Dr. Herb Abrams to be Honored at
Nov. 17 Luncheon
To celebrate a lifetime of exceptional achievement, Herb Abrams, MD, will be honored by the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health at a tribute luncheon Thursday, Nov. 17, 11:30 a.m., in the Manning House, Silverbell Ballroom, 450 W. Paseo Redondo.
After graduating from the University of Illinois medical school in Chicago in 1940, Dr. Abrams began his long career providing health care for the underserved. In 1969, Abrams founded the UA College of Medicine's family and community medicine program and, one year later, he obtained federal funds to start El Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Center (now called El Rio Health Center).
He has traveled all over the world with his work in international health, and organized and directed the Union Health Service in Chicago. Dr. Abrams has worked tirelessly in the field of public health and is invaluable to the Tucson community.
Event proceeds will contribute to the Andrew W. Nichols Initiative for Rural and Border Health at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, which funds research, development and evaluation of rural and health policy and scholarship to provide leadership in rural and border health service and practice. Annually, this initiative awards student scholarships and holds the Andrew W. Nichols Memorial Lecture for Rural and Border Health Policy.
The cost to attend this event is $50 per person ($25 tax deductible). Please RSVP to Donna Knight, (520) 626-2948, by Wednesday, Nov. 9.
Grant Establishes Public Health Preparedness Center
A four-year, $4.6 million grant to the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established the Arizona Center for Public Health Preparedness (AzCPHP), which aims to enhance the health workforce's readiness when responding to terrorism or other threats to public health.
 "The new AzCPHP program will allow us to serve the preparedness training needs of our partner agencies, including the Arizona Department of Health Services, our county and tribal health departments, and public health agencies along the border in Sonora, Mexico," said Jeff Burgess, MD, MPH, division director of Environmental and Community Health at the College and principal investigator for the grant.
Part of a national network of training institutions, the center was established to respond to needs identified by experts from state, local, tribal, rural and border-health agencies in the event of a public-health emergency.
To address these needs, the center aims to increase the number of adequately trained public health personnel, improve preparedness for public health emergencies through leadership training, enhance public health emergency planning, refine communication within and among public health agencies and strengthen core competencies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 "Ensuring our state has an adequate number of skilled workers at the right place and at the right time serves to protect the health of all Arizonans," said Brenda Granillo, the center's director. AzCPHP also will participate in group endeavors with other centers in the network, including preparedness education, planning and resource development, tribal preparedness resource development, and efforts to teach management systems to support preparedness education.
"Preparedness is an ongoing process," added Dr. Burgess. "A strong public health infrastructure is dependent on highly skilled and versatile public health professionals."
"Tragic events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina highlight the importance of improving the response capacity of the public health workforce and also fostering connectivity among federal, state and local public health agencies," Ms. Granillo said.
Many faculty and staff from the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health will be involved with this work.
AzCPHP partners include the Arizona Department of Health Services; health departments in Maricopa, Pima, Cochise, Yuma, Santa Cruz and Yavapai counties; the Western Arizona Area Health Education Center Inc.; the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center; Pima Community College; the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at the UA College of Pharmacy; and the Pharmacy Task Force. In addition, AzCPHP will work with Mexico, particularly partners in the state of Sonora to address cross-border training needs and activities.
Participating organizations from the Navajo Nation include the Navajo Division of Health, Diné College and Navajo Area Indian Health Services. Tohono O'odham Nation partners are Tucson Area Indian Health Services, Tohono O'odham Community College and the Tohono O'odham Department of Health Services.
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Academic/Administrative Professionals Workshop Set for Nov. 18
The Academic/Administrative Professionals Annual Meeting and Retreat has been postponed to the spring 2006 semester, after the College move. Instead, A/APs will host a workshop “Unlearning Racism,” which is set for Friday, Nov. 18, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., Suede Johnson Building, rooms 301 and 303.
The workshop will be facilitated by the YMCA, Racial Justice Program. A/APs will use this workshop as the spring board to start college wide discussions on race and ethnicity as it relates to diversity. Discussions from the “Unlearning Racism” workshop will be used to inform the agenda for the 2006 retreat, which has as an overall theme “Diversity and Leadership.”
Various constituents from the college are invited to attend including members of the executive council, the mentoring committee, the Student Diversity committee, and the Public Health Student Alliance officers. Speakers include Saundra Taylor, UA vice president for Campus Life, and Sara Gonzales, YMCA, director, Racial Justice Program.
Please RSVP to Athena R. Ganchorre, 626-7946. ext. 257, or athenag@coph.arizona.edu by Friday, Nov. 4.
Grant to Further Studies on Healthy
Immune Systems and Healthy Hearts
A five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will help fund research conducted by the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health and the UA College of Medicine that may lead to better treatments for heart failure.
The money will be used to further research undertaken by the College of Medicine's Douglas Larson, PhD, and the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health's Ronald Watson, PhD, into how immune dysfunction can cause dysfunctional hearts.
Dr. Watson said their past research has led to new hypotheses regarding how a healthy immune system keeps the heart functioning properly.
"There's increasing evidence that the immune system plays an important role in regulating heart structure, and hence its functions," he said.
For example, Dr. Watson said the immune system has a role to play in maintaining optimal collagen levels in the heart. Too little or too much collagen can make the heart stiff or flabby. Determining how the immune system regulates those levels could lead to treatments.
The studies may enable scientists one day to define and test therapies for humans with compromised immune systems, such as people with AIDS or the elderly.
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Kim Gunn Receives UA Alumni Association Distinguished Citizen Award
 Kim Gunn, director of development, is the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Citizen Award from the University of Arizona Alumni Association. She will receive the award at a ceremony held at the UA Student Union Grand Ballroom, Nov. 4.
A 1997 UA graduate, Ms. Gunn went to work directing the first Tucson Komen Race for the Cure. Her compassion for those afflicted with breast cancer and underserved populations drove her to help implement community programs and conduct a tremendously successful inaugural event.
At the UA, she used her ability to find resources in the community and meld the College and University with the public to form the Partners in Public Health group, volunteer with the Arizona Cancer Center, and chair the Sundown at the Pass Run/Walk — celebrating its fifth year with a record number of participants.
She volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, the Tucson Children’s Museum, the Arizona Theatre Company, Northwest Medical Center Women’s Center, Friends of the University Medical Center, and Friends of the Arizona Cancer Center. She has received the Perimeter Bicycling Association’s Volunteer of the Year Director’s Award, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s Volunteer of the Year Award, and the YWCA Women on the Move Award.
Established in 1962, the Distinguised Citizen Award recognizes distinguished service in nonprofit organizations or other outstanding public or community service.
On the Move
 Stuart Cohen, EdD, Canyon Ranch Endowed Chair and professor of public health and medicine, was a participant at the first National Hispanic/Latinos Diabetes Forum which took place at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, late September. Dr. Cohen facilitated a research/surveillance working group and was a plenary speaker, presenting the results of the Border Health Strategic Initiative at a plenary discussing “best promising practices.” Participation in the forum was by invitation only.
 Ronald Watson, PhD, professor of public health and medicine, has been appointed manager of a USDA grant review panel on Bioactive Food Components for Human Health. Dr. Watson will be responsible for identifying and coordinating 22 scientists with the appropriate expertise to review diverse grants relating to human nutrition as influenced by active agents in foods being consumed. In May 2006, the review panel will meet for five days in Washington, DC, and review the scientist's comments on each proposal, rank these and assist USDA in making final funding decisions.
 The Mobile Health Program at the College's Rural Health Office received the
Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA) Andy Nichols Award at AzPHA's annual meeting in Sedona in September. The program received the award for "assuring the delivery of health services to underserved populations in Arizona."
The Mobile Health Program has operated in the communities of Amado, Benson Highway, Casa San Juan, Picture Rocks, Three Points, South Tucson, Nogales, Yuma County, South Park, Naco, Casa Grande and Vail. In each of these communities the program provides health care that is otherwise not available and mobilizes community residents to organize and create long-term solutions to their health care issues.
Embedded in the program are community health advisors that serve both in the community as mobilizers and advocates, as well as providing direct community outreach for health promotion and disease prevention. (Pictured above are Mobile Health Program members Abby Torres, program coordinator, Susan Woodruff, program director, and Elsa Cocoa, promotora.)
 Mary Clouser, MPH graduate and current doctoral student in epidemiology, was named the recipient of the 2005 Lloyd E. Burton Scholarship at AzPHA's annual meeting.
The $500 scholarship encourages interest in the professions that improve the public's health.
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New Faces
 Heather Ingram is a new administrative secretary in the College's Development Office.
Ms. Ingram has resided in Tucson off and on since high school and considers the city her home.
She graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor of science degree in anthropology, and is currently chipping away at a master’s in art history, with a focus on museum studies.
Ingram has worked as a personal chef, art history teacher at the Art Center and as an education program specialist at Arizona State Museum.
She enjoys reading, drawing, rock climbing and cooking in her free time. Ingram said she doesn’t have much time for hobbies right now, as her studies and work take a big bite out of her time. But she’s looking forward to reacquainting herself with these interests once she graduates, she said.
You can reach Ingram at 626-2948, or via e-mail at hci@email.arizona.edu.
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