and many other coupons to local businesses. Each participant was divided into age categories designed to give runners a chance to win a medal. The age groups were as follows: 25 and under, 26-35, 36-49, 50 and over for both males and females. Medals were awarded to the top three finishers in each age group, along with a plaque given to both the overall male and female finisher. The Fun Run committee consisted of Dr. Jane Bolin, Ashley Wilson, Harlan Johnson, Jessica Pierce, Thomas Hunt, Mario Castillo, Nick Reale, Christina Ly, Budi Yunanto and Christopher Grunkemeyer. Thanks to the committee, the 30 plus student volunteers, and the many businesses in our community who donated to the event, the SRPH 5K Fun Run was another huge success.

See the results of the run at http://srph.tamhsc.edu/fun-run/!

Scholarship for Chen Zhang from International AIDS Society

Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health student Chen Zhang was recently awarded a scholarship from the International AIDS Society to attend the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, July 18-23, 2010. The paper she will present is “Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Risks Among Female Sex Workers in China.”

Public Health Week declared in Bryan & College Station

The mayors of Bryan and College station joined together to proclaim this week "National Public Health Week." Mayor Ben White of College Station and Bryan's Mayor Mark Conlee stopped by the Texas A&M Health Science School of Rural Public Health to read the declaration. The school is set to host a panel addressing issues facing cancer patients and their caregivers.

National Public Health Week poster contest winners announced

In honor of National Public Health Week (April 5-11), Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health students participated in the fifth annual research poster symposium and student poster contest.

Posters were judged Monday, April 5 at the HSC-School of Rural Public Health complex.

First place went to Amy Hansen (picture above with Dr. Brender and Dr. Blakely) for “Dietary Intake of Choline and Neural Tube Defects in Mexican Americans” (co-authors Jean Brender, Hongwei Zhao, Anne Sweeney, Lucina Suarez, Mark Canfield, Marilyn Felkner).

Jeff Bowman (pictured left with Dr. Blakely, Dr. McDonald, & Marc Adams) placed second for “The Detection of Sublethal Concentrations of Cyanide in Drinking Water: Using Reliability of the Eclox® Enhanced Chemiluminescense Assay” (co-authors M.J. Adams, L.K. McLeroy, V.R. Nathan, C.C. Mathewson, T.J. McDonald).

Third place was Santosh Nazare (pictured right with Marc Adams, Dr. Brender, & Dr. Blakely) for “Diastolic Prehypertension: A Predictor of Cardiovascular Disease” (co-author Marc Adams). Hansen and Nazare are in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Bowman is in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

The winners have been invited by the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health to submit abstracts for the 13th annual Student Poster Session through the Academic Public Health Caucus at the next American Public Health Association meeting, Nov 6-10 in Denver.