2008 News

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MRSA in Pigs Poses Health Risk to Humans
(NaturalNews.com, 7/30/2008)
International researchers have reported the prevalence of
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in pigs and the
risk of human contraction. For the first time, U.S. researchers, led
by TARA SMITH, assistant professor of epidemiology, tested 200 U.S.
pigs and found 70 percent carried a strain of MRSA that is known to
affect humans and almost half of 20 workers on the farms carried the
same MRSA strain.
Read more...

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Cancer Society Features Dennis' Sunburn Research
(American Cancer Society Research 2008 Update)
LESLIE DENNIS, associate professor of epidemiology, is studying the
effect of sunburns. With support from American Cancer Society grants,
Dennis is looking at the aggregate number of sunburns received in a
lifetime and the relationship to the potential for melanoma
development.
Read more...

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College of Public Health Students, Faculty, Staff Honored
The University of Iowa College of Public Health honored the
achievements of students, faculty and staff at its annual Graduation
and Honors Dinner and Milford E. Barnes Awards Ceremony, held May 16.
Read more...

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UI Study Calls for More Rigorous Testing of Radon Detectors
Depending on environmental conditions, commercially available radon
detectors can vary substantially in their accuracy and precision,
according to a study led by Kainan Sun, a presidential graduate fellow
in the University of Iowa College of Public Health. The research was
performed in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
Read more...

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UI Faculty Members Receive Collegiate Teaching Awards
Twenty University of Iowa faculty members have received Collegiate
Teaching Awards for the 2007-08 academic year. The recipients include
YING ZHANG, associate professor of biostatistics.
Read more...

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Testing Done for Bacterium in Pork, Workers
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/4/2008)
TARA SMITH, an assistant professor in the CPH Department of
Epidemiology, and her graduate researchers have done what apparently
is the first testing of swine for MRSA (methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus) in the U.S. They swabbed the noses of 209 pigs
from 10 Iowa and Illinois farms and found MRSA in 70 percent. Abby
Harper, one of Smith's graduate assistants, presented a study on 20
swine workers that found 45 percent of the workers carried the same
MRSA bacterium as the pigs.
Read more...

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Potentially Fatal Bacteria Found in Iowa Pigs, Farmworkers
(The Oregonian, 6/9/2008)
Federal food safety and public health agencies are being urged to
check meat sold across the country for the presence of MRSA,
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a potentially fatal
bacteria. TARA SMITH, an assistant professor of epidemiology, and her
graduate researchers found MRSA in more than 70 percent of the pigs
they tested on farms in Iowa and Illinois. They also found the
bacteria among livestock workers.
Read more...

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UI College of Public Health to Honor Alumni Award Recipients May 16
Three prominent alumni have been chosen by the College of Public
Health to receive 2008 Outstanding Alumni Awards. The awards will be
presented at the college's annual honors dinner May 16 to Brenda M.
Booth, Shannon D. Putnam, and Colin P. West.
Read more...

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Study to Examine Older Drivers and Assistive Technology
Researchers at the National Advanced Driving Simulator -- a research
and teaching unit of the UI College of Engineering -- have received a
$604,432 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
to determine whether modern technology can help older drivers to drive
more safely. ROBERT WALLACE and JAMES TORNER, professors of
epidemiology, will direct the study, along with Dawn Marshall, researcher
at the NADS.
Read more...

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College of Public Health Honors Lynch for Community Engagement
Charles F. Lynch, professor of epidemiology, has received the College
of Public Health's award for faculty achievement in community
engagement.
Read more...

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Lynch Participates in Cancer Research
(Science Daily, 4/13/2008)
Smoking puts older women at significant risk for loss of DNA repair
proteins that are critical for defending against development of some
colorectal cancers, according to research based on data from the Iowa
Women's Health Study. CHARLES LYNCH, professor of epidemiology, was
one of the researchers.
Read more...

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Influenza Vaccination Rates in Hospital Health Care Workers
Charles M. Helms, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine in the
UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, will present
"Interpandemic Influenza Vaccination Rates in Hospital Health Care
Workers: Implications for Pandemic Preparedness" at 12:30 p.m. Monday,
April 28, in Room 2117 of the UI Medical Education and Research
Facility.
Read more...

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Report Ranks States' Federal Funding for Public Health
Trust for America’s Health released a report this week that reviews
key health statistics and federal funding for public health on a
state-by-state level. "Shortchanging America’s Health: A
State-By-State Look at How Federal Public Health Dollars Are Spent,
2008" finds Midwestern states receive less funding from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) than other U.S.
states.
Read more...

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Cancer on the Rise in Iowa
(Iowa City Press-Citizen, 3/15/2008)
The 2008 report from the State Health Registry of Iowa projects 16,000
new cancer cases to be diagnosed this year, an increase of 300 cases
from last year, or about five cancer cases per 1,000 Iowans.
Read more...

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State Health Registry Issues 2008 Cancer Report
This year, an estimated 6,300 Iowans will die from cancer and 16,000
new cancers will be diagnosed, according to a report released today by
the State Health Registry of Iowa, based in the Department of
Epidemiology.
Read more...

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Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Is Focus of New "Cancer in Iowa" Report
According to the newly issued State Health Registry of Iowa "Cancer in
Iowa: 2008" report, non-Hodgkin lymphoma will cause an estimated 270
cancer deaths in Iowa in 2008, accounting for 4.3 percent of cancer
deaths in both men and women.
Read more...

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Gray Discusses Horse Influenza in Queensland
(Buderim Chronicle, 3/3/2008)
As part of an international tour to promote research on the animal-to-
human transmission of influenza, GREGORY GRAY, professor of
epidemiology and director of the Center for Emerging Infectious
Diseases, visited the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Read more...

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Wallace Comments on WHI Follow-up Study
(Voice of America News, 3/4/2008)
The results of a follow-up investigation to the Women's Health Initiative study show that older women who used hormone therapy to ease the symptoms of
menopause and then discontinued it remain at an increased risk of cancer.
The story quotes ROBERT WALLACE, professor of epidemiology and one of
the study's investigators. Wallace is cited in similar stories on the web sites of
several other media outlets in Boston, Arizona, Florida, Maine,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and others.
Read more...

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Nominations Now Accepted for Hsu-Li Distinguished Lectureship
The Department of Epidemiology is now accepting nominations for the
Hsu-Li Distinguished Lectureship in International Epidemiology.
The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2008. Complete details and a
nomination form can be found at the link below.
Read more...

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Lynch Explains Cancer Etiology
(WQAD-TV, Quad Cities, 2/16/2008)
In a story about cancer clusters, CHARLES LYNCH, professor of
epidemiology and medical director of the Iowa Cancer Registry, states, "It's
the lifestyle factors that are the primary risk factors for disease."
He says lifestyle is far and away the biggest cause of cancer, but it's
not where people usually look.
Read more...

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Reminder: Research Week Poster Deadline March 3
Faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and staff are all encouraged
to share their research during Research Week 2008 through a poster
presentation.
Read more...

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Study: War Can Lead to Long-term 'Epidemic' of Firearms Injuries to Children
A study led by CORINNE PEEK-ASA, professor of occupational and environmental health, shows that high rates of injury and death may continue for at least five years following a war's end, illustrating the need for firearm prevention programs as part of war reparation efforts.
Read more...

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Gray, Smith to Present at Interdisciplinary Health Group Feb. 14
GREGORY GRAY, professor of epidemiology, and TARA SMITH, assistant
professor of epidemiology, will discuss research on emerging
infectious diseases at the next meeting of the UI Interdisciplinary
Health Group. The group will meet on Thursday, Feb. 14 from noon to 1
p.m. at the Public Policy Center Seminar room, 200 South Quadrangle.
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Snetselaar Keynotes Local Obesity Summit
(Iowa City Press-Citizen, 1/26/2008)
The Childhood Obesity Summit, held Jan. 25 at the Levitt Center,
brought together community leaders to discuss various approaches to
the growing obesity epidemic. LINDA SNETSELAAR, professor and interim
head of community and behavioral health, gave the keynote address
titled, "Youth Obesity: Potential Avenues for Prevention."
Read more...

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Fourth Dean Candidate Interviews on Campus
The fourth candidate for the College of Public Health deanship, JAMES
TORNER, professor and head of epidemiology, met with UI leaders,
faculty, staff, students, and community members this week and shared
his vision for the future of the college.

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Field Comments on the Dangers of Radon
(The Daily Nonpareil, 1/19/2008)
An article on the hazards of radon in the home quotes R. WILLIAM
FIELD, professor of occupational and environmental health. "Deaths
attributed to radon and its decay products surpass even the number of
deaths each year from other dreaded diseases like brain cancer,
melanoma and bone cancer," he said. The Daily Nonpareil is located in
Council Bluffs.
Read more...

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Gray: Handwashing Reduces Transmission of Adenovirus
(Reader's Digest, 1/20/2008)
An article about Ad-14, a new strain of adenovirus that has caused
severe illness in three states quotes GREGORY GRAY, professor of
epidemiology and director of the Center for Emerging Infectious
Diseases. “There are no preventive treatments, vaccines, or therapies
specific to this strain,” Gray said. But good hygiene, such as
hand-washing, can reduce transmission.
Read more...

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Snetselaar to Participate in Childhood Obesity Summit
(Iowa City Press-Citizen, 1/18/2008)
The Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County is hosting a Childhood
Obesity Summit from 8 a.m. to noon Jan. 25 at the Levitt Center in
Iowa City. LINDA SNETSELAAR, interim head and professor of community
and behavioral health, will be a guest speaker. The summit is
co-sponsored by the College of Public Health.
Read more...

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Gray Describes Bird Flu Impact on Agriculture
(Scientific American , 1/18/2008)
In an article about the spread of bird flu to North America, GREGORY
GRAY, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for
Emerging Infectious Diseases, points out that it could be disastrous
for industrial farm workers.
Read more...

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2007 Archived News Items

2006 Archived News Items

2005 Archived News Items