Student Accomplishments
2013 Teaching and Leadership Opportunities
Emily Hall Ganos, a fourth year student and doctoral candidate, is teaching a Health Policy and Administration course at Carroll University. After graduation, Emmy has accepted a position at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. Congratulations!
Rebekah Angove, a third year student and doctoral candidate, is an adjunct professor of Bioethics at Carroll University. Rebekah presented a seminar on the Development of a LGBT Focused Health Communication Curriculum at the Interdisciplinary Sexuality Seminar, UW Madison, on March 1, 2013. Rebekah was a guest panelist at a gun violence awareness event entitled Loaded With Information!
2012 Teaching and Leadership Opportunities
Dina Garcia, a second year student, serves on the steering committee for the Milwaukee Latino Health Coalition. She is also one of the co-founders of Cientificas de Milwaukee, the only bilingual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) enrichment program targeting school-aged girls in Milwaukee. Alongside her parents, Marcela and Eduardo (Agronomists turned educators) and her sister, Xela, they are establishing Cientificas de Milwaukee as a non-profit organization.
Rebekah Angove, a third year student with the PhD Program is co-president of the Public Health Interest Group (PHIG) on campus along with Alison Crane, a medical student. Allison Ertl, a first year student with the PhD Program, serves as the PhD student liaison.
Katherine Quinn, a second year student with the PhD Program, and Kaija Zusevics, PhD, a recent graduate of the PhD Program, served as facilitators for the Medical Ethics and Palliative Medicine course for second year medical students. They each lead small group discussion sessions for the medical students.
2012 Student Awards
Rebekah Angove received an Outstanding Medical School Teaching Award for her work with the M1 - M3 medical student urban community pathway. Pathways allow medical students to individualize their medical training while exploring a career path of interest.
Emmy Hall received an Outstanding Medical School Teaching award for her presentation in the M2 Health Policy course. Her session, taught with PhD in Public and Community Health alumnus, Kaija Zusevics, PhD, was entitled "Health Disparities and Policy Solutions".
2012 Student Presentations
Emmy Hall presented a poster at the Division of Biostatistics Poster Day. Her poster was entitled "Risk Factors Associated with Diabetes Screening: Results of a Survey with Milwaukee Latinos". She also presented a seminar to the Clinical and Translational Science Institute entitled Accountable Care Organizations: Issues Facing Wisconsin. Emmy's abstract entitled "The Role of Physician Culture in Variations in Health Care Utilization" was accepted for presentation at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
Annie Nguyen presented a seminar entitled "Evaluation of an Internal Medicine Curricular Innovation in Geriatrics" at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She presented an oral paper entitled "A Geriatrics Rotation as a Medicine Elective: A Smart Option for Medical Students? at the American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. Annie's abstract was judged as one of the top 50 student-submitted abstracts. Her poster presentation entitled "Successful aging and social engagement among Asian elders" was awarded an Outstanding Student Poster of Distinction at the annual scientific meeting of the American Academy of Health Behavior.
Kaija Zusevics will present at the 2012 Minority Health in the Midwest Conference. Her presentation is entitled "Effects of Project-Based Health Education on the Student Engagement and Hope of Urban Students of Color"
2011 Student Presentations
Annie Nguyen was selected to present at the North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Her presentations were entitled "A Review of the Cultural Dimensions of Successful Aging; and "An Internal Medicine Curricular Innovation in Geriatrics".
Elizabeth Duthie was chosen to present at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting in Montreal, QC, Canada. Her presentation was entitled "What to Expect When You're Expecting...Weight Gain: Obstetrician Perspectives on Pregnancy Weight Gain".
2011 Annual Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Research Poster Session (October 2011)
Two of our students had the opportunity to present at the Annual Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences Research Poster Session on October 14th, 2011.
Emmy Hall, "Accountable Care Organizations:
Issues Facing Wisconsin"
Kaija Zusevics
"Effects of Project-Based Health Education on the Student
Engagement and Hope of Urban Students of Color"
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (October 2011)
Annie Nguyen, a doctoral candidate in the PhD Program in Public and Community Health at the Medical College of Wisconsin was awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Predoctoral Fellows. This award provides support for promising doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes.
Annie’s dissertation research focuses on successful aging among Asian and Pacific Islander (API) elders in the greater Milwaukee area. Successful aging is a research paradigm that considers a variety of dimensions including mental health, cognitive functioning, social engagement, and quality of life. Because API elders may hold unique cultural values and attitudes toward aging, Annie’s research will generate new insights and practical knowledge to inform the development of care and service provision for this growing population.
American Dissertation Fellowship - American Association of University Women (May 2011)
Elizabeth Duthie, a doctoral candidate in the PhD Program in Public and Community Health at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Elizabeth has won an American Dissertation Fellowship for the 2011-2012 academic year from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The AAUW American Fellowship carries a stipend of $20,000.00 USD for 12 months and supports new paths in scholarship that aim to improve the quality of life for all and tackle the educational and social barriers facing women in the United States and around the globe.
Following an extensive literature review about body weight and body image, Elizabeth discovered a serious gap in health research on patient and physician communication about body weight during a woman’s first pregnancy. Her doctoral dissertation will examine 1) how obstetricians communicate about weight-gain with their pregnant patients; and 2) the experiences of women regarding weight-gain during first pregnancy. Such an improved understanding of patient-provider communication about gestational weight-gain could contribute to several key areas, including 1) better models of weight counseling for physicians, 2) clinical interventions to reduce excessive weight-gain, and 3) a better understanding of the associations between pregnancy weight-gain, body image, and maternal and infant birth outcomes.
PHD in Public and Community Health students present posters at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Health Behavior (March 2011)
Nguyen, A., Beyer, K., Seal. D.W., Flores, J., Maurana, C., & the MCW VPI Community Asset Team (2011, March). An exploratory look at youth exposure to violence in an urban setting. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Health Behavior, Hilton Head, SC.
View Annie's Poster
Congratulations to Annie Nguyen whose poster presentation at the annual scientific meeting of the American Academy of Health Behavior was awarded an Outstanding Student Poster of Distinction. Her poster was one of only 3 student posters that were recognized for scientific excellence and meritocracy. Annie's poster summarized focus group and individual interview data collected from youth 14-25 about their experiences with violence, its causes, and recommendations for prevention. The data were collected as part of the MCW Violence Prevention Initiative's Development Phase Community Assessment. Kudos to Annie for bringing national recognition to the MCW Violence Prevention Initiative.
Zusevics, K. Lemke, M., Harley, A., & Florsheim, P. (2011). Improving Health Education Curriculum through a Community – Engaged Process Evaluation. Poster presentation at the American Academy of Health Behavior. Hilton Head, SC.