The Home Turf of Public Health


November 3, 2011

Students and faculty at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services know that there is no place like Washington, D.C., when it comes to studying public health.

And at the 139th annual American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting and exposition, Oct. 29 through Nov. 2, they got to show their national and international counterparts why.

The meeting, held mainly at the Washington Convention Center, brought more than 13,000 physicians, administrators, nurses, educators, researchers, epidemiologists and public health specialists from around the world to the nation’s capital, where they learned about current and emerging health science, policy and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.

A significant portion of participants were SPHHS faculty, students and alumni.

“At SPHHS, we are taking full advantage of our unique position as the only school of public health in the nation’s capital and as a resource for excellence and integrity in the science of our field,” said Lynn Goldman, dean of SPHHS.

The meeting, which was themed “Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds and Bodies,” featured more than 1,000 scientific sessions and hundreds of research posters on best practices, latest research and new trends in public health.

Founding SPHHS dean Richard Reigleman delivered several presentations on undergraduate public health, a field he pioneered. SPHHS alumna Alexandra Sutton, M.P.H. ’11, spoke about the intersection of social networks, economic empowerment and reproductive health among Guatemalan women. And Kristina Krupincza, an SPHHS master’s student in the Department of Prevention and Community Health, gave a poster presentation on the link between HIV-positive status and contraception use.

“Presenting my culminating experience project at APHA was truly an honor,” said Ms. Krupincza. “It was an enriching experience, which allowed me to receive feedback from seasoned professionals, learn about related projects and network with potential collaborators.”

In all, SPHHS faculty, alumni and students were involved in more than 50 presentations.

GW was not only well-represented in presentations but also in awards.

Amita Vyas, assistant professor and director of the Maternal and Child Health Program in SPHHS’s Department of Prevention and Community Health, and Blaine Parrish, assistant professor and interim director of the Community-Oriented Primary Care Program, director of the Graduate Certificate Program in Community-Based Program Management and assistant professor and vice-chair for administration in the Department of Health Policy, were awarded the Delta Omega Innovative Curriculum Award by the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.

The award, which recognizes innovative graduate public health courses that are responsive to the educational needs of the public health work force, honors the professors’ new course called Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship in Public Health. The curriculum examines the differences between a nonprofit and social entrepreneurship and culminates with a two-week trip to India, where students evaluate the sustainability of non-governmental organizations and develop business plans that improve social and economic conditions in developing countries.

“We are honored to be recognized for this new course curriculum,” said Dr. Parrish “Through this class, we hope to change the direction of how GW and other public health schools approach methods of creating sustainable systems that can most effectively deliver public health services to populations.”

Another prestigious award, the 2011 Loretta P. Lacey Award, was presented to Karen McDonnell, associate professor in SPHHS’s Department of Prevention and Community Health, by the Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health. The award recognized Dr. McDonnell’s leadership in maternal and child health education, research, policy development and advocacy.

“Dr. McDonnell’s cutting edge research on exer-gaming, concept mapping and preventing childhood obesity will impact the lives of children in the D.C. area and throughout the country, as the results are disseminated and replicated,” said the association in a statement about the award.

For more than 150 alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of SPHHS, a highlight of the meeting was an evening reception that celebrated the school’s “unique position at this time in history,” said Dr. Goldman, who hosted the event. Held at the Marian Koshland Science Museum, attendees were encouraged to connect with former and current classmates and colleagues and to explore the museum’s interactive scientific exhibits.

During the reception, Dr. Goldman highlighted SPHHS’s significant progress in recent years, including its rise in rankings, its increase in entering students and its “many new faculty who are the stars in their fields.” She also praised the school’s fast-growing research agenda and looked forward to the construction of its new building, which will mark the first time in history when the school’s seven departments will all be housed in one place.

“Clearly there is no better place and no better time to study public health than right now at GW,” Dr. Goldman said to the reception attendees. “Thank you for your support, your generosity and for the work you all do to enhance the health of our country and the world.”