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Welcome to the November 2011 issue of HSPH Update, an e-letter for friends of the Harvard School of Public Health. 
HSPH experts weigh in on Congressional school lunch proposals

Harvard School of Public Health nutrition experts are questioning a Congressional plan that would water down proposed healthy improvements to school lunches. In an article on HSPH's Nutrition Source website, they wrote, "No one would mistake French fries and pizza for a healthy meal. Yet Congress is poised to overturn a plan that would limit French fries in school lunch. And it's scrapping or stalling other healthy menu changes that would boost vegetables and lower salt." Read more

Cancer in the developing world

gcc conference audience 10.28.11
Attendees listen to a cancer survivor's story
Over 2.4 million cancer deaths could be avoided each year in developing countries using prevention and treatment interventions that are affordable and could be made widely available, according to a new report released October 28 by an international group of experts organized by the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, and hosted by a consortium of organizations that includes Harvard School of Public Health. The report was released at a daylong international symposium held at Harvard Medical School. It was also cited in a November 5 Lancet editorial. Read more 
Do we shrink as we grow older?
HSPH alumnus pens book on middle-aged health issues 

is this normal? book cover

You used to sleep soundly for hours, but now you wake up once or twice a night. You're losing a small patch of hair on your scalp. You can't hear too well out of one ear. You have trouble remembering people's names. But you're middle-aged, so it's probably normal--right? Harvard School of Public Health alumnus John Whyte offers advice on these and many other issues facing folks in their 40s, 50s, and 60s in his new book, Is This Normal? The Essential Guide to Middle Age and Beyond. Read more

Hunting for the next pandemic

Nathan Wolfe

A new book by Harvard School of Public Health alumnus Nathan Wolfe describes the origins of deadly viruses like HIV, swine flu, and bird flu, and the link between modern life and global pandemic threats. Read more

 

"Health Stew": new Boston.com blog by Prof. John McDonough

mcdonough

In his new blog for Boston.com, "Health Stew," John McDonough, professor of the practice of public health and director of the Center for Public Health Leadership at Harvard School of Public Health, promises everything from soup to nuts on health care policy, politics, nutrition, exercise, and other health-related matters. Read more

"Crises, Crossroads and Credibility" with Julie Gerberding

 

Watch the video on demand 
 

Julie Gerberding shared her experience, both as president of Merck Vaccines and as former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of the "Decision-making: Voices from the Field" series at HSPH. The October 27, 2011 event was moderated by Leonard Marcus, founding co-director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. Read more

Photo: Aubrey LaMedica 

Get the Review on Kindle  

 
HPH Review cover
Take the Harvard Public Health Review on the road in your Kindle e-book reader. Get the latest issue or enter the search terms "harvard public health" at the amazon.com Kindle Store.
A scholarship helps Caitlin's research

Caitlin-Eicher-small
Caitlin Eicher came to the Harvard School of Public Health looking to make a difference.

The doctoral student wants to understand how people's perceptions of their local surroundings shape what they eat, how much they exercise, and other health behaviors. She was able to pursue her doctoral study at HSPH thanks to the Julie E. Henry Scholarship for Maternal and Child Health. She was close to choosing another school for financial reasons when the scholarship came in. "It made all the difference in the world," she says.

 

We believe financial concerns should not stand in the way of any qualified student who wants to attend HSPH. Please help us make this ideal a reality as we seek to triple financial aid over the next two years. We can only reach our goals with YOUR help. Make a gift to the HSPH Scholarship Fund today. 


Please visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/give

REFORMING THE 2012 FARM BILL:

Subsidies, Food Assistance and America's Health

Farm bill forum

Watch video of Oct. 20 webcast of The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health, and read the Harvard Gazette article. 

David Shore

Building trust and collaboration in health care
Health care stakeholders-doctors, insurers, hospitals, and drug and medical device companies-need to find ways to align their interests to best provide good health for patients at good value, writes David Shore, associate dean and executive director of HSPH's Center for Continuing and Professional Education, in a new book. Read more  
HSPH in
the news

 

water bottles 

Exposure to BPA, chemical used to make plastics, before birth linked to behavioral, emotional difficulties in young girls 

(HSPH release) 


HSPH researchers contribute five papers to Health Affairs issue on community development and health 

  

Poll: Majority of Americans favor more government spending on health services (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/HSPH)

  

In developing nations, rich get heavier, poor stay thin (Reuters)

 

HHS official stresses importance of public health work (HSPH feature)

 

Policy makers should prepare for major uncertainties with Medicaid expansion (HSPH release)

  

Prof. Walter Willett discusses "Could Vitamins Do More Harm Than Good?" (NPR, On Point)

  

Poll: More than three-fourths of Mass. residents see health care costs as serious problem (Boston Globe, WBUR)

 

Hairdressers, barbers could play role in detecting skin cancer (HealthDay, NPR)