The Kiosk/HSPH Enewsletter

Still time to submit to the School Innovation Project

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Submit your ideas to help the School save money and/or enhance revenue. Earn prizes and be eligible for a cash reward. Deadline is March 31.
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Health care reform: The legal battle

Supreme Court building

From March 26-28, 2012, the Supreme Court will hear challenges to the constitutionality of the landmark health care reform law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Harvard School of Public Health researchers have made significant contributions to the national conversation on issues related to the ACA, such as improving access to health care and reducing costs. Read more

Among ACA amicus briefs, one with HSPH faculty contributors generating buzz

George Clooney praises Harvard Humanitarian Initiative students before Senate committee

For the past year, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative's Satellite Sentinel Project, created in collaboration with actor George Clooney's human rights organization Not On Our Watch, has analyzed near real-time satellite imagery and crowd-sourced data to monitor potential human rights violations in Sudan. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 14, Clooney praised the students involved with the project. "They stay up all night working," Clooney said. "They're young people and they're just doing it ... they're all heart. They're great." US Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) noted that the Satellite Sentinel Project "is a tremendous example of the best citizen activism." Read more

Racial disparities in cancer mortality

African Americans face higher cancer rates than whites for many types of cancer, but the reasons why are largely unknown. Epidemiologist Lisa Signorello, SM '96, SD '98, hopes to help explain the disparities in her role as co-principal investigator on a long-term study of nearly 86,000 people living in the southeastern United States, two-thirds of whom are African American. She recently spoke to an HSPH audience about the 10-year-old Southern Community Cohort Study. Read more

Around the School

Spring Challenge launches week of expert speakers, skill-building and high-stakes competition

The first ever HSPH Spring Challenge kicks off tonight. Ten student teams will spend the next week formulating policy memos recommending ways to integrate prevention, wellness, and other public health initiatives into the Massachusetts health care payment and financing reform efforts. Next Friday, the teams will present their proposals to a panel of faculty judges. The winning team will deliver their recommendations to an audience of high-level decision makers at the Massachusetts State House.

The student presentations and talks by guest speakers are open to the HSPH community. See schedule.

Gawande honored with NCQA Health Quality Award

Atul Gawande, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, was one of four US recipients of the prestigious National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Quality Award for contributing to the public understanding of health care quality through thoughtful writing and research.

Time to schedule your performance review

Visit the HSPH Performance Management site for forms and tips. All reviews must be submitted to HR by April 30.

"Take the Stairs" campaign starts April 2