Dust Busters at UA Zuckerman College of Public Health in November Issue of Environmental Science & Technology

A new study finds that most indoor household dust that collects on furniture and floors actually comes from outdoors. The research could help communities determine effective ways to clean up contaminated waste sites, which release particles that can end up in dust inside a home.

Assistant Professor Joe Gerald in November Issue of Pediatrics Magazine

Describing asthma related outcomes in children identified by asthma screening is the topic of an article in the November issue of Pediatrics by Assistant Professor Joe Gerald, MD, PhD at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Jennie Mullins Appointed President of Arizona Public Health Association

Jennie Mullins, MPH, project director for the Southwest Public Health Leadership Institute and professional development coordinator at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, assumed the position as President of the Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA) in September. Mullins has been active in the AzPHA since 2004 and looks forward to building stronger ties between the college and the organization to further their common missions.

New Reference Book For Quality of Life Research

The Handbook of Disease Burdens and Quality of Life Measures (Springer, New York, 2010), is the first comprehensive reference to these instruments and their findings on a global scale. The six volume handbook features in-depth reviews of disability-adjusted life years, quality-adjusted life years, quality of life and financial measures for over 120 diseases and conditions.

Professor Edits New Book on Global Maternal and Child Health

The forces of globalization, war, and socioeconomic unrest have revealed public health as a worldwide concern with maternal and child health at its epicenter. Yet there has been a scarcity of training resources specifically dedicated to this crucial area. Maternal and Child Health: Global Challenges, Programs, and Policies (Springer, New York, October 27, 2009) addresses this gap in current knowledge by analyzing the range of factors that impact the health and safety of mothers, as well as the well-being and optimum development of their children.

$2.3 Million in Grants to Fund Firefighter Safety

Jeff Burgess, MD, MPH, a professor in the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH), has been awarded $2.3 million for two national research grants to study and prevent injuries among firefighters.

Two 40 Under 40 Winners

Assistant Professor Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD and Program Coordinator Kristen Pogreba-Brown, MPH in the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, are winners of the 2009 Tucson 40 Under 40 award.

New MPH Program in Public Health Practice

The Master of Public Health in Public Health Practice is an interdisciplinary program that prepares students to develop the public health skills needed to work in a variety of governmental and non-governmental settings including the local, county and state departments of health, the Indian Health Service, Medicaid and Medicare programs, hospitals, and community health centers.  Students learn to work effectively as part of multidisciplinary teams to develop, manage and evaluate public health programs that are appropriate for decreasing health disparities between and within diverse populations.More.

H1N1 Flu Surge Expected With Beginning of School Year

“The beginning of the school year with kids congregating in large numbers may bring about a resurgence of the H1N1 flu,” said Kacey Ernst, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor and epidemiology researcher at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH).  Parents of children in preschool through high school, and college students should be on the alert for signs and symptoms, as well as the general public. Dr. Ernst discusses the flu and what you can do.  More.

MEZCOPH's Health Promotion Sciences (HPS) Division Welcomes a New Director

MEZCOPH's Health Promotion Sciences division welcomes a new director, Professor John Ehiri, PhD, MPH, MSc (Econ.).  A global health expert, he is dedicated to improving the health of women and children throughout the world.  Prior to coming to The University of Arizona, Dr. Ehiri spent seven years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health where he served as an associate professor in the Departments of Maternal and Child Health and Health Behavior.   More.

Exciting New Course in Global Health Offered in Fall 2009

A new course developed by MEZCOPH faculty members Dr. Burris Duncan and Dr. Kacey Ernst is offered for the first time in Fall, 2009, formulated with a great deal of student input and ideas, a course that is "by the students and of the students," said Dr. Duncan.   EPID/CPH 606:  Changing Health Policy Through Cultural Understanding and Epidemiological Analysis will teach students how to analyze health care in a region; how to understand a culture; ways that change might be realized; and methods to formulate meaningful policy changes. To give a taste of the geographic and cultural differences in health care and governments, students will concentrate on three diverse countries in different parts of the globe:  Kenya, Peru, and Indonesia.  Read more. 

(Photo credit: Former student Chandra Almony, MPH, right, works in Senegal on a malnutrition project to evaluate a new soy blend supplement.)

New MPH in Public Health Practice Announced

The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) is expanding its Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, offering a new concentration area in Public Health Practice which will be offered in both Phoenix and Tucson.   Beginning in Fall 2009, students may submit applications for the program which begins in the Fall of 2010.    The MPH in Public Health Practice is an interdisciplinary program that helps students acquire a wide set of public health competencies and emphasizes skills in preparation for public health practice – including management and leadership positions.  More.

New Faculty Spotlight: Asthma Expert Joins MEZCOPH

Lynn B. Gerald, MA, PhD, MSPH, right, has been appointed as the Canyon Ranch Endowed Chair in Lifestyle and Behavioral Health and as a professor of Public Health at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH). Dr. Gerald’s research interests include research in asthma, cardiopulmonary disease (COPD) and tuberculosis (TB).  Prior to joining MEZCOPH, Dr. Gerald was the director of the Lung Health Center and was also a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is currently doing research into the effects of the use of hand sanitizer on the frequency and severity of asthma attacks in elementary school children, and is also using computer modelling to determine what types of contact with tuberculosis patients are likely to infect a healthy person.  More...

Note:  Other new faculty members who have joined MEZCOPH in 2009 will also be welcomed on the web this summer.

36th Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference: Aug. 3-4, 2009

The 36th Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference will be held in Flagstaff on August 3-4.  This event provides an environment for networking and disseminating information among health professionals and community members for rural Arizona.  This year's theme is "Coming Out of the Recession Stronger and Healthier:  Opportunities, Solutions and Collaborations."  Be sure to register for the conference by July 10 to receive early-bird savings.  Hotel registrations should be made by July 17.  More...

At left, Donald Weaver, MD, delivers the Dr. Andrew W. Nichols Rural and border Health Policy Lecture at last summer's 2008 rural health conference.  

New Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) Offered

Beginning in the Fall 2009 semester, a new bachelor of science in public health (BSPH) degree will be offered by The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH). The curriculum for the degree is based on recommendations of the Association of Schools of Public Health taskforce on undergraduate education.  Dr. Joe Gerald, MD, PhD, right, assistant professor in the Division of Community, Environment and Policy, will serve as the program’s director.  More...

Congratulations to Spring 2009 MEZCOPH Graduates!

If you missed the Convocation ceremony, download and view it using iTunes! Photos will be made available for download by graduates as soon as received.  More...

New Joint Certificates Awarded To Navajo Health Reps

On Thursday, May 7, 2009, Dine College and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health awarded the first joint Certificates of Public Health to Navajo Community Health Representatives (CHRs).  Community Health Representatives (CHRs) are important health care workers who typically live and work in their own communities.  They provide hands-on health care and information services on current health topics with a special focus on wellness and prevention activities.   More...

Dr. Carmona to Answer Public Pandemic Questions on KUAT

Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, will appear on "Pandemic Preparedness," a special edition of Arizona Illustrated’s Community Conversation on Friday, May 8 at 8:30 p.m. on KUAT Channel 6, southern Arizona's PBS station.  The program will focus on the immediate impacts of the current H1N1 swine flu and how officials are making plans now for future mutations of the illness that may gain momentum in the fall flu season.  The show will feature questions from listeners. Dr. Carmona is currently a distinguished professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and is the president of the Canyon Ranch Institute.  More...

National and Arizona Public Health Week is April 6-13, 2009!

Public Health Week is led nationally by the American Public Health Association.  The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is proud to participate in the national Public Health Week campaign and to join our public health partners in Arizona.  Each day during this week we will be releasing new information on this web site to celebrate public health week in Arizona! On Tuesday, a digital story featuring Dr. Richard Carmona was released, and the student-organized Social Justice Symposium on April 3 was reviewed.  More...

Dr. William Foege Gives Second Dalen Lecture

The second annual James Dalen Distinguished Visiting Lecture in Public Health Care Policy was delivered on April 3, 2009, by William H. Foege, MD, MPH, left, in University Medical Center's DuVal Auditorium.  The title of Dr. Foege's lecture was "Building Legacies: Everything Affects Everything," which was received by a very appreciative audience.   “What is a legacy?  What does it take to build one?” he asked. Leaving a positive legacy to the future requires thought and care,  Dr. Foege said, and gave advice for building positive legacies to everyone involved in public health, including students and professionals.  More...

Public Panel on HPV Held On April 1

Who is at risk for the human papilloma virus, or HPV? Can men get HPV?  What are the political, social and economic issues related to the HPV vaccine? As part of the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health's Scholar Seminar Series, Dr. Anna Guiliano, a nationally renowned researcher on HPV, provided in-depth discussion with a local panel of experts.  Opportunities for questions from and dialogue with the audience were given.  More...

Latina Breast Cancer Disparities Study
Elena Martinez, PhD, MPH, left, a professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is the principal investigator on a new project to study breast cancer disparities in Mexican and Mexican-American women.  Dr. Martinez is the director of the Arizona Cancer Center's Health Disparities Institute;  the Arizona Cancer Center has been awarded a $404,709 grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure for this study. Patricia Thomson, PhD, an assistant professor at MEZCOPH, is working with Dr. Martinez on the research.  More...

New UA-ASU Certificate Program Helps K-12 Teachers Utilize New Technologies In The Classroom

Many K-12 teachers in Arizona will soon learn new ways to use technologies to better teach and inspire students thanks to a unique partnership between The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) , Arizona State University, and the Arizona Telemedicine Program at the College of Medicine.   Educators from six underserved Arizona schools will take part in Teach-Tec, a certificate program that will show how technologies such as podcasting, text messaging and videoconferencing can serve as high-impact tools to enhance the learning experience.  MEZCOPH faculty members Kathryn Coe, PhD and Gail Barker, PhD are collaborators.  More...

Epidemiology Student Receives Prestigious Fellowship

Rachel Wilhite, a MEZCOPH Epidemiology doctoral student, was awarded the prestigious Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowship for final-phase dissertation support. In addition to a $10,788 stipend beginning in the spring semester of 2009, Rachel will receive a tuition scholarship for two semesters.  The University of Arizona's Graduate College awards this annual fellowship  to students who are Arizona residents and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above.  More...

Tomas Nuño, MA, received an Epidemiology Section Student Award at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting for 2008, which was held on October 25-29, 2008, in San Diego, California.   The award was given for his work to assess the effectiveness of a promotora-administered educational program to promote breast and cervical cancer screening among Hispanic women of post-reproductive age who live in a predominantly rural county along the U.S.-Mexico border;  typically, these women do not have access to needed medical care.  Promotoras are local volunteer or paid health care workers who reside in the community being served.  More...

Acting Director of ADHS Speaks at Fall 2008 Convocation

The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) proudly presented its graduates at the Fall Convocation on Friday, December 19, 2008 at the DuVal Auditorium in the University Medical Center.  After the processional, Dean Iman Hakim gave the welcome and remarks.  The convocation address was given by January Contreras, the Acting Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS).  Contreras is responsible for leading ADHS in its work to protect and improve the health of Arizonans.  At left, doctoral graduate Alan Nyitray.   More...

MPH Student Receives UA Centennial Award at December 2008 Commencement

Omar Contreras, right, a Master's of Public Health (MPH) student in the Epidemiology concentration area at the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH), was chosen to receive the prestigious Centennial Award at the University of Arizona Commencement Ceremony in December of 2008. The Centennial Award was established in 1984 to recognize outstanding achievement and contributions of minority graduate students at the University of Arizona. More...

MEZCOPH MPH Student Is Named First AzRHA Scholar

The Arizona Rural Health Association has awarded its first scholarship to Hannah Carlson, MPH student at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, to support her efforts to enhance collaboration among health and social services agencies in Arizona's rural Santa Cruz County.  As a Peace Corps Fellow with the UA Graduate College, she works at the University of Arizona (UA) Cooperative Extension in Santa Cruz County, focusing on health advocacy and nutrition education activities.  A second-year Master's of Public Health (MPH) student, Hannah's emphasis is in Health Behavior Health Promotion. She is also a Canyon Ranch Institute Fellow, and Nichol's Initiative Scholar. In the photo (above left) she receives her scholarship check from Alison Hughes, MEZCOPH faculty member. Link to AzRHA Story...

The Border Health Service Learning Institute (BHSI)

The Border Health Service Learning Institute (BHSI) provides a unique opportunity for the College to partner in the development and implementation of  “real world experiences” with US-Mexico border communities. The Institute grew out of an interest of students, faculty and community partners to build an academic experience that is directly linked to the public health and health disparity issues of border health communities. The Institute's course is a venue for students and faculty to work directly with community partners in ways that both assist them in their every day delivery of services to the community and in strengthening ongoing, community-based participatory research in border communities.  More... or Click to view related PBS video.

Dr. Jeff Burgess Receives $1 million FEMA Grant To Study Cardiovascular Disease and Sudden Death in Firefighters

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded the University of Arizona a $1 million grant to study the risk of sudden death from cardiovascular disease in firefighters, part of the “2007 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Project.”   Half of all line-of-duty (or “on the job”) deaths for firefighters are due to sudden, severe cardiovascular incidents such as heart attacks.  “For many firefighters we don’t have a really good way to determine who is at higher risk of sudden death due undiagnosed cardiovascular disease”, said Dr. Jeff Burgess, Principal Investigator of this grant and associate professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH). More...

AzCPHP Director Featured

Brenda Saldivar Granillo, Director of AzCPHP, was featured in an article in the University Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa. More...

Border Deaths Honored: Day of the Dead 2008

On Halloween, MEZCOPH student Lauren Pring set up an altar and display outside Drachman Hall, a Day of the Dead display, to commemorate the many deaths of those crossing the Arizona desert illegally from Mexico.  183 people have died so far this year. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebrated on November 1 and 2, and focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. More...

UA Public Health Students Lead Session

on Diabetes and Health Disparities
Keisha Robinson, a University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health student, was one of several Project EXPORT fellows who gave a presentation about health disparities, focusing primarily on instances of diabetes in the American Indian and Hispanic populations. The presentation provided an educational forum to learn about health-related issues in Arizona.  Project EXPORT is part of the Center for Health Equality.  More...

Arizona Public Health Association's Fall 2008 Meeting

Held At The University of Arizona

The 80th annual Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA) meeting was held at the Mariott Tucson University Park on the main campus of the University of Arizona.  A diamonds and pearls anniversary celebration! Public health exports explored eighty years of public health history in Arizona, and planned a bright future for our state!  All public health professionals and students were invited.  This meeting was sponsored by The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Link to Conference Web Page and Agenda ...

Hip Bone Density Measurement Helps Gauge

Breast Cancer Risk

Measuring a woman’s bone mineral density can provide additional information that may help more accurately determine her risk of developing breast cancer. This is the conclusion of a new study published by Dr. Zhao Chen, right, and colleagues in the September 1, 2008 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Dr. Chen is a member of the faculty at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. The study’s results suggest that incorporating bone mineral density tests with current risk assessment tools might improve physicians’ ability to predict breast cancer risk in older, postmenopausal women. This study is the first to investigate the relationships among bone mineral density, traditional breast cancer risk assessment tool results, and breast cancer incidence among the same group of  women. More...

Student's Image is ASPH's July 2008 Photo of the Month

July 18, 2008:  Ms. Courtnee Benford, a community health education student at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, submited a touching photo which was selected as the July 2008 Photo of the Month for the ASPH Friday Letter.  Ms. Benford took this image on a Support for International Change trip to Tanzania, where she and other students from several universities volunteered and taught HIV education in the summer of 2007. Young students curious about and coming to see the wazungu (white people) wound up also learning about HIV.  Her picture illustrates the broad impact of public health, whether intentional or not.  More...

Dr. Peter Giacobbi, Jr., Joins Faculty

The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) welcomes Peter Giacobbi, Jr., PhD, left, to the faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Health Promotion Sciences Division.  His position with the College began on July 1, 2008.  His major passion is educating people about the importance of regular and sustained physical activity in the maintenance of mental and physical health. He is particularly concerned with individuals who are at-risk for poor health due to inactive and sedentary lifestyles such as individuals with physical disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, and aging adults.  More...

HPV Found in 25% of Heterosexual Men

Preliminary research by University of Arizona scientists Robin Harris and Alan Nyitray (right) suggests that almost 25% of heterosexual men test positive for a virus linked to cervical cancer in women, a surprisingly high percentage.   The effects of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, are well documented in women; this study shows that sexually-active heterosexual men may be more likely to have anal HPV than was previously realized.  More...

Pycnogenol Helps Control Diabetics' High Blood Pressure

Patients with type 2 diabetes were able to cut back on their blood pressure medication after they began taking the flavonoid-rich supplement Pycnogenol, a natural plant extract from pine bark, according to Sherma Zibadi, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in The University of Arizona (UA) Department of Nutritional Sciences and the UA College of Medicine, (shown at left).  Also working on this research is Ronald Ross Watson, PhD, right, a professor at the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) and interim director of the MEZCOPH Division of Health Promotion Sciences. UA scientists have also shown that Pycnogenol lowers blood pressure and is beneficial in treating asthma. More...