By Kristen Mitchell
The Milken Institute School of Public Health is launching its inaugural Summer Institute next month. The institute will offer two, week-long graduate level classes designed for current students and public health professionals to engage with key health issues.
The summer institute is a school-wide initiative led by Adnan Hyder, senior associate dean for research and professor of global health. Dr. Hyder said Milken Institute SPH and the Office of the Provost have worked hard to expand opportunities for faculty to engage with working professionals, current students and anyone else who wants to learn in a flexible academic environment.
“We want to plant our flag in the academic ground and establish that the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health has a summer institute for health professionals,” he said. “We are trying to offer this academic institute in a way that can be very flexible for people trying to improve their knowledge and skill set.”
The Milken Institute SPH established this summer institute so that working professionals and students from all over the world can deepen their understanding and sharpen their skill set in an interactive classroom here in the nation's capital, said Lynn Goldman, the Michael and Lori Milken Dean of the Milken Institute SPH.
“Such knowledge and skills will be essential for public health leaders who must tackle a wide variety of threats to the public health," she said.
The two classes will take place this year from July 29 to Aug. 2. The course “Understanding Commercial Determinants of Health” will be taught by Nino Paichadze, assistant research professor and will be held during morning sessions. The second course, “Responsible Conduct of Research,” will be taught by Paul Ndebele, research regulatory specialist, in afternoon sessions.
The course taught by Dr. Paichadze will look at what public health professionals can do to control negative health impacts of commercially marketed products like tobacco, sugar and alcohol. Dr. Ndebele’s course will cover ethics topics that are critical for anyone who does research with human subjects. This interactive course is designed to promote a research culture based on high ethical and professional standards.
Participants can take one class or both, which makes the institute accessible for working professionals in the Washington, D.C., region who might not be able to commit five full days to courses. Current Milken Institute SPH students can register for the program to obtain academic credit. Other participants can opt to enroll at a lower-cost no-credit rate if desired.
Dr. Hyder said he hopes the program attracts participants from across the country and continues to grow over the next few years as new courses are added.
“If we offer different courses over the next several years, we hope some participants will continue coming back to build their knowledge and advance their skills in public health,” Dr. Hyder said.
Registration for the Summer Institute is open through July 15.
