The New Year often opens with many resolutions that look and feel like military regiments. What about investing more time in the interests and activities that already stimulate good fortune? Like your interests that drive the research you are currently doing. Resolved: students firmly believe their many contributions to the public’s health is an integral piece to the reconstruction of this nations health care system! Thus make it your resolution to present at the 2008 APHA Annual Meeting in San Diego.
The year ended with much joy and success for the students in CHPPD due to their many achievements. Mary Elise Papke and Manon England were awarded the 2007 CHPPD Section's student award for top-scoring PhD and masters student abstract submissions at the Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Congratulations to you both! Your accomplishments will surely inspire other students to submit the work they are dedicated to doing that benefits more than the selective eyes that graze the pages detailing your work.
Beyond the studious nature of both Mary Elise and Manon, both have interests that compliment and balance their lives. Mary Elise Papke, a student at the
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| Mary Elise Papke, PhD student abstract winner (left), explains her abstract to program chair Roy Grant (right) while student committee program liaison Aneesah Akbar-Uqdah (center) looks on. Photo by Tom Piper. |
University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health submitted an abstract titled “Evaluating Community Partnerships: Application of Social Network Analysis." This project aimed to advocate for adolescent girls through teen pregnancy prevention evaluations. It was inspired by a sociology course she took at UIC with Professor Y. Youm on networks and organizations, and she was advised by Professor Pamela Popielarz. Mary Elise is interested in engaging dialogue about teen pregnancy with local health departments; as it is a rising issue in our nation’s health. Her involvement in several coalitions and partnerships helps her think of innovative ways to stay involved with the issues surrounding teen pregnancy. In addition to her presentation of her research at the APHA Annual Meeting, Mary Elise was also privileged to present her research to the Midwest Political Science Association.
Along with her academic interests, Mary Elise is a mother who shows much love and adoration to her daughter. She finds comfort in cooking, gardening, traveling, and appreciates the natural beauties of life while taking walks in Lake Park verlooking Lake Michigan.
Manon England, a graduate student at 
the University of Alaskan Anchorage, submitted an abstract titled Use of electronic health records to promote regular screening for hepatocellular carcinoma in persons with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection. Manon’s abstract addressed a rather new yet much needed issue in health care; electronic records. Manon argues that at-risk Hepatitis C or D patients' need for regular serologic screening could be more efficiently promoted through electronic record keeping. This promotion can significantly help patients remember their screenings and prevent negative clinical outcomes. Electronic records can particularly be useful to communities most at risk for Hepatitis including Asian communities and others who live with diabetes and other chronic diseases.
Manon was encouraged to do this project by professors who thought she would have a great deal to gain from the experience of presenting at the APHA Annual Meeting. From this experience she realized how easy it is to remain focused on a single topic until you look through a different, wider lens. The Annual Meeting allowed her to become aware of larger issues in health care. “APHA provides one with the opportunity to think about those larger issues and break away from your day to day activities that your job requires.”
As Manon earns her final credits for her Masters of Public Administration at the University of Alaskan Anchorage, she is searching through the field of public health for a place that will allow her to explore and incorporate her many interests. She is mostly interested in the way that insurance has affected health care in the United States and different policies that will allow health care to become less expensive. However, epidemiology and veteran health also pose possible avenues to advance in with her degree. Congratulations once again to both of you for your outstanding work!
It is apparent that students come packaged in many sizes and present themselves with an array of colors. CHPPD would like to welcome more vibrant light and enthusiasm and add a ribbon to your packaging by presenting you with our 2008 student abstract award. Let it be resolved that you submit your abstract to the student section of CHPPD.
By Aneesah Akbar-Uqdah, aakbaru@sph.emory.edu, CHPPD Student Committee Program Liaison and Student Committee Chair-Elect