| Harvard Humanitarian Initiative seeks to improve disaster response
 In a January 2012 Boston Magazine article titled "The Saving Game," Michael VanRooyen talked about how relief workers -- if their efforts aren't properly coordinated -- can sometimes do more harm than good. Van Rooyen and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) team he directs are working hard to develop new ways to offset the miseries of humanitarian disasters. Read more |
| Can brown rice slow the spread of type 2 diabetes?
 The worldwide spike in type 2 diabetes in recent decades has paralleled a shift in diets away from staple foods rich in whole grains to highly refined carbohydrates, such as white rice and refined flours. Now, a group of researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) aims to stem the tide by changing the color of the world's rice bowl from white to more-nutritious brown. Read more |
New leadership offerings give HSPH students hands-on practice
It's one thing to understand the public health implications of scientific evidence. It's quite another to use that information to successfully implement real public health improvements.
The challenge of leaping from theory to practice has prompted the creation of new programming, offered through HSPH's Center for Public Health Leadership, that will form the backbone of an interdisciplinary leadership concentration. The new program will be fully introduced in fall 2012. Read more
|
Around the School
Seeking volunteer ESL tutors for Harvard service workers
The Harvard Bridge Program is recruiting volunteer tutors to work with adult learners 2 hours per week. The adult learners are Harvard employees (mostly service workers and some post-docs) who need tutoring in English conversation, writing, or reading. Tutor training, materials and support are provided, and no previous teaching experience is required.
Informational meeting:
Jan. 12, 12:00-1:00 PM, HSDM seminar room A
Faculty news
Fortune appointed to named assistant professorship
 Sarah Fortune is the inaugural recipient of the Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher Assistant Professorship in the Division of Biological Sciences. Fortune, who has been an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at HSPH since 2006, seeks to understand M. tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium responsible for TB, and in particular how its ability to mutate contributes to drug resistance. The Glimcher Assistant Professorship was established by the transfer of teaching and research funds that had supported the work of Laurie Glimcher, the former Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Read more
Hernan named AAS fellow
 Miguel Hernán has been recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for "cutting-edge contributions to methodological and substantive research in epidemiology, outstanding professional service, and excellence in teaching." New AAS Fellows will be honored at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada on February 18.
In memoriam: Franklin Neva
Franklin Neva, 89, a former professor of tropical diseases at HSPH who helped isolate the rubella virus, died on October 16 at age 89. Read obituaries from The Washington Post and the National Institutes of Health.
|
