Celebrating Biostatistics (Bios)

Last week, we celebrated the 60^th anniversary of our department of Biostatistics featuring a huge Festschrift for Professor Gary Koch. During the week-long celebration,  Professor Larry Kupper also was honored for his contributions to the field and to our School. I really admire Larry, and he has won numerous teaching awards in recognition of his role in the classroom. He is appreciated equally as a statistical collaborator on research projects.

The Festschrift for Dr. Gary Koch was held Monday night, and as I looked around, the room was a “who’s who” in biostatistics. It is remarkable how many outstanding statisticians were trained at our School and how many really excellent collaborators have been associated with them. They all came together to recognize Gary and his remarkable contributions. Gary is an eminent statistician, and I’m also very fond of him. When I reviewed  his CV before the event, I was struck by how many different topics he’s studied and in how many areas he’s made significant contributions. His contributions, though, weren’t only the statistical consultation he gave. Many people talked  about how Gary’s mentoring changed their lives He cared about them as people. Their comments reminded me of the important roles our faculty members play in their students’ lives and how positive that impact can be when faculty members are committed fully to the experience. Gary and his wife Carolyn have supported students very generously and are role models in that regard.

The planning committee* for the anniversary event did a great job, and there were lots of amazingly funny, clever and warm tributes, especially to Gary’s legendary propensity for breakfast meetings at some, shall we say, interesting restaurants. There also were several days of state-of-the-science presentations on different aspects of biostatistics.

Experiencing NYC’s new menu standards

I was in NYC over the weekend for a meeting. It was my first trip since menu labeling began. My husband and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Le Pain Quotedian. It was great to have calorie counts for food and drink items on the menu. For people who heard Dr. Tom Frieden talk at our School a couple weeks ago, this was his and Michael Bloomberg’s policy. What will it take to make this a policy in North Carolina? I do wonder about the accuracy of the calorie calculations and what can be done to assure careful calculations.

While in NYC, we went to an exhibit on design innovation at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The focus was not just on design but also on the materials chain and how the entire process can be made more sustainable.

There’s convergence of thinking across multiple fields toward more global sustainability, environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and user-centered design. These trends are totally aligned with public health. We should develop new partnerships given the multiple companies and organizations interested in these issues.

Happy Monday, Barbara

*BIOS 60^th Anniversary and Festschrift Organizing Committee Members: John Bailer, Jianwen Cai, Jennifer Clark, Stephen Couch, Rebekkah Dann, Ed Davis, Jason Fine, Stuart Gansky, Joan Gillings, Amy Herring, Melissa Hobgood, Beth Horton, Peter Imrey, Michael Kosorok, J. Richard Landis, Lisa LaVange, Dustin Long, Evie McKee, Maura O’Donoghue, Tania Osborn, Lauren Paynter, Margaret Polinkovsky, John Preisser, Frank Rockhold, Todd Schwartz, Betsy Seagroves, Maura Stokes, Beth Weiner, Alison Wise, Robert F. Woolson

Dr. Frieden visits

We were so excited that the new CDC director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, visited with us last week. I was thrilled that our School turned out over 400 people to listen and participate in a conversation with Dr. Frieden. See his bio for background about his local and global experience.

Frieden spoke about 4 priorities:

1. Improving public health surveillance and epidemiology as key foundations for public health. He said it is not sufficient to collect data; data also must be disseminated in a way that is useful for decision making.

2. 

   Support state and local public health action. He said that evidence-based practices don’t just appear. The work of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services is a good example of how evidence is reviewed and summarized.

3. Strengthen global health work. He said that we all are connected by the air we breathe. Partnerships with other countries are important.
4. Improve impact in affecting health policies. Our efforts should facilitate healthier choices.  He spoke about the challenge of altering the trajectory of this country around obesity, a topic about which he already has done so much as the NYC Commissioner of Health who banned trans fats in most NYC restaurants.

I am really encouraged by Dr. Frieden’s priorities and by his emphasis on closing the implementation gap—the chasm between what we know and what we do. He also stressed the importance of providing information that can be used for decision making and emphasized that we in public health should be prepared with evidence-based, well-messaged programs.

We celebrate public health: 10 years of the NCIPH

On Friday October 9, 2009, we celebrated 10 years of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH) with a program that recognized the vision of President Emeritus Bill Friday in conceiving the mission of the NCIPH, Bill Roper, MD, MPH, in creating it, Richard House, Rachel Stevens and others in birthing it and Ed Baker, Jr., MD, MPH, MSc and his team in making it a 21st century powerhouse. I appreciate how important the NCIPH is to NC, particularly to our state and local health directors. Happy birthday and looking forward to many years of working together to improve public health in North Carolina.

NCPHA celebrates 100 years

Last week, the NC Public Health Association (NCPHA) celebrated its 100th year in Asheville, NC. The evening before the meeting, Dave Potenziani, Peggy Glenn and I met with alumni and several of their spouses to get feedback about how the School is doing and what we could do better. We talked about how local health departments (LHDs) are being asked to do more and more-with less and less. Unfunded mandates are a way of life for health departments. A recent National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) study found that 51% of LHDs were affected by lost hours, layoffs, attrition and mandatory furloughs. This is really unfortunate given the resource-deprived environments in which they already were operating. Over the last 12 months, according to the survey, 55% of LHDs made cuts to important public health programs. The people with whom we met were feeling these cuts, and they look to our School to help. Two messages were clear. These health department directors really value the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH) and worry that large, recent cuts indicate a lack of commitment to it. The cuts were mandated by the legislature and do not represent a lack of commitment on our part. The cuts are making things tough, but we will weather them.

These LHD directors also want more of our students to go beyond the counties surrounding the School for their field work. This seems really logical, and we can do better on this. There are some pockets within the state that face health problems similar to those seen in the developing world - both diseases and lack of access to health care. Some students interested in global health may be drawn to these challenges.

What’s not to like about being in places like Asheville, Hendersonville and Wilmington and many other, counties around the state. We have some of the strongest health departments and directors anywhere. Our students could learn a lot and do some good.

Anyway, we had some good discussions, and will work harder to extend our reach.

Our School and its students and faculty were well-represented at the North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA) Annual meeting.

I really love Asheville. Its old buildings are a little funky and create an interesting, intimate feeling. It’s a walkable city, surrounded by beautiful mountains. It’s a health conscious city as you can tell by all the signs for massage therapists, wellness centers and healthy food. And for those of us who love dogs, it’s a dog-friendly city-which is OK by me! The trip reminded me of how fortunate I am to live in North Carolina and how important it is to go out beyond the Triangle.

I won’t comment about the losing football game. What’s there to say!

Happy Monday! Barbara