SBS Department Newsletter
Fall 2, 2023
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| Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Welcome
Dear SBS family,
This is a very difficult time for many of us as our hearts are broken by the tragic events and conflicts that are unfolding in our world. We are distressed by the many innocent Israelis and Palestinians that have lost their lives. And there is a war still raging in Ukraine and so many other instances of suffering, trauma and crisis around the world.
And in Australia, a referendum that would have provided the Indigenous people with a voice to parliament was soundly defeated. This advisory body would not have had the right to vote but would have been enshrined in the constitution to provide non-binding advice to parliament on Indigenous issues. Early in 2023, support had been strong for this campaign, but opposition and misinformation led to a steady decline. And this occurred even as First Nations people in Australia continue to face discrimination and experience striking inequities in health and economic outcomes. And, as the debate about the referendum intensified, Indigenous advocates also reported a surge in racist abuse.
Let the challenges of our time motivate us to reaffirm our values of equity, social justice and dignity for every child of humanity, as well as, our commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression. Let us clearly and unambiguously indicate that we are opposed to human rights abuse in all of its forms, and all brutal acts of violence against innocent civilians, regardless of where they occur. And let’s work together to break all cycles of violence, abuse and injustice.
David R Williams
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| Meet Some New HSB-45 Students
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Each quarter we will introduce some new SBS students. Welcome Mike, Alice, Regina and Aashna!
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Mike Kaneshiro Chou, MPH-HSB-45 X MUP '24/'25
I am interested in expanding on theoretical frameworks and perspectives on LGBTQ health and broaden the focus of research to include social determinants of health. I am interested in LGBTQ+ people across the life span, particularly on how inclusive space around us affects mental health, aging in place and elderly, as well the measure of happiness.
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Alice Liu, MPH-HSB- 45, '24
Academic interests include: neurological disease research and clinical care, predominantly in resource-limited settings.
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Regina Malykh, MPH-HSB- 45, '24
I have experience in non-communicable disease prevention, but I am also interested in reproductive health justice, women’s health, HIV prevention, and building inclusive environments. I am confident that significant improvements in population health start with empowering people and local communities.
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Aashna Shah, MPH-HSB- 45, '24
My background is in social entrepreneurship and building digital products to solve challenges in the civic and healthcare sectors. I’m interested in community engagement, and exploring how health-tech can play a role in improving mental healthcare, humanitarian aid, and health equity.
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| Rappaport Fellow Spotlight
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This past summer, Taylor Robinson, SBS-PhD ‘27 was one of 20 policy fellows with The Rappaport Public Policy Summer Fellowship, a paid 10-week internship that matches graduate students with state and local agencies around Greater Boston.
Taylor worked with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development on two main projects across the Division of Rental Assistance and Public Housing. Taylor created the first Tableau dashboard of public housing and rental assistance data; where she assessed trends in demographic information, income levels and types, and cost of rent. She concluded this project with a memo listing recommendations on how to examine racial and ethnic inequalities in housing. The second project was to address missing fair market rent (FMR) data in the State Oversight Housing Assistance (SOHA) Data Warehouse. Taylor’s analysis provided key information on missing FMR data over time and by Local Housing Authority and provided specific examples and instructions on how to correct missingness.
Taylor described the main takeaway from the fellowship by saying, "Public health professionals are needed in the government sector. We have the skills and knowledge to ensure that proposed policies center relevant communities, government action accounts for historical practices, and appropriate methods are applied to advocate for populations."
If you are interested in applying, or would like to learn more about the Rappaport Public Policy Summer Fellowship, click here. You can also reach out to Taylor who would be happy to speak with you about her experience!
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Spotlight on Experiential Learning
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Each Fall, Professor Alan Geller teaches the Applied Practice and Integrative Learning Experience (SBS 965 P2) to the second-year cohort of the MPH-HSB-65 program. Over seven weeks, he invites both alums who were once in the shoes of his students, and newly matriculated students to his classes. Geller purposefully invites the alums back so that students who are nearing graduation can learn from them. Sitara Mahtani, MPH '20 says, "One piece of advice I give to students is the importance of going to office hours and getting to know faculty. I got my current job at Dana-Farber managing a study led by HSPH professors partially because I got to know them during my time as a student... and in general, networking with professors, alums, and other students can lead to career opportunities both directly and indirectly."
Later in the term, Geller hosts two poster nights where the first year HSB-65s serve as audience members to the students of SBS 965. Each student is given four minutes to present their summer practicum, introducing the organization they worked with, the aims of their project, the main activities they undertook, and any tools or skills they utilized. The audience then has a chance to ask questions. Alyssa Van Groningen (pictured above) presented her poster, Culture Counts: A Cross-Sectional Study of Racism, Cultural Well-Being and Tobacco Use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities in Australia. Other projects ranged from creating new pathways for physicians to refer their sickest incarcerated patients for compassionate care release, to closing gaps in communication to address the maternal mortality rate.
As a facilitator Geller says, "I leave these sessions so inspired by the collective work of our students and their deep commitment to public health practice and service."
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Daniel Collin joins the SBS department as a Senior Statistical Analyst, working closely with Dr. Rita Hamad. Daniel received a BS from UCLA, MA from CSULB, and MPH from UC Berkeley. He recently worked as a Research Data Analyst at UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. He also became a first-time dad to a wonderful baby girl this past July.
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Morgan Mulhern Lopez joins our department as a Research Project Coordinator on behalf of Dr. Shoba Ramanadhan. She is delighted to return to our department after receiving her MPH from Chan in 2022. Since graduation, she has built skills in program planning and evaluation at Pine Street Inn—bridging her four years of direct service experience as a CHW with families on Medical Assistance and adults experiencing homelessness in Minnesota. As a Midwesterner, she’s so looking forward to being intentionally involved in the Greater Boston community in this role.
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Embrace Kids Screening with STRIPED
Thurs, October 26, 5:30pm
Kresge G1
Join STRIPED and our cosponsors in welcoming Taryn Brumfitt and Dr. Zali Yager to screen Embrace Kids, an uplifting film that aims to spark change by bringing together a vibrant collection of stories from young people and famous friends alike, who share their experiences about body image, bullying, gender identity, disability rights, advocacy, representation and more.
The Opposite of Loneliness with Dr. Louise Hawkley
Wed, November 1, 1-1:50pm
FXB G12
Dr. Louise Hawkley will review the definition and dimensions of the experience of loneliness and discuss individual and societal factors that trigger and exacerbate loneliness. Lunch will be served.
Student – Faculty Coffee Hour
Tues, November 7, 11am-12pm
Kresge 6th floor
The department will have a coffee break with faculty on the 6th floor. Swing by before or after class or stay for the entire hour!
Seminar with Dick Tofel: Today’s Media Landscape and What It Means For Public Health.
Wed, November 15, 1pm-1:50pm
Kresge 502
Join former news executive Dick Tofel to talk about today’s media landscape and how best to navigate it as a public health leader. Lunch will be served.
Seminar with Christy Denckla: Examining Population Mental Health, Bereavement, and Prolonged Grief Disorder from a Social and Behavioral Determinants Perspective
Mon, November 20, 1pm-1:50pm
Kresge G2
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Ava Kikut-Stein will be receiving the Public Health Education and Promotion Student Award for a poster at the American Public Health Association.
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| Hamad, R. Session Chair, “Structural and ethical considerations in advancing health equity.” Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science Annual Conference. Baltimore, MD. 10/3/2023.
Hamad, R. Session Chair, “Findings and Conclusions from the 2023 NASEM Report: Reducing Intergenerational Poverty.” Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science Annual Conference. Baltimore, MD. 10/3/2023.
Kephart L. An examination of tobacco and alcohol outlet density in Boston to identify priority areas for cancer prevention efforts using environmental justice mapping
16th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
Oral and Poster Presentation | Orlando, FL | Sep 29-30, 2023
Kephart L. Change in residents’ experiences of community contextual factors following implementation of a smoke-free rule
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting
Poster Presentation | Atlanta, GA | Nov 12, 2023
Kikut-Stein, A. Integrating Youth Participatory Action Research with Theory-informed Communication Methods to Measure Predictors of Youth COVID-19 Booster Uptake Over Time (abstract)
American Public Health Association annual meeting | Atlanta, GA | Nov. 13, 2023
Public Health Education and Promotion (PHEHP) Student Awards Poster Session
Krieger N. Introduction to and moderator for “Teaching in the Storm: Academic Freedom, Scientific Integrity, and Best Pedagogic Practices,” co-sponsored by the Women, Gender, and Health Interdisciplinary Concentration and Population Health Sciences PhD Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, October 11, 2023.
Krieger N. Climate crisis, health equity, and democratic governance: the need to act together. Invited presentation, as “Paper of the Year” for 2020, for the Journal of Public Health Policy session on “Public Health Policy: Opportunities and Challenges on the Path to Equity,” American Public Health Association, 151st annual meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 14, 2023.
Newton-Hoe E, Goldberg AB, Fortin J, Janiak E, Neill S
Regional Differences in Mifepristone Use for Early Miscarriage and Induced Abortion Among OB/GYNs Practicing in Massachusetts | American Public Health Association 2023 Annual Meeting
Oral Presentation | Atlanta, GA | November 15, 2023
Newton-Hoe E, Janiak E, White K, Johns S, Cornell A, Fay K
Reproductive Coercion Among Pregnant People Receiving Care in Boston, MA: Data from the Birth Control to Improve Birth Spacing Study | American Public Health Association 2023 Annual Meeting
Roundtable Discussion | Atlanta, GA | November 14, 2023
Peters SE. Worker well-being in a post-pandemic world. CNY Healthy Workforce Business Conference.
Keynote | Hamilton, NY | Oct 4, 2023
Peters SE. Thriving from Work: A framework for worker well-being and organizational resilience
CNY Healthy Workforce Business Conference.
Workshop | Hamilton, NY | Oct 4, 2023
Peters SE. Thriving from Work: Measuring worker well-being as changes in the future of work emerge
Work, Stress and Health Conference
Symposium Presentation | Virtual | Nov 11, 2023
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AY Chiang, A Batra, R Hamad. “Promoting health equity through poverty alleviation policy: Factors associated with receipt of the 2021 US Child Tax Credit in a Nationwide sample.” Preventive Medicine. Published online ahead of print: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107717.
Krieger N. Advancing gender transformative intersectional science for health justice: an ecosocial analysis. Soc Sci Med (in press; Fall 2023).
Kubzansky LD, Epel ES, Davidson RJ.
Prosociality should be a public health priority. Nature Human Behaviour. In press
Marciano, L., Vocaj, E., Bekalu, M.A., La Tona, A., Rocchi, G., and Viswanath, K. (2023). The Use of Mobile Assessments for Monitoring Mental Health in Youth: Umbrella Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25
Ong YY, Rifas-Shiman SL, Perng W, Belfort MB, Law E, Hivert MF, Oken E, Tiemeier H, Aris IM.
Ramanadhan, S., Davis, M., Donaldson, S., Miller, E., & Minkler, M. (2023). Participatory Approaches in Dissemination and Implementation Research (R. Brownson, G. Colditz, & E. Proctor, Eds.; 3rd ed., pp. 175–190).
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