August 18, 2009: Jonathan Ragone is a native Long Islander.
He has been at Stony Brook University since the Fall of 1998 when he entered as
a freshman. Jonathan earned both a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and a Masters
of Arts in Liberal Studies; with a concentration in Human Resources and
Education.
Over the last eight years, he has worked for the Division of Campus
Residences. Some of his experiences include student staff
recruitment/selection, leadership development/training, curriculum development,
event planning, advising, and teaching. Most recently he served as Quad
Director of H-Quad which is the Undergraduate College of Leadership and
Service. Jonathan is passionate about community service, leadership, and
student development. He is excited to be part of the GPPH Team! Welcome,
Jonathan!
August 8, 2009: The Graduate Program in Public Health is
very pleased to announce that Amy Hammock will be joining the faculty and
serving the Community Health concentration. Dr. Hammock received her Ph.D. from
the University of Michigan. She has expertise in health education, program
evaluation, community-based participatory research, and qualitative methods.
Her current areas of research include intimate partner violence prevention and
intervention, adolescent health, and the use of the arts in promoting community
health.
In her teaching, Dr. Hammock encourages critical thought and learning
through a variety of participatory approaches, such as small group discussions,
formal debates, group projects, and interactive lectures.
While in Michigan, Dr. Hammock was the Evaluation Coordinator of The Shanti
Project, a community-based intimate partner violence prevention program in a
local immigrant community. During this time, she also served as a program
evaluator for the health education division of The Corner Health Center, a
community health center for adolescents. Prior to her doctoral work, as a
Fulbright Scholar in Mexico, Dr. Hammock conducted program evaluations of two
community centers offering services to battered women and their children. She
also worked as an advocate in two battered women's shelters in Massachusetts.
Welcome, Amy!
June 8, 2009: Breena R. Taira, MD, MPH, recent graduate of
the GPH and fellow in Emergency Medicine, was invited by the World Health
Organization to participate in the Third meeting of the Global Initiative of
Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (GIEESC) in UlaanBaatar, Mongolia June
5-6, 2009. GIEESC is a WHO initiative begun in 2005 to improve collaborations
among organizations, agencies and institutions involved in reducing death and
disability from road traffic accidents, trauma, burns, falls, pregnancy related
complications, domestic violence, disasters and other emergency surgical
conditions. GIEESC aims to strengthen capacity to deliver effective emergency
surgical care at the first referral level facility, thereby contributing
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Dr. Taira reported
to the members of GIEESC on the results of a study of surgical capacity and
infrastructure in the conflict-affected areas of Sri Lanka.
April 12, 2009: Congratulations to Margaret (Peg) Davis,
MPH student and Director of the Witness Project of Long Island, a faith-based
breast cancer awareness program for African American communities offered in
collaboration with the Stony Brook University Cancer Center and the town of
Babylon and other Suffolk County communities. Peg was honored at the annual New
York Conference Women's Missionary Society, African Methodist Episcopal Church,
for her many years of leadership and service to that organization.
Margaret (Peg) V. Davis is the immediate past 1st Vice President of the New
York Conference Women's Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, having served eight years under the dynamic leadership of President
Margaret N. Bell. In that capacity, she also served as the Conference 's first
Commissioner of Christian Social Action. Sister Peg has also served as 2nd Vice
President in the administration of Sister Carolyn Scavella, as PME Director for
the Eastern Long Island Area when Sister Bell was Area Chairperson, and was
appointed YPD Director for the Long Island Area by Sister Shermanita Dixon.
Mrs. Davis was elected by the Society to represent the NY Conference WMS as
Delegate #1 to both the 15th (2003) & 16th (2007) Quadrennial Conventions
of our Connectional (International) Women's Missionary Society. She is a member
of the 1st District's Commission on Christian Social Action, working with
Constitution & Bylaws. She enjoys her work in this Wonderful Ministry of
Service that is the WMS!
As a minister's wife, she is a member of the AME Spouses, Widows, and
Widowers Alliance of New York, was President of that Alliance from 1984-1986,
and is currently the oraganization's Historiographer.
Sister peg retired from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) after 25 1/2
years of employment that included Director of the Association's LI Chapter, and
Regional Program Manager for the Northeast Area. At her retirement in May 2003,
she was the Senior Area Director of Programs and Outreach. She developed the
prototype for "Diabetes Sunday", now a national ADA program for faith
based diabetes education, and organized the first "Diabetes Expo" for
the Northeast Area. Ms. Davis joined the staff at the Stony Brook University
Cancer Center in October 2003 and is currently the Director for the Witness
Project of Long Island, a faith-based breast cancer awareness program for
African American communities offered in collaboration with the Town of Babylon
and other Suffolk County communities.
Her volunteer work includes participation in the National Congress of
Parents and Teachers, (PTA), first as President of the Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. Elementary School in Wyandanch. Mrs. Davis was appointed Distrcit Director
for Suffolk County PTA in 1983, the first African American to hold this
position, and was later appointed to the NY State Executive Board as Health
Chair. Elected 7th and then 3rd Vice President of the New York State PTA, she
has received the NY State Distinguished Service Award, and Honorary Life
Memberships in both State and National PTA organizations. In recognition of her
leadership and commitment to children and education, the Suffolk Region PTA
Annually awards the "Peg Davis Leadership Award" at its
"Presidents and Principals Dinner." Most recently, Sister Peg has
become a founding member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Suffolk
Chapter, where she chairs the CHapter's Health Committee.
An ongoing pursuit for Sister Davis while raising her family and
establishing her career was the completion of her baccalaureate studies. At the
age of 61, she received, with Senior Honors, her BS degree in Organizationl
Management from St. Joseph's College's School of Adult and Professional
Education. She is now a student in Stony Brook University's Graduate Program in
Public Health seeking an MPH.
Sister Peg and her husband, the Reverend Leonard M. Daivs, Pastor of Bethel
AME Church in Babylon, will celebrate 43 years of marriage on May 7th; they
reside in Coram, Long Island. Sister Peg has worked as Advisor to the
missionary societies at the churches where Pastor Davis has served. They have
three adult children, a son - Leonard Jr., (Manassas, VA), two daughters -
Michelle Davis Johnston (Fort Worth, TX) and Marlisha Davis Johnson
(Martinsburg, WVA), and are additionally blessed with seven grandchildren. She
loves the Lord, and gives Him all the glory and honor for the many blessings
she has received.
March 6th, 2009: "What if I told you I could write a
prescription for medicine that would do all of the following: lower blood
pressure, blood sugar, and weight; improve cholesterol, sleep, bone and heart
health; and decrease the risk for cancer? Imagine one prescription that could
do all of these things and more. Well, that prescription exists and there is
only one catch: you'll need 30 minutes a day to take it. Yes, that's right, the
'medicine' is exercise."
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has launched a new national
campaign called "Exercise is Medicine" and Dr. Steven Jonas, NYAM
Fellow, with Dr. Edward M. Phillips, has written the official textbook in
support of this public health program. Exercise is Medicine calls on all
physicians, regardless of specialty, and other healthcare providers to deliver
a physical activity message and prescription to every patient. With this book,
practitioners will learn how to motivate and instruct patients on the
importance of exercise and how to design practical exercise programs for
patients of all ages and fitness levels, as well as those with special
conditions such as pregnancy, obesity, and cancer.
Steven Jonas, MD, MPH, MS, a NYAM Fellow since 1992, is Professor of
Preventive Medicine, at the School of Medicine of Stony Brook University. Dr.
Jonas is a widely respected authority on the importance of exercise and sports
and their connection to health policy and public health. Dr. Jonas is also a
prolific and accomplished writer, having authored 12 books on his own,
co-authored 17 books, published more than 135 professional articles, book
chapters, and book reviews, and presented over 100 papers at conferences and
seminars across the country.
February 27th, 2009: Congratulations to JaymieMeliker, our
GPPH faculty member whose article entitled "Breast and Prostate Cancer
Survival in Michigan: Can Geographic Analyses Assist in Understanding Racial
Disparities?" will appear in the May 15 issue of CANCER. The journal has
also selected this article as newsworthy and will be promoting it to the media
in the coming weeks.
February 17th, 2009: Congratulations to Ellen Sano, MPH
student and physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine, whose abstract
entitled "National Trends in Emergency Department Waiting Times for
Patients with Sepsis from 1997 to 2006" was accepted for presentation at
the annual meeting of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine in May of this
year. Ellen's research was developed during her course with Dr. Meng - Health
Services Research Applications - this fall.
February 17th, 2009: Congratulations to MPH student, Erin
Healy, who is an author with her colleagues from Pulmonary Medicine of
"Use of the All Patient Refined-Diagnosis Group (APR-DRG) Risk of
Mortality Score as a Severity-Adjustor in the ICU." The paper was recently
published in Clinical Medicine: Circulatory, Respiratory, and Pulmonary
Medicine.
February 9th, 2009: Congratulations to BreenaTaira, MPH
student and physician in Emergency Medicine, whose article entitled
"Burden of surgical disease: Does the literature reflect the scope of the
international crisis?" has been accepted for publication in the World
Journal of Surgery.
February 6th, 2009: The Center for Public Health and
Health Policy Research in collaboration with Literacy Suffolk, Inc.
has received a National Institutes of Health Partners in Research grant
entitled Community Alliance for Research Empowering Social Change (CARES).
CARES will consist of an interdisciplinary team of researchers, community based
organizations and community members working together to improve minority health
outcomes through evidence based public health.
October 15th, 2008: Stony Brook University's Graduate
Program in Public Health received accreditation from the Council on Education
for Public Health (CEPH). Congratulations to all Faculty, Students, Alumni,
Staff, and Affiliates of GPPH!
June 16th, 2008: Congratulations Carolyn Gallagher on the
acceptance for publication of the manuscript " Urinary Cadmium and
Osteoporosis in U.S. Women Age 50 and Older, NHANES 1988-1994 and
1999-2004" in Environmental Health Perspectives.
June 4th, 2008: GPPH congratulates MPH student Erin Healy,
as she presents at The Public Health Association of New York City's
(PHANYC) 3rd Annual Student Conference!
June 4th, 2008: You are invited to hear your peers showcase
their research in public health and participate in career/professional
development at the Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC) Third
Annual Student Conference.
WHEN: Wednesday, June 4, 2008
TIME: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
WHERE: CUNY Graduate Center
5th Avenue @ 34th Street
Rooms 9206/9207
New York, NY
FEE: Free of Charge, with refreshments
TO RSVP: Contact info@phanyc.org
Hearing your peers present their research on public health at PHANYC's third
Student Conference is a great opportunity to gain practical experience on
presentation skill development, as well as an excellent chance to learn about
the latest public health research in New York City's public health
programs.
Congratulations to Erin Healy for presenting her research project
from Advanced Biostatistics.
April 14th, 2008: The recently approved NYS state budget
will include funds for a "Children's Environmental Health Program."
One Center for Children's Environmental Health will be established at
Stony Brook within the Graduate Program in Public Health. Evonne
Kaplan-Liss will be the Director. We anticipate that the Center's
clinical and research activities will be conducted in collaboration with the
Departments of Preventive Medicine, Pediatrics, OB-GYN and others.
CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Kaplan-Liss for her hard work on behalf of this project
and our program!
March 14th, 2008: The GPPH is holding its first annual
Practicum fair! Students: Come meet potential practicum agency representatives
at 2:00pm-4:00pm in the Preventive Medicine Conference Room!
March 13th, 2008: The Brookhaven Town's 22nd Annual Women's
Recognition Awards Ceremony recognized Nanci Rice with the distinction
"For Outstanding Service to the Community in Education." Dr.
Rice also received certificates from the House of Representatives, New York
State Assembly, her Congressional district, as well as from the State of New
York Legislative Resolution "COMMENDING Dr. Nanci Rice upon the occasion
of being honored by the Town of Brookhaven Office of Women's Services on March
13, 2008 in conjunction with Women's History Month in the State of New
York." Congratulations Dr. Rice!
March 3rd and 4th, 2008: Site visit from the Council on
Education for Public Health (CEPH): The Graduate Program in Public Health
hosted a CEPH site visit on March 3rd and 4th as the last step towards the
accreditation process. After a day and a half of intense scrutiny, we are
please to report that our hard work has paid off! The site visitors had a very
optimistic and encouraging outlook for the Program, and while the Council will
not give its final word until October, it is likely that the outcome will be a
positive one! Everyone's support made this decision possible, and the
GPPH sincerely thanks you for your many contributions. Students, Alumni,
Core and Affiliated Faculty, Staff, Community Members, and University
Officials; without you all we would not have had such a successful visit!
February 21st and 22nd, 2008: The GPPH hosted a site visit
for the evaluation of the proposed PhD program in Population Health
and Clinical Science Research. Evaluators had the following to say about the
proposed program: "The faculty is strong and committed. They are
excited and energetic. Many of the required courses are already in place. There
is an opportunity for strong collaboration with clinical investigators within
clinical departments at medical center and public health officials both in
Suffolk County and New York City. The new PhD program comes at a time when
translational research is emphasized nationally. The students we met reported
being inspired by their teachers in the MPH program, many of whom are the same
faculty who will teach in the doctoral program. This omens well for the new PhD
program."
February 1st, 2008: Submission of the GPPH Self-Study
Document to the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH):
The GPPH submitted the final copy of the Self-Study document to CEPH for
evaluation. (For a copy of this document, click here) The Program is now preparing for the CEPH site
visit on March 3rd and 4th, 2008.
May 9th, 2007: Advanced Biostatistics Poster Session,
sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research: Check out the Inaugural Volume of the Graduate Program in Public Health's
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED BIOSTATISTICS, which was presented to attendees of the
Advanced Biostatistics Poster Session on May 9, 2007, sponsored by The Office
of the Vice President for Research. Congratulations to the twelve MPH students
who participated in the poster session, and the 6 whose peer-reviewed articles
were accepted for publication in the journal.
April 27th, 2007:The Stony Brook School of Medicine is
proud to announce the Aesculapius Award winners for 2007: Dr. Mary F. Kritzer,
Dr. Thomas O'Riordan and Dr. Thomas A. Wilson.
The Aesculapius Award, initiated in 1991, is presented by the Dean of the
School of Medicine to emphasize the importance of excellence in education to
the success of our School, and to recognize the most outstanding teachers
throughout the Stony Brook system. The award carries a $1000 prize. Recipients
are honored with their names inscribed on a plaque in the Office of the Dean.
The Graduate Program in Public Health Faculty and Staff extend their sincere
congratulations to Dr. O'Riordan, an affiliated faculty member in the Program.
January 22nd, 2007: Melody S. Goodman, PhD, 28, Assistant
Professor in the Graduate Program in Public Health, Department of Preventive
Medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center, has received a Martin Luther
King Jr. "Drum Major" Leadership Award from the Hollywood Baptist Cathedral
of Amityville, NY. Inaugural Symposium, Graduate Program in Public Health, Fall
2004
Bishop Andy C. Lewter, D. Min, of the Hollywood Baptist Cathedral, said the
recipients were chosen for "their own insistence on excellence, unselfish
giving of themselves and contributions that they make to improve the quality of
life" in African American communities, keeping "alive the spirit of
Dr. Martin Luther King."
Dr. Goodman received her Ph.D. in Biostatistics in June 2006 from Harvard
University's Department of Biostatistics, graduating as the youngest African
American woman to date to receive this degree. She attended Stony Brook
University as an undergraduate, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Applied
Mathematics and Statistics and Economics summa cum laude in 1999. During her
undergraduate career, she was a Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC)/ NIH
Fellow, a recipient of the Provost Award for Academic Excellence, and was
inducted into Stony Brook's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
In addition to her GPPH faculty responsibilities teaching Biostatistics, Dr.
Goodman serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Public Health and
Health Policy Research, which is committed to improving the health and well
being of the residents of Long Island through public health policy analysis and
rigorous public health research on critical public health issues. The Center's
objectives include conducting community health research for the improvement of
community health and to reduce health disparities on Long Island.
"This award acknowledges Dr. Goodman's commitment to superior research
for minority communities of Long Island," says Dr. Raymond L. Goldsteen,
Director of the Graduate Program in Public Health. "I foresee that her
efforts to build community coalitions and conduct community based research will
help to eliminate health disparities over the next decades."
"Without the contributions of Dr. King and the many warriors of the
civil rights movement, a young girl from South Jamaica, Queens would not have
had the opportunity to attend Harvard University and obtain a doctoral degree
in a field that most people have never heard of" replies Dr. Goodman.
"It is rare for someone from my community to attend a school like Harvard.
This is why it is so important for me to give back to my community, to use the
skills I have acquired to improve our health."
The Graduate Program in Public Health is pleased to announce that Samia Omar,
a SBU Leakey Fellow, and member of the GPPH's Fall 2006 entering class, has
received a scholarship to attend the Young Leaders Summit on Global Health:
Innovative Solutions to Healthcare in Low Resource Settings, which will be held
at the Kimmel Center, New York University on October 29, 2006. Ms. Omar, a
native of Mombasa, Kenya, received her B.A. in Health Studies and Psychology
from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.
STONY BROOK GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSOR RECEIVES NEW INVESTIGATOR
AWARD The James G. Zimmer New Investigator Research Award recognizes "new
investigators", which is defined as someone who is within three years of
completing a terminal degree. The award is intended to recognize and further
the careers of future leaders in aging research. The criteria for selection
include the importance of the topic, the rigor of the design, the quality of
writing, and the potential benefit to the field. HongdaoMeng received the award
for his research in the cost-effectiveness of community-based disease
management/health promotion interventions among older adults with chronic
conditions.
Meng's research project and paper, titled "Effectiveness and Cost of a
Health Promotion Nurse Intervention among Older Adults with Heart Conditions:
The Role of Rural and Urban Residence," found significant evidence that a
community-based disease management/health promotion nurse intervention led to
better physical functioning and has the potential to reduce total health care
expenditures among high risk Medicare beneficiaries with heart conditions. He
also studies innovative financing mechanism for consumer-directed home care to
individuals with long-term care needs. This research project is funded by the
Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration,
DHHS.
He will be accepting this award at the award ceremony during the upcoming
134th APHA Annual Meeting in Boston.
The Gerontological Health Section/APHA has more than 600 members and the
American Public Health Association has more than 50,000 members.
Irene Hwang, (student, MD/MPH program) was chosen to be a part of the
inaugural Europe Health Care Systems Study Tour hosted by the American Medical
Student Association. Irene traveled throughout Europe in order to examine the
various types of health care systems implemented in countries such as England,
Ireland and Germany. The purpose of the tour was to expand awareness of the
range of ways in which health care systems can be structured.
