PROVIDENCE – The full flower of future talent, creativity and data analysis focused on research in public health in Rhode Island was on display at Sayles Hall at Brown University on April 16.

Posters from 60 research projects from undergraduate, graduate and post doctoral students filled the hall, under the watchful gaze of portraits of Brown luminaries.

The event, Public Health Research Day, put the spotlight on efforts to improve the well being of Rhode Islanders and populations around the world, according to Terrie Fox Wetle, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

In addition, three stalwarts of public health were honored: Dr. Michael Fine, the former director of the R.I. Department of Health, Stephen Buka, professor of Epidemiology and director of Population Health and Clinical Epidemiology, and William Rakoski, professor of Behavioral Health and Social Sciences.

The research efforts on display tackled many of the unknowns of the underlying social and economic determinants of health, focused on creating a better understanding of approaches and solutions to problems at the root of the widening gap in economic and health disparities.

There was an eclectic mix of hot-button and arcane research topics, including:

•  Effect of Reducing Alcohol Use on the Sexual Victimization of College Women

•  Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment Experience: Lessons Learned from Stakeholders

•  Sociometric Status Predicts Diurnal Cortisol Patterns in Early Childhood

•  The Association Between Parental Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Child Mental Health: DSM-IV Diagnoses among Chileans Post The 2010 Earthquake and Tsunami

•  Household Air Pollution Is Associated with Worse Cardiac Hemodynamics and Function

•  Assessing Patient Willingness and Feasibility of Using Mobile Health Technologies to Educate Underserved Populations.

•  A Policy Analysis of The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and the ACA: Implications for People Living with HIV/AIDs and Recommendations for Future Changes

•  Climate Determinants of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases in Asia: An Analysis Investigating the Use of Bayesian Cubic Basic Splines for Missing Data Inputation

Forum on China, public health, environment and policy
Public health may seem like an esoteric exercise to those engaged in the day-to-day, buy-and-sell entrepreneurial commerce.

Particularly, at a time when many of the state’s business leaders and elected officials are busy promoting and selling their vision on how best to spark a Rhode Island economic comeback – such as The WAVE, the Raimondo administration’s state economic development plant, or the new baseball stadium deal that the wealthy owners want to have Rhode Island taxpayers shell out $4 million a year for the next 30 years.

But, on Tuesday, April 21, the Brown University School of Public Health will convene one of the more important gatherings that will help determine global economic and health policy.

The day-long conference, “The China Forum of Public Health, Environment and Health Policy, will explore public health policies in China, in discussions led by many China’s top researchers.

The morning session will feature:

•  Dr. Yinlong Jin, president, National Association for Environmental Health Sciences, talking about the Status and Challenges of Environment and Human Health in China.

•  Dr. Yuxin Zheng, deputy director, National Institute of Occupational Health & Poison Control, talking about Occupational Health Issues in China: Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases in Relation to Behavior and Ecology in China.

•  Dr. Jianguo Xu, director general, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, talking about Cancer Prevention and Control in China.

•  Dr. Jie He, director, China National Cancer Center, Burden of Cardiometabolic Diseases in China.

•   Dr. Dongfeng Gu, vice president, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Vice President, Beijing Fuwai Hospital, discussing the challenges in disease prevention and controls. 

They will be joined by Dr. Peter Boyle, president, International Prevention Research Institute, Former Director of International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO.

Afternoon session
The afternoon session, focused on health research and training in China, will feature:

•  Dr. Yana Bai, director, Tumor Institute, Lanzhou University, and Hongquan Pu, president, talking about the research progress in China, focused on the Jinchang Metal Cohort Study at Jinchang Hospital.

•Dr. Min Dai, director, Department of Epidemiology, National Cancer Center, focused on the Kailuan Coal Mine Cohort Study.

•Drs. Shunqing Xu /Bin Zhang /Aifen Zhou, Tongji School of Public Health, Wuhan Women and Children Medical and Healthcare Center, focused on the Prenatal and Birth Cohort Study in Wuhan, China.

•Dr. Zhengmin Qian, chairman and professor, Department of Epidemiology, Saint Louis University, discussing the Ambient Air Pollution and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Wuhan, China

They will be joined by Dr. Richard W. Besdine, Professor of Medicine, director of the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, director of the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine, Brown, who will be talking about geriatrics education for Chinese Physicians.

Closing session
The closing session of the conference will feature a number of Brown professors, including Dr. Karl Kelsey, director of Center for Environmental Health and Technology; Dr. Simin Liu, professor of Epidemiology, professor of Medicine; Dr. Gregory Wellenius, associate professor of Epidemiology; Dr. Joseph Braun, assistant professor of Epidemiology; Dr. Stephen Buka, professor and chair of Department of Epidemiology; Dr. Cici Bauer, assistant professor of Biostatistics; Dr. Stephen McGarvey, professor of Epidemiology, director of International Health Institute; and Dr. David Savitz, vice president for Research at Brown University, professor of Epidemiology, professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.