As her term as Chapter President concludes, Koduah explains why collaboration was paramount to the success of her presidency.

A new systematic review by Joanna Marroquin, a PhD in Public Health student, and associate professor Anna Pollack furthers understanding of the amount of potentially harmful chemicals in menstrual cups, discs, and underwear. 

Junior Faculty submit your exciting 2023 article to the NIH Early Stage Investigators (ESI) Paper Competition! Each year NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) honors up to 5 ESIs whose work expands upon Dr. Matilda White Riley’s vision of research excellence in health-related behavioral and social sciences. To be eligible, candidates must meet NIH’s definition of an ESI at the time of submission.

Applicants may submit only one original research article on the study of behavioral and social phenomena relevant to health. Conceptual, review, or meta-analysis papers are not eligible for this competition and, if submitted, will not be considered. Articles without direct relevance to health will not be considered. Applicants who submit more than one article will not be considered. Applicants must be the sole or primary author of the article and must involve original research published in a peer-review journal. The article must be published or accepted and in-press between January 1 and December 31, 2023.

Submission Deadline: January 28 at 11:59 pm ET Full eligibility criteria available here.

Congratulations. Karen Grace, assistant professor of Nursing, has been selected to participate in Compass, an NIH-funded mentoring program. Compass is a remote training program, open to all biomedical junior faculty and postdocs in the U.S., who want to learn essential practices to lead and manage their labs. A research career imposes many demands from supervising people, managing projects, writing papers and grants, and so much more – all while trying to build a satisfying career and a fulfilling life. I’m delighted to see our CPH faculty learning how to manage these research-in-real-life realities, skills we often don’t learn in our doctoral training.    

Want to become an NIH reviewer? Are you an Assistant Professor who is early in your career? NIH has a special Early Career Reviewer program. The program aims to help early career scientists become more competitive as grant applicants through first-hand experience with peer review and to enrich and diversify CSR’s pool of trained reviewers. Eligibility and application details are here.

Calling investigators interested in PCORI’s research focus and funding opportunities:  The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) was established by the Affordable Care Act to support primarily clinical effectiveness research, but it also funds awards to promote engagement in research, dissemination and implementation projects, methodology research, and the development of research infrastructure, including PCORnet®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network. A PCORI application is quite different from an NIH application and we have CPH investigators who can share their experiences. PCORI issues Funding Announcements several times each year. Furthermore, PCORI is seeking professional or lived experience experts to join its five Advisory Panels (Clinical Effectiveness and Decision Science, Clinical Trials, Health Care Delivery and Disparities Research, Patient Engagement and Rare Disease). If PCORI’s focus is of interest to you and you have expertise you would like to share, consider attending its webinar to learn more about joining an advisory board.  

Each panel has a distinct area of focus and is instrumental in helping to guide PCORI’s funding priorities and advance its mission. As a panelist, you’ll advise PCORI in several areas, including recommendations for refining and prioritizing research questions, ways to improve patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) and more. To ensure you find the right fit, PCORI is hosting an Advisory Panel Applicant Town Hall on Feb. 14.  

As noted previously, due to ongoing budget reductions and inflation, the Libraries will need to cancel subscriptions and reduce collection purchases in FY25. It is committed to making these changes with transparency and, wherever possible, input from the university community. In Spring 2024, it will host hybrid town hall meetings open to all faculty. It will also continue talking with faculty in departments, schools, and colleges to discuss specialized resources.

In February, the Libraries will hold two hybrid town hall meetings:

February 28 | 1-2 pm | Fenwick Library Reading Room (room 2001) or Zoom

February 29 | 10-11 am | Fenwick Library Reading Room (room 2001) or Zoom

If you are unable to attend, please share any questions and comments with your subject librarian or fill out this feedback form.

For more information on our collections strategy, cancellations, and other changes, please visit https://infoguides.gmu.edu/collections. 

January 30 | 1 pm | Zoom

Have you heard about Qualitative Data Analysis Software such as NVivo,
Atlas.ti, MAXQDA, or Dedoose? Do you wonder which you should use or even
how they differ? Learn about the shared and unique features of those
softwares and see them in action with actual projects by CPH
researchers. Jointly presented with the Digital Scholarship Center in
the University Libraries. Questions: Erin Maughan (emaugha@gmu.edu)

February 2 | 12-12:30 pm | Zoom | link to come

Join us for our 10th Lighting Talk! Join faculty members as they share about a classroom practice or their research in only five short minutes. Presenters are Patrice Winter (GCH), Denise Hines (SW), and Amira Roess (GCH). Zoom link to be shared closer to the event.

February 20 | 12:30-1:30 pm | Peterson 2000 or Zoom

Faculty, students, and staff, are invited to discuss issues related to health equity, with discussion centered around a journal article. Bring your own lunch. 

Please RSVP to kgrace@gmu.edu to get the article and Zoom link.

March 18 & 19 | Fairfax Campus  

The Access to Research and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) national conference provides a forum for changemakers from higher education, K-12, industry, non-profits, government, non-government organizations, small businesses, and beyond to come together to:    

-Critically discuss creating and maintaining inclusive communities     

-Share effective practices and resources to advance inclusive excellence   

-Amplify the visibility and impact of research, policy, innovation, scholarship, and creative activities to advance inclusive excellence    

2024 keynote speakers are Dr. Nolan Cabrera, professor of Educational Policy Studies and Practice at University of Arizona, and Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, an activist for human rights.

The ARIE National Conference is an opportunity to learn, change, and grow together, ultimately preparing us to work better together. This year’s theme is Action through Research and Practice. Join us for a transformative experience, including keynote speakers, panelists, continuing education workshops, and presentations that will inspire you to be a catalyst for change and realize your vision through concrete action steps.  

Registration is now open! Visit our website for more information about this year’s conference and Keynote Speakers.

May 11 | 2 pm | EagleBank Arena

Reception to follow immediately after the Degree Celebration.

Alternating Mondays at 4 pm and Thursdays at 8 am

Starting Thursday, January 18 | 8 am | Zoom

Join your faculty colleagues and an associate dean each week for the faculty peer support sessions. The objective of the sessions is to increase connection among faculty and provide a sense of community.

Feel free to attend once or every week. We are open to any and all suggestions on tweaking the sessions along the way. The sessions are opened to all CPH full-time and adjunct faculty. You will receive a calendar invite and Zoom link for all the sessions. Please contact Cathy Tompkins with any questions.

Every Tuesday, starting January 23 | 12 pm | Peterson 2800

You are welcome to stay for as much or as little of the class as you are able. If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Tompkins (ctompkin@gmu.edu).

January 23

For students, faculty, and staff!

INOVA Blood Drive | Hub Front Ballroom | 10 am-4 pm 
Sign up here: https://bit.ly/GMU0123.
 
Pack the Truck | outside of the Hub | 10 am-4 pm 
Donations for the Patriot Pantry and Food for Others can be delivered to the SI2GO truck on the third level of the Hub.
 
Plant Pot Decorating | Hub Back Ballroom | 10 am-12 pm 
Help us decorate plant pots in green and gold to be donated to the Campus Gardens! 
 
Power Packs for Kids | Hub Back Ballroom | 1 pm-3 pm 
Helping us pack lunchboxes for children in need. 

February 26 | 11:45 am 
PHC Multipurpose Room
Lunch to follow
RSVP here

The COVID-19 pandemic brought existing health disparities into the surface, spurring unprecedented efforts to overcome multifaceted barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccination. This presentation focuses on a cross-sectoral collaboration of university researchers, community health organizations, a testing lab, local community health centers and other community leaders. The project engaged the expertise of Community Health Workers,also known as promotoras, to address the social determinants of health (SDoH) that contribute to COVID-19 disparities. CHWs with strong and long-lasting community embeddedness implemented the intervention and effectively reached out and engaged vulnerable and underserved residents across Arizona. The presentation will discuss the practice, policy and research implications of the model and its potential for sustainability and replication with other vulnerable and underserved communities. Learn more about Marsilgia here.

The event will followed by lunch. RSVP here.

Recognize a fellow CPH faculty or staff member who is making outstanding contributions to the work of the College. Nominate them for a CPH Award to be presented at the April College Faculty & Staff Awards ceremony.

Submission materials linked below with submissions deadline:

Staff Awards -  due February 20, 2024

Faculty Teaching Awards -  due March 11, 2024

Research Awards -  due March 11, 2024

Orientation on March 19 | 12-2 pm  
Class meets from 1-4:30 pm on March 26, April 2, April 9, April 16, April 23

The Leading Thriving Organizations Certificate Program focuses on building leadership skills to support the well-being of the healthcare workforce. The program is delivered by the Mason Center for the Advancement of Well-Being (CWB) and offered virtually with synchronous instruction via Zoom. The program faculty includes experts from the Mason College of Public Health, School of Business, Department of Psychology and other experts. Participants should anticipate a time commitment of 20 hours in class (synchronous) and 10 hours outside of class (asynchronous) for coursework. Synchronous sessions will occur on one day during the week, on afternoons between 1 PM and 4:30 PM. Participants are enrolled as students at George Mason University and those who complete program requirements will receive a certificate from Mason and 2.75 CEUs. The tuition for the program is normally $2,850, however a HRSA grant at GMU will cover the entire cost of the program for healthcare professionals and public safety workers.  

Find more information about LTO here. Apply here.  

The Steps Challenge has started! The first week of walking was last week, Jan. 15-21. Report your steps each Monday by noon. Healthy stepping, Everyone!

March 21 | 12 pm

The Faculty Development Committee invites you to a Media Training workshop presented by Michelle Thompson. Learn about working with the media, responding to media inquiries, social media, and improving your professional online media presence. You may participate online or in person. In person attendees will receive lunch provided by the Office of Faculty Affairs. RSVP to follow.