Annual Meeting Award Sessions:  Snow, Lilienfeld, Frost, Public Health Practice and Students of Epidemiology

            The Section’s awards sessions provide venues for reflection upon the accomplishments and challenges met by epidemiologists in public health.  They also provide an opportunity to learn from outstanding scientists and practitioners.  The presentation of awards is a significant aspect of our Section’s traditions; we hope you plan to attend during the Annual Meeting in San Diego.

            The 2008 format for the awards sessions has changed.  We will honor our career awardees on Monday, Oct. 27 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and our student awardees on Tuesday, Oct. 28 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  (See the separate article in this newsletter for more information on the Student Award session)

Career Awards

            Five career awards will be presented to highlight inspiring and talented epidemiologists and public health organizations.  The John Snow Award, which is sanctioned by the John Snow Society and recognizes an outstanding epidemiologist for excellence in epidemiologic practice or research, will be presented to Julie E. Buring, ScD.  Dr. Buring, professor, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, has focused her research on chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease and cancer, especially among women.  She has spearheaded the issue of representation of women as participants in clinical trials and has proclaimed, “Gathering the best information on women’s health requires a portfolio of approaches.  Both single-sex and mixed-sex trials, if well designed and conducted, will provide much-needed data for use in improving the cardiovascular, and general health of women” (NEJM;343:505-506).

            The Abraham Lilienfeld award, which recognizes excellence in the teaching of epidemiology during the course of the year, will be presented to George Rhoads, MD, MPH.  Dr. Rhoads is professor and acting chair, Department of Epidemiology, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey School of Public Health.  Child health, with topics ranging from childhood lead poisoning prevention to the National Children’s Study, is what we think of when we hear the name ‘George Rhoads.’  A former student of Dr. Rhoads’ reflected: “Dr. Rhoads was an extremely thoughtful, flexible, and astute advisor……I learned from Dr. Rhoads that the core principles of epidemiology are most important to a rigorous and meaningful study, and without that, even the most sophisticated techniques can be misinterpreted.”

            The Wade Hampton Frost Lecture Award, which recognizes a person who has made a significant contribution to addressing a public health issue of major importance by applying epidemiologic methods, will be presented to Ana V. Diez-Roux, MD, PhD, MPH.  Dr. Diez-Roux is professor of epidemiology and Director, Center for Integrative Approaches to Health Disparities and Associate director, Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health.  Her areas of concentration include: neighborhood health effects; socioeconomic position; understanding place effects on health; and integrating social and biologic factors in health research.  Dr. Diez-Roux will also give the Wade Hampton Frost Lecture during Monday’s award session.

            The Public Health Practice Award has been designed by the Epidemiology Section to recognize the use of epidemiologic methods in an innovative and creative public health program or project. This is an important award that gives the Epidemiology Section a chance to recognize significant accomplishments of a person or program with respect to the practice of public health grounded in epidemiologic tradition and soundness.  This year we are awarding the Public Health Practice Award for an individual to Dawn Terashita, MD, MPH, and the Public Health Practice Award for an organization to the Chicago Recovery Alliance.

            Dr. Terashita is a medical epidemiologist for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Her work centers on infectious disease surveillance.  She identified the need for improved communication and information exchange with hospital infection control professionals (ICP) and created of a new team of public health nurses called the Hospital Outreach Unit Liaison Project to improve communication and response among ICPs and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.