On-Campus' seminars this week

Alcohol Research Program
Some Interesting Results Regarding the Role of Epigenetic Phenomena in Experimental Alcoholic Liver Disease; Samuel French MD, Professor of Pathology, Harbor – UCLA Medical Center

• Thursday Dec 6
• 3;30-4:30 p.m.  
• EMS 110 Rm 3284 
• Contact: Letta Kochalis x 72446

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Nieswanger Institute for Bioethics & Health Policy 
The Affordable Care Act and Its Impact; Kenneth Munson, Region V Director, Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, Health and Human Services Dept.

• Thursday Dec 6
• 6;30-8:00 p.m.  
• MNSON Rm 0505
• Hosted by Medical Student AMA Group

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Microbiology & Immunology
Cholera and Cancer: How a Toxin and Virus Hijack Common Cellular Machineries to Cause Disease; Billy Tsai, PhD Associate Professor Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School

• Thursday Dec 6
• 12:00-1:00 p.m.  
• Maguire Rm 3851 (Sicher Room)
• Debbie Hammer x 63385

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Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology
The Effect of Caloric Restriction on Health; Dr. Holly Kramer

• Friday Dec 7
• 11:00 a.m.  
• Maguire Rm 3340
• Nanci Tanney x 79018

Dr. Ansell Presents in Grand Rounds April 9

The Loyola Public Health Program will present David Ansell MD MPH, Senior Vice President, Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer and Senior Patient Safety Officer for Rush University Medical Center for Medical Grand Rounds. Dr. Ansell will discuss his book:County: Life, Death and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital

• April 9, 2013 12 PM
• Tobin Hall Stritch School of Medicine
• All students are welcome

David Ansell is a Chicago based physician and health activist. He has been an internal medicine physician since training at Cook County Hospital in the late 1970s where he spent seventeen years holding a number of positions including Chief of General Medicine/Primary Care.

After leaving County, he spent ten years as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital located in one of the poorest communities in Chicago. Now, Chief Medical Officer at Rush University Medical Center,he also sees patients and teaches. Since coming to Chicago to train at Cook County Hospital, Dr.Ansell has dedicated his career to fighting health inequity by building programs to address and eliminate these disparities. His work with others has led to the end of "patient dumping" in the US, one of the first cancer screening programs in the US aimed at addressing the Black:White breast cancer disparities.

Here is a link to a short biography of Dr. Ansell.

Graduate Assistant Position for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program at Loyola University Chicago

Position Available: January 14, 2013
The Graduate School is offering a one-year assistantship to a graduate student enrolled in a Graduate School program. The Graduate Assistant will work directly with the Director and the Assistant Director of Loyola’s McNair Scholars Program. The successful applicant should have previous experience and be comfortable working with special populations: underrepresented, first generation, and low-income college students. The candidate must be highly organized with a great attention to detail and must have outstanding interpersonal skills. This position is renewable for an additional year based on performance. TRIO alumni are strongly encouraged to apply.

All interested candidates should send – electronic only – a cover letter, resume/CV, and the names and contact information of two references to Marcela Gallegos at mgalle2@luc.edu. Applications must be submitted by December 14, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. The position will begin on January 14, 2013.

Job Responsibilities:
• Report to the Director and Assistant Director of the McNair Scholars Program
• Communicate with University departments and provide informational presentations about the program to prospective McNair Scholars 
• Maintain database of prospective and current McNair Scholars 
• Manage internal and external media communications to McNair Scholars about TRIO news updates
• Assist with workshop development and implementation
• Assist McNair Scholars with the IRB application process, if applicable
• Work at various Graduate School functions: orientations, conferences, commencement when needed

Qualifications:
• Current Masters or Doctoral student in the Graduate School
• Experience with working with underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income populations
• Comfort with computer-based work
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong organizational skills Detail-oriented 
• Administrative experience/familiarity with administrative tasks
• Independent worker
• Flexibility to deal with variable tasks

Details:
• 15-20 hours/week; 12 month renewable appointment
• $18,000/year
• Tuition coverage
• Health Insurance

More information about the McNair Scholars Program is available at: http://www.luc.edu/gradschool/mcnairscholarsprogram/.

Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology Seminars

The Loyola University Chicago Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology will be presenting seminars Friday the 7th & 21st of December—11 a.m. in their conference room at the Maguire Center.

• December 7: The effect of caloric restriction on health. Dr Holly Kramer. 

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• December 21: The Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Kidney Disease Research Network: Loyola's participation. Dr Bamidele Tayo, 

Questions please contact Lara Dugas (708) 327-9029

Graduate Student Announcements

Upcoming Deadlines:

· This Saturday, December 1—Last day to apply for May 2013 degree conferral in LOCUS.

For complete list of key dates and deadlines, see the Graduate School calendar:

http://www.luc.edu/gradschool/key_dates.shtml#fall

Refugee Winter Clothing Drive:

The Graduate Student Advisory Council is proud to host an important community service event Friday, December 7th from 4pm to 7pm: The Refugee Winter Clothing Drive. This year, GSAC is partnering with Loyola Refugee Outreach, a student-run organization that provides aid to Refugees throughout the Chicago area. This event will be held in Galvin Auditorium, and refreshments will be provided. Please bring any new or gently used coats, hats, gloves, scarves, or boots. No donation is too big or too small. If you look through your closet and only find an old fleece worn to pieces- not to worry. Monetary donations are very welcome. We hope that you can support this important cause!
Please do not hesitate to email Caitlin Murray at cmurray3@luc.edu with any questions.

GSAC Announcement:

Trying to get your academic or social event advertised to the Graduate School student population? Then, the Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC) has another option for you! If you would like to spread the word to other graduate students, GSAC can help! Please email all of the event details (attach flyers if applicable) to GSAC’s Secretary, Jackie Lennon, at jlenno2@luc.edu. She will post your event on GSAC’s website (http://www.luc.edu/gradschool/GSAC.shtml) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Loyola-University-Chicago-Graduate-Student-Advisory-Council), and will also email the information to all GSAC representatives.

CCIH Graduate Reading Group:

The Joan and Bill Hank Center for Catholic Intellectual Heritage (CCIH) is hosting a Graduate Student Reading Group this Spring. They will be reading the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor. Sign up by December 17, 2012 by emailing catheritage@luc.edu or calling 773-508-3820. Location and time are to be determined. When signing up, please indicate two days and times during the week when you ARE available.

See attached flyer for more details.

Graduate Student Programming and Spiritual Development at Water Tower:

Water Tower Campus Life has an exciting calendar of events planned starting this Fall semester. Below is the list of upcoming programming. Contact Dana Bozeman at dbozeman@luc.edu with any questions.

· WTC Yoga:Mondays, 7PM in TSC 303/304

· Labre Ministry:
Thursdays, 6PM at TSC

· Young Adult Mass:
Sundays, 7PM at St. James Chapel

Public health grand rounds November 29 11 AM

Public Health Grand Rounds
Department of Preventive Medicine
Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus
Maguire Bldg 3rd floor conference room
Thursday November 29, 11 AM

 ATESMACHEW (ATES) B. HAILEGIORGIS will present: A Agent based modeling for humanitarian issues: disease and refugee  camps



Dr. Hailegiorgis is from George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia in the Department of Computational Social Science.  See abstract below which outlines a fascinating discussion of how statistical models and geographic information systems may be used to explore the potential spread of cholera in refugee camps. 



The displacement of people in times of crises represents a challenge for

humanitarian agencies. This challenge is especially acute within developing

countries, which hosts the majority of displaced people. In this

presentation, I will demonstrate a spatially explicit agent-based model that

explores the spread of cholera in the Dadaab refugee camps. Poor sanitation

and housing conditions contribute to frequent incidents of cholera

outbreaks. The spread of cholera is modeled by explicitly representing the

interaction between humans (host) and their environment. The dynamics of the

epidemic is represented using Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR)

model. Elevation surface data combined with rainfall is utilized to carry

pollutants (disposal and feces). Agents in the model are modeled as mobile

and purpose oriented individuals engaging in daily activities. All agents

are susceptible to diseases. Infected agents spread cholera bacteria through

excretion of feces to the environment and this can then be spread throughout

the system. Results from the model show that the spread of cholera grows

radically from contaminated water sources. Agents' social behavior and

movements contribute to the spread of cholera to other camps where water

sources were relatively safe. Pronounced cyclic events of cholera outbreaks

are also observed due to the rainfall. This modeling effort highlights the

potential of agent-based modeling to explore the spread of cholera in a

humanitarian context.

Graduate School Announcements

Upcoming Deadlines:

• December 1—Last day to apply for May 2013 degree conferral in LOCUS. For complete list of key dates and deadlines, see the Graduate School calendar:
• December 15: Deadline for Application Spring Semester 2013 Master's of Public Health Programs 

Refugee Health Event:
Supported by Loyola Refugee Outreach (LRO) and the American Red Cross, the Graduate Student Advocacy Council (GSAC) is proud to support the upcoming "Refugee Health Event." During this event over 300 medical health kits will be assembled for Refugees in the Chicago area. To be held on Monday, November 26th in Bremner Lounge (CFSU) at 7PM, a short presentation will be given by LRO members regarding who Refugees are and the kinds of health concerns they face.
Please contact Caitlin Murray, GSAC Vice President, with any questions:

GSAC Announcement:
Trying to get your academic or social event advertised to the Graduate School student population? Then, the Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC) has another option for you! If you would like to spread the word to other graduate students, GSAC can help! Please email all of the event details (attach flyers if applicable) to GSAC’s Secretary, Jackie Lennon, at jlenno2@luc.edu. She will post your event on GSAC’s website and Facebook page , and will also email the information to all GSAC representatives.

Graduate Student Programming and Spiritual Development at Water Tower:
Water Tower Campus Life has an exciting calendar of events planned starting this Fall semester. Below is the list of upcoming programming.Contact Dana Bozeman with any questions.

• WTC Yoga: Mondays, 7PM in TSC 303/304 * no class on 9/24,10/22, 10/29
•  Labre Ministry: Thursdays, 6PM at TSC 
•  Young Adult Mass: Sundays, 7PM at St. James Chapel

Post-doctoral Fellow-Northwestern University

The Health Literacy & Learning Program (HeLP), Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine is offering a post-doctoral research fellowship beginning immediately.

The preferred candidate will hold a PhD, MD or PharmD degree and possess interests in developing expertise in: health literacy, health communication, cognitive and human factors research, chronic disease self- management and/or medication safety and adherence. HeLP and the Division offer a collaborative environment with opportunities to receive exceptional mentorship from faculty across multiple disciplines.

• Qualifications: PhD, MD or PharmD 
• Contact Phone: 312-503-5592
• Contact Email: mswolf@northwestern.edu
• To apply, please submit a brief personal statement and curriculum vita. For more information on the program and Division, please visit: http://www.healthliteracy.northwestern.edu
• Closing Date: 2/1/2013

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Loyola MPH Grand Rounds

November 15, 11 AM
MPH Candidate Michael Husby will give his capstone presentation entitled "Association between PR Interval and LV Dimensions: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis"
His presentation will be held in the Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology Library, Maguire Bldg 3rd floor.  Lunch will be provided immediately after the talk.  All MPH and CRME students are welcome

Two Additional Courses Available this Spring

The Master's of Public Health Program will offer two additional courses:

1.  Dru Bhattacharya will be offering an online course called Global Health Policy. If you would like to see the syllabus for the course, please email us know and we can send it to you for your review.


2.  The Loyola graduate nursing program has developed a new course that will be offered in the upcoming Spring 2013 semester. This entirely online course title is 'Health Education and Health Behavior Change'. It'll be taught by Dr. Meg Gulanick. Please contact Meg Gulanick directly if you are interested. This course would count as an elective for any track.
   
   Health Education and Health Behavior Change Course Description: 
   This course promotes in-depth exploration of theories, practice and research related to health education and health behavior change across a broad spectrum of high risk behaviors. It emphasizes an ecological approach to disease prevention and health promotion based on the Healthy People 2020 determinants of health.
   
   Attention will be directed to the many levels of influence to health-related behaviors: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy. Special consideration will be given to major health issues (e.g., obesity, smoking, immunizations, cancer screenings, food safety, infection prevention, occupational safety), self-care management challenges, vulnerable populations, aging population, and health literacy. Innovative and evidence-based teaching methodologies will be highlighted, including the use of e-learning tools. Motivational interviewing and coaching will be explored as effective communication models.
   
   New models for delivery of individual and group behavior change interventions will be reviewed, including church-based, school-based, work-site and social support approaches. Social marketing strategies targeted at sub-groups within the population will be examined. Evidence-based strategies for maintaining behavior change outcomes will be explicated. This course will be offered in an on-line format using a variety of blended technologies.

Congratulations Assistant Professor Bhattacharya

Dhrubajyoti (Dru) Bhattacharya, JD, MPH, LLM, Director of the MPH Health Policy and Law Track, recently published his first textbook on global health, Global Health Disputes and Disparities: A Critical Appraisal of International Law and Population Health.

Global Health Disputes and Disparities explores inequalities in health around the world, looking particularly at the opportunity for, and limitations of, international law to promote population health by examining its intersection with human rights, trade, and epidemiology, and the controversial issues of legal process, religion, access to care, and the social context of illness.

See publishers synopsis
Book is currently available on Amazon.com

Community and Global Stewards Fellowship competition

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2012-2013 Community and Global Stewards Fellowship competition. Outstanding students will be awarded fellowships of $2000 - $3000 each on a competitive basis. The award may be used for a variety of purposes, including internships and research support.

All application materials including letters of support are to be submitted electronically to Dr. Patricia Mooney-Melvin, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, by November 18, 2012.

Please see the below guidelines for more details, and pass on the information to those students who may be interested in this opportunity.

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Community and Global Stewards Fellowship (GSF) Announcement and Guidelines Fall Competition

The Graduate School announces the 2012-2013 Community and Global Stewards Fellowship competition. Community Stewards are encouraged to engage social issues and challenges generously and to embrace a scholarship of engagement that connects our intellectual resources to the pressing social, civic, and ethical problems in our communities and the world. As community stewards, LUC graduate students will be provided with opportunities to demonstrate how their graduate study and research connects with a larger public by partnering with community groups, grassroots organizations, local businesses, and industries to help address societal needs.

Fellowships of $2000-$3000 each will be awarded on a competitive basis to outstanding students who have a demonstrated record of academic excellence and community service. The awards can be used for a variety of purposes, including internship and community-based research support. Criteria for eligibility for a GSF include:

1. Students enrolled in a program housed in the Graduate School. 
2. Master’s or doctoral students who have completed at least one semester of coursework at the time of application. 
3. Applicants must not be funded from other university sources or previously held a CSF award. 
4. A minimum GPA of 3.3. 
5. A letter of application in which applicants must demonstrate that their internship, field experience, practicum, or research represents an integral part of their degree requirement. 
6. A one-page statement that demonstrates how their internship, field experience, practicum, or research reflects community or global stewardship. Please note, you must define and illustrate how your project addresses ‘stewardship’ (12pt. Times News Roman Font and double-spaced). 
7. A letter of support from the applicant’s Graduate Program Director, sent directly to the Graduate School by the application deadline.

Application Deadline: Applicants: please submit all application materials (parts 5 and 6) electronically to Dr. Patricia Mooney-Melvin (pmooney@luc.edu), Associate Dean of the Graduate School, by November 18, 2012. Graduate Program Directors: please submit your letter of support (part 7) electronically to Dr. Patricia Mooney-Melvin by November 18, 2012 as well.

Loyola Vitamin D Study Getting National Attention

Congratulations to Dr. Kramer and Dr. Ramon Durazo-Arvizu for their paper entitled “Mortality Rates Across 25 Hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) Levels among Adults with and without Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate < 60 ml/min/1.73 m²: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.” 

The paper was co-authored by: Guichan Cao, Amy Luke, David Shoham, Richard Cooper, of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at LoyolaUniversity Chicago, and Chris Sempos of the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.

The Loyola team explored all-cause mortality rates across the spectrum of 25[OH]D levels over an eighteen-year follow-up among adults with and without an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min/1.73 m2.

Previous studies exploring the association between 25[OH]D levels and mortality in adults with and without kidney disease utilized 25[OH]D thresholds that have recently been scrutinized by the Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Dietary References Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium. 

The paper was recently published in PLOS ONE and is available for reading at http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0047458.

The Study has been garnering national attention and the story has been picked up by numerous news medias and medical reviews. See the list below:

See the Full article from NPR

See the Full article from NBC
See the Full article At American Medical News
See the Full article from The Boston Globe
See the full article on Prevention.com

33rd Annual St. Albert's Day 2012

Stritch School of Medicine: Master of Public Health Program has posted pictures from the poster presentations from this year's St. Albert's Day Celebration.

MPH Candidates show off their new MPH pen!

Stephanie Pesenko Katina Deshong, Michelle Ngan, Kate Rieke

back-row: Christopher Lingat, Michael Husby and Kaushal Mehta

See more pictures on the Loyola MPH Facebook page

Researchers at Loyola Make News with Vitamin D Study

Researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine have done some number-crunching and have calculated that 78.7 million adults once considered to have insufficient vitamin D levels now have sufficient levels under the new guidelines.

The new study supports the IOM guidelines for a lower minimum vitamin D requirement vitamin D supplements. The study, led by Holly Kramer, a nephrologist at Loyola University Medical Center, found that mortality rates don't change much whether you have levels of 20 ng/ML or 40 ng/ML in your bloodstream on a daily basis.

The Study has been picked up by numerous news agencies including NPR And NBC.  Click on these links to see the full stories.

Associate Researcher Position Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

Chapin Hall is seeking an Associate Researcher to contribute to its work with public and private human services agencies. The goal of this work is to increase the capacity of these entities to manage multiple layers of their operations. This includes working with public and private administrative data resources to support agencies’ efforts to effectively plan, implement, monitor and evaluate changes to procedures, programs, and policies. The Associate Researcher will get involved in several project components that may include developing techniques in partnership with public child welfare agencies and other interested parties for organizing, processing, summarizing and presenting complex human services data in a way that is useful for human service administrators. The work will generally take one or more of the following forms: formal evaluation performance measurement and monitoring and performance-based contracting. The Associate Researcher will also be implementing techniques described above that have already been developed by the Center, assisting in the design and implementation of program evaluation, conducting teaching and training sessions for human service administrators and conducting focused research on specific areas of concern of public human services agencies. Chapin Hall is an independent policy research center whose mission is to build knowledge that improves policies and programs for children and youth, families, and their communities. For more information about Chapin Hall, please see our website at www.chapinhall.org. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer that values and actively seeks diversity in its workforce.

See Job Listing at PublicHealthJobs.net

Assistant Professors, Public Health University of Illinois at Chicago

The Division of Community Health Sciences (CHS) in the UIC School of Public Health invites applications for tenure-track Assistant Professor positions. Responsibilities include teaching graduate level courses, advising master's and doctoral students, developing an externally funded research agenda, and contributing to the service mission of the division and the school.

See full listing at HealthFacultyJobs.com

UIC School of Public Health Job Posting

The Healthy Youths Program and the Community Outreach Intervention Projects at the University of Illinois at Chicago is seeking a part-time Data Manager for a federally-funded study to prevent HIV/AIDS among juvenile offenders. The study is a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an innovative and uniquely tailored HIV/AIDS, mental health, and substance use program designed for 13-17 year old males and females on probation.

Data management responsibilities

• Create research protocol using ACASI programming and maintain project databases using SPSS 
• Create and maintain a database documenting recruitment, assessment, and follow-up activities 
• Manage data verification and retrieval for the project 
• Supervise the collection, entry, and verification of data 
• Review files for missing data, clean and merge data, and ensure the integrity of data collection on and off site.

This will be an hourly position averaging 20 hours/week. Research will sometimes be conducted at sites in the community (probation centers, homes, libraries, and schools), and some program activities will occur in the evenings. Candidates must be willing to maintain a flexible schedule that includes evening hours. Salary is commensurate with experience.

For fullest consideration, please email a cover letter and CV/resume, by 11/1/12 to: Erin McCarville, emccar2@uic.edu. To ensure proper handling of your application, type “Data Manager Position” into the subject heading.

Qualifications:

Ideal candidates will have: •Bachelors degree required, advanced degree in a relevant area such as public health, psychology, biostatistics, or social work preferred •Strong interpersonal and computer skills and exceptional professionalism •Ability to work autonomously and complete job responsibilities independently •Experience in the collection, verification and management of data for a longitudinal study •Experience with Access, Excel, and SPSS required •Experience with ACASI development •Experience working with youth preferred

For fullest consideration, please email a cover letter and CV/resume, by 11/1/12 to: Erin McCarville, emccar2@uic.edu. To ensure proper handling of your application, type “Data Manager Position” into the subject heading.

Environmental Health News

Restoration work days are scheduled for the second Saturday of each month at Loyola University’s Retreat and Ecology Campus (LUREC) in Woodstock, IL. Work day activities include removing invasive trees and brush from the oak and hickory woodlands, burning brush piles, improving drainage of the wetlands, and managing native plant life on the property. It's a great way to get outside, get some exercise, and help restore the natural habitats of LUREC.

If you are interested in taking part in upcoming work days or want more information about ecological restoration activities at LUREC, please contact Dr. Roberta Lammers-Campbell at rlammer@luc.edu.

Graduate School Announcements

Forms on Graduate Student Progress Systems (GSPS): 

Don’t forget that starting today The Graduate School will be opening up the Graduate Student Progress System (GSPS) to students for regular submission of forms. That includes the following:

• Leave of Absence 
• Thesis or Dissertation Committee Form 
• Thesis or Dissertation Proposal Ballot 
• Travel Award (Already available to Students)
• Professional Activities (including Placement for jobs, Publications, Presentations at conferences, Internships, and External Awards with more to come in the upcoming Terms 

Simply go to gsps.luc.edu and  log in with your LUC ID and password, just like you would for email or LOCUS.

Once these forms launch on October 22nd, they will no longer be available in paper Format. If you submit a paper form, it will be returned and asked to be put into the database. We will update our forms page on our website accordingly, so that you will be directed to the GSPS database.

On-Campus Event: 

Life Beyond the Ivory Tower: Non-faculty career options. 

• When: Friday, October 26, 2012, 2:30 p.m. 3:45 p.m. 
• Where: Granada Center Room 291, West Conference Room, LSC; Corboy Law Center Room 727, Video conference between LSC & WTC 

Second thoughts about a faculty career? Considered leaving the confines of academe? Join us to discuss career options beyond faculty jobs. In this workshop, you will learn about:

•  Private And Public Sector Jobs Opportunities 
• Non-Faculty Possibilities In Education 
• Turning Your Vita Into A Resume 
• Interview Skills 
• Non-Academic Job Search Strategy 

The workshop will be conducted by Camille Helkowski, Associate Director, Career Development Center. To reserve your seat for a workshop, please send an email to mailto:gradschool@luc.edu. Include the workshop title in the subject heading, and in the message include your full name, academic program, and degree pursuing.

Visit our website for a full calendar of events Off-Campus Event:

Off-Campus Events:

NIH Grant Training Seminar: How to Obtain Peer-Reviewed NIH Research Grants 

• When: November 28, 2012, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
• Where: University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois 
• Sponsored by: The Grant Training Center 

This one-day seminar is geared for junior faculty, students, and administrators who are beginning the process of submitting grants to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is also relevant for seasoned researchers who wish to refresh their knowledge of the new NIH requirements and the peer review process. Ultimately, the focus is to assist all who wish to submit winning research proposals to the NIH. Participants will learn how to:

• Find the appropriate program and grant mechanism for your idea
• Read and interpret RFAs
• Identify and avoid common pitfalls of a grant
• Develop an irresistible idea for your grant application
• Address the pieces of the request for proposal
• Maximize your application for competitiveness
• Package the proposal in the requested format
• Understand the new scoring system and the review process
• Learn what actually happens in the study section
• Search for the appropriate study sections for submissions
• Decipher pink sheets: the inevitable resubmission
• Build an airtight case for funding
• Discern the art of the budget 

Presenter:  Dr. Robert Freishtat is currently a Principal Investigator in the Division of Emergency Medicine at Children's National Medical Center. He is also serves on the faculty of the Departments of Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Integrative Systems Biology in the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. His research interests include systems biology investigations of childhood asthma and drug development for sepsis. Dr. Freishtat’s laboratory is currently funded by grants from NIH (5 as principal or co-investigator) and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Dr. Freishtat is the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation for Medical Research and an active member of the American Thoracic Society. He has authored over 30 articles and book chapters in the fields of asthma, sepsis, and emergency medicine and reviews for six different journal.

Space is limited, and since this class fills-up quickly, it is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

• Workshop Fee: $375.00 (including tuition, materials, certificate of completion, and continental breakfast and lunch).
• To register: http://granttraining.net/ Click Here or call us toll free at (866)-704-7268 or (571) 257-8864. 
• Additionally, a Writing & Designing NSF Proposals Workshop is also going to be held at University of Illinois at Chicago on November 29, 2012. 
• Get a discount of $155 on registration for both workshops (Call us for the discount): Each person can register for either NIH or NSF for the price of $375. If a person registers for both, the price is $595 (discount of $155). 
• Please contact Grant Training Center for the discount code. For participants who has already registered for the NIH, this discount also applies if you register for the NSF workshop. 

 Graduate Student Programming and Spiritual Development at Water Tower: 

Water Tower Campus Life has an exciting calendar of events planned starting this Fall Semester. Below is the list of upcoming Programming Contact Dana Bozeman with any questions.

• WTC Yoga: Mondays, 7p.m.  in TSC 303/304 no class on 9/24,10/22, 10/29 
• Labre Ministry: Thursdays, 6p.m.  at TSC 
• Young Adult Mass: Sundays, 7p.m. at St. James Chapel

Professional Development Workshop

Professional Development WorkshopLife Beyond the Ivory Tower: Non-faculty career optionsFriday, October 26, 2012 | 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | Video conference between LSC & WTC*

Second thoughts about a faculty career? Considered leaving the confines of academe? Join us to discuss career options beyond faculty jobs. In this workshop, you will learn about:
• Private And Public Sector Jobs Opportunities
• Non-Faculty Possibilities In Education
• Turning Your Vita Into A Resume
• Interview Skills
• Non-Academic Job Search Strategy

The workshop will be conducted by Camille Helkowski, Associate Director, Career Development Center. * Room 291, Granada Center, West Conference Room – Lake Shore Campus. Please register with your name, degree program, and degree pursuing by sending an email to gradschool@luc.edu.

Distinguished Speakers Series

Dean Vicki Keough and the Faculty of Loyola University Chicago, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Cordially Invite You to Attend Our Distinguished Speakers Series

THE CHANGING US HEALTH CARE SCENE: RETHINKING THE CARE DELIVERY TEAM

• 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
• Tobin Hall, First Floor, Stritch School of Medicine 
• Loyola University Health System
• 2160 South First Avenue, Maywood, Illinois 60153

Learn cutting edge strategies to promote inter-professional collaboration to enhance patient safety and the quality of care.

Sharon O’Keefe is a nationally recognized authority on hospital operations, health care quality, patient satisfaction and employee engagement. A Chicago native, Ms. O’Keefe received her BSN from Northern Illinois University and MSN from Loyola University Chicago. During her distinguished career as a health care leader she served as president of Loyola University Medical Center, and joined the University of Chicago Medical Center as President in February 2011. As president she oversees a $1.1B clinical enterprise and connects the patient care mission of the medical center with the research and education missions of the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division.

•  RSVP by October 12 to Gina Michalski 
• 708.216.9101 or gmicha1@luc.edu

Graduate Student Founds Diabetes Platform

Dr. Janya Swami—a full-time MPH graduate student (Epidemiology track) at Loyola—has founded Communetes.  

Communetes is an information platform for people to share stories, tips, experiences, recipes and more, about diabetes. It is essentially a common place to make relevant information more accessible and use individual inputs to create shared experiences through social media, youtube and apps.

You can view and become part of the discussion on the Communetes Facebook page.

Graduate Student Writing Workshop

• When: Friday, September 28, 2012, 1:00 – 2:30 PM 
• Where: Crown Center, Auditorium, Lake Shore Campus 

Feel like you need some assistance in your writing? Most of us, regardless of our degrees and status could benefit from advice from someone who has made it his career to guide people to the next level of their writing ability.

 Attend an interactive writing workshop specifically geared to graduate students. This 90 minute session will contextualize the major influences on writing struggles for graduate-level papers, and then feature three elemental areas of sound scholarly writing at the graduate level: organization around a complex and worthwhile purpose, a framed paragraph structure that follows and explores the organizational purpose, and a reassessment of source relationships according to the organizational purpose.

 The workshop will be conducted by Michael Meinhardt, English Instructor and is open to both Master’s and Doctoral students from all disciplines.

 Registration is required. Please send an email to gradschool@luc.edu. Include the workshop title in the subject heading, and in the message include your full name, academic program, and degree pursuing. For additional information

Harvest Festival 2012‌

• Sunday, September 30, 2012
• 12-5:00 p.m.

‌Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus
2710 S. Country Club Road
Woodstock, IL 60098
[Map and contact information]

‌Loyola University Chicago invites you to Harvest Festival 2012! This event will be hosted by Loyola in partnership with Bull Valley Association, the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation, and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

Harvest Festival celebrates this year’s harvest and provides an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to gather with the local community and learn more about Loyola’s Retreat and Ecology Campus. Other highlights include food prepared by Chef Scott Commings, live music, tours, fun activities, and a farmers market. The celebration is open to the public.

STUDENTS! Especially for you, this year's Harvest Festival features the Climbing Tower, a fun and physical challenge sure to take your mind off pending papers and encroaching exams. Bring your friends or come alone. Sign up on the registration page.

Town Hall Meeting on Healthcare Reform

Join Rep. Greg Harris, Rep. Kelly Cassidy and Sen. Heather Steans
for a Healthcare Reform Town Hall Meeting

• Thursday, September 27th: 7-9pm
• Swedish Covenant Hospital
• 5145 N California Ave.

Presenters include:

• Jim Hardy- Specialist with Deloitte Consulting LLP: National Consulting firm that has done extensive research on how the Affordable Care Act implementation will affect Illinois residents who are currently not covered by Medicaid but need health insurance.
• Julie Hamos: Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Speaking on how the Affordable Care Act will affect individuals currently on Medicaid.

For questions please contact 773-348-3434 or greg@gregharris.org

Job Posting

AHRQ announces a job opening with the MONAHRQ program. MONAHRQ was developed to help organizations with hospital administrative data efficiently generate an informational website based on their data and has since been expanded to include other data sources as well.

• Job Title: Staff Fellow 
• This Service Fellow position for a MONAHRQ Program Lead is equal to a Civil Service GS 13 or 14; it which be open until October 16. To view the job announcement, use this link.

Position Description: Program lead for AHRQ’s award-winning MONAHRQ

One strategy increasingly used to improve quality is the production of public reports comparing the quality of hospitals and other providers. But mounting a website is a time-consuming and expensive effort, and production of a website that consumers will actually use in their decision-making is not easy. To facilitate such efforts, AHRQ has created MONAHRQ – My Own Network Powered by AHRQ. MONAHRQ is a desktop software tool that enables organizations such as state and local data organizations, community quality collaborative, hospitals and hospital systems, and health plans to quickly and easily create a website using their own hospital discharge data, inpatient measures from CMS Hospital Compare and/or HCAHPS survey measures for public reporting of quality (for more information please visit http://www.monahrq.ahrq.gov/).

Communities and states also can use the software tool for reports and graphics to identify problem areas such as counties with very high admissions (and therefore costs) for potentially preventable admissions. To date, six states have adopted MONAHRQ for public reporting, and others are using it for public health planning and other uses.

MONAHRQ recently was recognized as one of the most innovative HHS programs in the country, receiving honorable mention in the HHSInnovates program. MONAHRQ also has received additional funding from the Department to accelerate its growth. The incumbent will lead this effort. The incumbent will also form part of a quality measurement and reporting team at AHRQ, which includes activities such as the Quality Indicators, the Chartered Value Exchanges and a new grant program on the Science of Public Reporting.

2013 Summer Internship - Clinical Operations

OBJECTIVES:
Takeda's internship program blends real world experience with an extensive overview of the pharmaceutical industry. Knowledgeable mentors will provide guidance as you gain professional hands-on experience.
The summer internship program is 12 weeks in length and offers a unique perspective into a world-class pharmaceutical company. Compensation is competitive, and financed temporary housing is available to those who qualify. Our internship program also provides you the opportunity to network with people at Takeda through various planned events and activities.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Obtain a solid overview of requirements for conducting clinical drug trials based on the principles and regulations outlined in the GCP and ICH guidelines. Understand how these principles are being applied to the global clinical trials.
• Gain an understanding of how Takeda studies are planned and managed by working with Clinical Operations Study Managers, vendors and multiple stakeholders (e.g., Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Science, Statistics and Data Management, etc.). Exposure to meetings and interactions with multiple team members will assist in gaining an understanding of overall planning and vendor oversight activities required for successful clinical trials. Conduct projects to support study planning and oversight activities as assigned. 
•  Gain an understanding of functions related to Clinical Operations (e.g., Trial Disclosure, Clinical Supplies, Medical Writing, Quality Assurance). Conduct projects to support these functions as assigned. 

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS: 

• Currently enrolled in a Health Science (Life Science, Physiology, Pharmacy) Bachelors or Masters Degree program in a U.S. accredited university
• Must have completed his/her sophomore year (Bachelor’s Degree) or first year (Master’s Degree/PharmD)
• Proficiency in the use of personal computers, including experience with word processing, spreadsheets, email and web-browser applications.
• Good interpersonal skills
• Good verbal and written communication skills

We are driven to improve people's lives. www.takedajobs.com We are an equal opportunity employer. No Phone Calls or Recruiters Please.

Guest Lecturer Grand Rounds September 13

The Loyola Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology welcomes Dr. Kristen Malecki from the University of Wisconsin -Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

Her presentation is entitled "Survey of the Health of Wisconsin: Paving the Way for Innovative Population Health Research"

Grand Rounds will be held September 13 at 11 AM, 3rd floor of the Maguire building, Department of Preventive Medicine Library.

• Lunch immediately following
• Students and faculty all welcome 
• You may also join via video-conference ( contact Dr. Kramer for video conference instructions)

Part-Time Temporary Position Data Assistant

Northwestern Juvenile Project:
Immediate Position Opening

The Health Disparities and Public Policy Program at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago Campus) is seeking a part-time (20-24 hours per week / Monday-Friday) temporary Data Assistant to work on the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a federally funded, longitudinal study of the health needs and long term outcomes of 1829 delinquent youth.

Position Summary:
Under the direction and guidance of the Data Supervisor in the Health Disparities Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, this position will perform cleaning of complex survey data using STATA programming language by reviewing data input for accuracy, addressing skip patterns, coding, and other information.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 2 years college or more
• Basic programming skills in statistical software (STATA, SAS, R, SPSS), STATA preferred
•  Excellent documentation skills and habits
• Experience working with survey data a plus
• Detail-oriented, responsible, punctual, and collegial 

For consideration, please send letter of interest and resume to healthdisparities@northwestern.edu with “Data Assistant” noted in the subject line. Once you apply, you will receive an email confirming submission of your resume. If there is interest in your candidacy, we will contact you.

Important Dates for Loyola MPH Program

• Sunday September 2: Last day to drop class(es) with a Bursar credit of 100% (does not apply to Law School courses) 


• Monday September 3: Labor Day: No Class 


• Tuesday September 4: End of late and change registration
  Classes resume after Labor Day
  Last day to withdraw from classes without a “W” 


• Monday September 10: Last day to convert from credit to audit or vice versa
  Last day to request or cancel pass/fail option 


• Friday September 14: Incomplete grades from Spring 2012 due at The Graduate School 


• Sunday September 23: Last day to withdraw from classes with a 50% refund 


• Sunday September 30: Last day to withdraw from classes with a 20% refund

Congratulations to Tammy Rhoda

Congratulations to Tammy Rhoda (pictured here with Professor Bhattacharya) on completion of the Loyola University Chicago MPH Program. Tammy's capstone presentation focused on the implications of universal oral health care.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Muriuki

Congratulations to Elizabeth Muriuki for completion of the Loyola University Chicago MPH Program. Elizabeth's capstone presentation discussed the accuracy of accuchek measures for diabetes screening in a Subsaharan African population.

Pictured, from left to right: shows Dr. David Shoham,

Dr. Bamidele Tayo, Dr. Holly Kramer and Elizabeth Muriuki

Join us for a Capstone Presentation

Please join us August 23rd at 11 AM for MPH student Tammy Rhoda's Capstone presentation entitled

"Oral Health Care: The Importance of Universal Access and Use"
Conference will be held in the Maguire Bldg 3rd floor, Department of Preventive Medicine library
You may also join us via videoconference (Contact Dr. Kramer for information on connecting via video conference )

Seminar on health services research

Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES SPECIAL SEMINAR and DISCUSSION

Chicago LEARN: An Opportunity for Collaboration in Hospital-based Patient-Centered Outcomes Research in Chicago 

• by David Meltzer, MD, PhD Chief, Section of Hospital Medicine Director, Center for Health and the Social Sciences The University of Chicago 
•  Monday, September 24, 2012 9:00 - 10:00 p.m. SSOM, Room 460        
• Dr. Meltzer and Dr. Julian Solway will be available after the presentation to discuss Chicago LEARN and the University of Chicago CTSA.                
• For additional information, please contact: Richard H. Kennedy, Ph.D. Vice Provost, Research and Graduate Programs                            

The Chicago Learning Effectiveness Advancement Research Network (Chicago LEARN) Chicago LEARN is a partnership of the three Chicago-Area Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutions, UHC, and other Chicago-area health care institutions to perform cutting–edge, patient-centered comparative effectiveness and outcomes research for patients hospitalized in academic medical centers. Such research is integral to the vision of a learning health care system and requires diverse data sources to support a range of study designs.  For randomized clinical trials, Chicago LEARN’s capabilities include the ability to effectively screen for, recruit and consent, characterize, intervene on, and obtain long-term follow-up on patients. This is supported by linkages to electronic health records and, often, payer administrative data that allow utilization to be tracked even when it extends outside a health system. For molecularly informed trials, LEARN can obtain consent for and collect biospecimens. For observational studies, LEARN links to existing data sets on large scale, and can efficiently perform primary data collection and obtain consent for data linkages needed for observational and experimental studies. Following the vision of a learning health care system, LEARN seeks to enhance the quality and cost of data acquisition by integrating data collection into routine clinical care processes and applying continuous improvement approaches. UHC’s member base of nearly all U.S. AMCs provides opportunities to expand the reach of LEARN studies nationally and perhaps to provide an important national model for comparative effectiveness research.

Initial funding for the development of LEARN was obtained from a competitive supplement to the University of Chicago CTSA from the National Center for Research Resources (2011-2012). Additional funding to date includes renewal funding of the University of Chicago CTSA (2012-2017) and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Innovation Challenge Award (2012-2015) to study the effects of increased continuity in the doctor-patient relationship on costs and outcomes for frequently hospitalized patients.  With funding from AHRQ, Chicago LEARN centers are also collaborating to complete a study of the effectiveness of pharmacogenetic vs. clinically guided warfarin dosing among hospitalized patients.

 Chicago LEARN Participants:

• The University of Chicago CTSA:  (The University of Chicago,  Rush University Medical Center,  Northshore University Healthsystem,  Mercy Hospital)
•   The Northwestern University CTSA 
•  The University of Illinois at Chicago CTSA 
•  UHC (formerly University Healthsystem Consortium) 
•  Loyola University Chicago and Loyola University Medical Center (in Development) 
•  John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County (in Development) 
•  Jesse Brown and Edward Hines Veterans Administration Hospitals (in Development)

Graduate School Announcements

Graduate School Announcements

August 6, 2012

This flyer is sent every week by the Graduate School. If your department or organization has something they would like to add, please send information to gradschannounce@luc.edu by the end of day on Fridays.

Upcoming Deadlines:

· August 15—Last day to submit Late Applications for December 2012 degree conferral. This option is for first-time applicants only.

For complete list of key dates and deadlines, see the Graduate School calendar:

http://www.luc.edu/gradschool/key_dates.shtml#fall

Advocate Training:

The following message comes from Stephanie Atella in the Wellness Center:

We have very exciting news! Due to the large number of students who expressed interest in volunteering for Loyola's sexual assault advocacy line, but are not state trained advocates, we are offering a 40-hour state recognized sexual assault advocacy training for you through Loyola.

This training is rarely offered outside of rape crisis centers. This is an excellent opportunity to make yourselves eligible for volunteering for the LUC sexual assault advocacy line and obtain a state recognized certification at no cost to you!

The training will take place from 9 am until 5 pm on the following days:

1. Friday September 14

2. Saturday September 15

3. Friday September 21

4. Saturday September 22

5. Friday September 28

6. Saturday September 29 (MAKE UP DAY) - You can miss ONE day of the training and MAKE UP what you missed on this day. IF you miss more than one day you will not be recognized as a state advocate.

More about the training: If you attend this training you will be expected to commit to volunteering for the Loyola sexual assault advocacy line for one or two academic years (depending on whether you are a first or a second year graduate student). There is NO COST associated with this training. At the end of this training you will not only be able to volunteer at Loyola, but you will have a state recognized certification as a sexual assault advocate and be able to volunteer at rape crisis centers in the state.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please fill out the attached application and return to me by August 15th.

Please contact me if you have any questions at satella@luc.edu.

Internship Opportunity:

The following message comes from Kendra Fogerty at the Israel Idonije Foundation:

I am the Executive Director of a small 501(c)3 who is has a fall internship available for just the right person. I want to reach out [to our] targeted group to see if you may be able to pass this on to students who fit the bill for this opportunity. I am specifically looking for someone with strong grant writing skills. Undergrad preferred but graduate students are welcome. We have a strong internship program here and for the most part we have focused on communication majors and those interested in sports marketing. I have already begun the process for a fall intern in that arena but there is space and need for a second intern who can work directly with me to find grant opportunities, draft grant proposals and work with me on editing and submission.

We do not offer paid internships therefore the students’ needs to be in a situation where school credit is offered, or be willing to volunteer their time to the Foundation. I try to ensure our interns get a range of exposure and experiences here based on their own learning plan and goals so this will not be an isolating or limited experience.

I appreciate your thoughts and recommendations and hope that you may have some ideas for students who can benefit from this opportunity!

Contact info: Kendra@israelidonije.org

www.teamIIF.org

The Graduate School:

Blog: http://blogs.luc.edu/gradschool/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LoyolaGradSchool

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