Public Health News
McDonald Receives NIH Grant to Study Intellectual Disability Research Ethics
Katherine McDonald, Ph.D., associate professor of public health in the Falk College and faculty fellow in the Burton Blatt Institute, received a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. The research project, “Stakeholder Views on Intellectual Disability Research Ethics,” is expected to have significant ethical and public health implications. Robert S. Olick, J.D., Ph.D., associate professor of bioethics and humanities at Upstate Medical University, will serve as co-investigator on the project.
Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) face significant physical and mental health disparities. Ethical challenges may discourage their inclusion in research and hinder scientific advancements to reduce these health disparities. Five core groups – adults with ID, individuals who provide informal support to adults with ID, individuals who provide services to adults with ID, ID researchers, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) members – have noteworthy stakes in the research participation of adults with ID. Little is known about these stakeholders’ opinions on how to ethically include adults with ID in research. Increasing this knowledge base, especially by inviting input from groups whose opinions are rarely examined, is critical to helping the scientific community devise and deploy sensitive and responsive practices and encourage research to reduce pressing disparities.
“Our long-term goal is to encourage science that is sensitive to the ethical and social dimensions of research with adults with intellectual disabilities and more inclusive of this population,” notes McDonald. “With this funding, our findings have the potential to encourage greater inclusion of people with ID in research that can lead to positive health outcomes. It will also shed light on paths forward in research, intervention development and testing, and policy.”
McDonald joined Syracuse University in 2011. Her dual appointment reflects a unique and unprecedented partnership between SU’s colleges and BBI towards infusing disability awareness across disciplines. Her current research examines the inclusion of persons with developmental disabilities in research, participation in online communities and its relationship to autistic adults’ social connectedness and well-being, health disparities experienced by autistic adults, and community participation among persons with disabilities. Earlier this year, she was named a fellow by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), an organization that honored her with the 2012 Early Career Award for her achievements and many contributions to the field of developmental disabilities.
Brooks Gump Awarded NIH Grant to Study Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Children
Brooks B. Gump, Ph.D., MPH, professor, Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition in the Falk College, was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The research project, “Environmental Toxicants, Race and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Children,” will investigate the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, blood lead levels, cardiovascular responses to acute stress and cardiovascular disease risk. To better pinpoint the early antecedents of racial disparities, the study will focus on a sample of 300 African American and European American children ages 9 to 11 in the city of Syracuse, NY area over four years.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States, disabling 10 million Americans each year. While African Americans are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease, the reason for this racial health disparity is not well understood. Taken together, the racial disparity in lead exposure and additional evidence for effects of lead on cardiovascular functioning suggest a possible mechanism for differences in disease prevalence.
Gump has recently led research on the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage, race, and environmental toxicants (e.g., lead and mercury) on child and adolescent health. Co-investigators and consultants collaborating with Gump on the newly funded NIH study on cardiovascular disease risk in children include: Luvenia Cowart, Ed.D., Craig Ewart, Ph.D, and Kevin Heffernan, Ph.D, all from Syracuse University; Kestas Bendinskas, Ph.D., and James MacKenzie, Ph.D, from SUNY Oswego; Elizabeth Brondolo, Ph.D, St. John’s University; Edith Chen, Ph.D, University of British Columbia; Donald Cibula, Ph.D., SUNY Upstate Medical University; Robert Morgan, M.D., Oswego Family Physicians and SUNY Upstate Medical University; Patrick Parsons, Ph.D., the University of Albany; and Nader Atallah-Yunes, M.D., SUNY Upstate Medical University and Pediatric Cardiology Associates. “Working with this team of talented researchers, we will provide critical findings in an area that is novel to the field of cardiovascular behavioral medicine,” notes Gump.
Gump joined the faculty at Syracuse University in 2010. He currently serves on the editorial board of the journals,Psychosomatic Medicine and Health Psychology, and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous other journals, including theAmerican Journal of Epidemiology, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine and Social Science and Medicine. He is currently serving a four-year term on the National Institute of Child Health and Development’s (NICHD’s) Health, Behavior, and Context review subcommittee.
“West Side Through My Eyes” Teen Photo Exhibit
The Department of Child and Family Studies, in collaboration with La Casita Cultural Center at Syracuse University, is pleased to announce the “West Side Through My Eyes,” teen photography exhibit. A preview will be held in conjunction with the 2013 Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship on April 24 in the Hergenhan Auditorium, Newhouse 3. The full exhibit will take place May 3-August 1 at La Casita. Open to members of the local community and Syracuse University, the exhibit will share the sights and stories of the young residents of the Near West Side reflecting their identification of place in this dynamic urban setting.
The exhibit is a result of the “The Near West Side: A Fresh Set of Eyes” program that combined photography and writing for teens to share their views and vision Syracuse’s dynamic Near West Side neighborhood. Mary Kish, CFS internship coordinator, received a grant from Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life to develop the program. The project, a collaboration between the CFS department and La Casita Cultural Center launched this spring. It included documenting perspectives of young people in the Near West Side of Syracuse and sparking conversation among children and CFS students.
McDonald Explores Ethics in Disability Research
Associate professor of Public Health and a Burton Blatt Institute faculty fellow, Katherine McDonald, recently published the article, “There is No Black or White: Scientific Community Views on Ethics in Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research,” in the Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities. Her findings from four focus groups with researchers and ethics review board members explored how to ethically conduct research, relevant factors to consider, appropriate ways to address ethical concerns, and the role of ethical and civil rights principles. Findings indicate support for the use of ethical principles and newer models of disability to promote inclusion in research, a focus on researchers’ interpersonal skills and relationships to participants, questions about the best approaches to recruitment, consent, and compensation, and strategies to promote participation in research.
This spring, McDonald was invited to Upstate Medical University to present on the topic of research including people with developmental disabilities. The presentation was highlighted in a recent article in Upstate Health under the The Upstate Ethicist column titled “Should Research Include People with Developmental Disabilities?”
Earlier this summer, McDonald published an article in theAmerican Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities entitled, ” ‘We Want Respect’: Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Address Respect in Research.”
Syracuse University Graduate Studies Expo Syracuse University Life Sciences Complex Building October 27th, 2012
On Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012, Syracuse University will sponsor a campus wide visiting day for prospective graduate students. The day will include formal presentations on our Falk College graduate programs and an afternoon expo highlighting all of SU’s graduate programs with career and financial aid presentations as well. Falk College’s morning presentation will provide information on our programs in: Addiction Studies CAS, Child and Family Studies, Global Health MS, Global Health CAS, Nutrition Science, Marriage and Family Therapy, Social Work, and Sport Venue and Event Management. Below is the agenda and registration form. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions. We are happy to help!
Schedule of Events:
8:30-10:00am – Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00-10:00am – Campus Tour Option, Presentation on Financial Aid & Housing
10:00am-12:00pm – Information Session on Falk College Programs
12:00-1:30pm – Have lunch and browse the informational tables of Syracuse University’s various schools and institutional support offices
Gartner Named Ostenso Nutrition & Public Policy Fellow
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Leigh Gantner, R.D., Ph.D. was named the very first Grace L. Ostenso Nutrition and Public Policy Fellow by the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. The fellowship exposes scientist and engineers to the public policy process to better integrate their research into public policy, and share their scientific expertise with Congress and Federal agencies. She will work on Capitol Hill, either in the House of Representatives or the Senate, working for a member or a committee, for one year starting in September 2012.
Katherine McDonald to receive Early Career Award from American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) has selected Katherine McDonald, assistant professor of public health in the Falk College and faculty fellow at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), as the recipient of the 2012 Early Career Award. The Award recognizes McDonald for her achievements and many contributions to the field of developmental disabilities. She will accept the Award in June at the AAIDD Annual Meeting. AAIDD is the oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization of professionals and citizens concerned about intellectual and developmental disabilities.
McDonald joined Syracuse University in 2011. Her dual appointment reflects a unique and unprecedented partnership between SU’s colleges and BBI towards infusing disability awareness across disciplines.
McDonald’s current research examines the inclusion of persons with developmental disabilities in research, participation in online communities and its relationship to autistic adults’ social connectedness and well-being, health disparities experienced by autistic adults, and community participation among persons with disabilities.
She received the Stevens-Shapiro Fellowship from the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities and was an international visiting fellow at the University of Western Sydney in Australia. McDonald received her bachelor’s degree with distinction in human development and family studies, with a minor in French from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in community and prevention research psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Luvenia Cowart, Genesis Health Project Co-Founder, to Receive 2012 Daniel and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award
Event celebrating National Professional Social Work Month includes keynote address by Barbara Shaiman, founder and president of Champions of Caring
In honor of her tireless work advocating for the health needs of underserved populations, Luvenia Cowart, Ed.D., R.N., executive director and co-founder of the Genesis Health Project Network, will receive the 2012 Daniel and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award at an annual ceremony March 27, 7 p.m., in Maxwell Auditorium. Sponsored by Social Workers United, the School of Social Work and the Falk College, the program is free and open to the public. The evening will feature a keynote address by Barbara Shaiman, founder and president of Champions of Caring, an after-school youth program that promotes social justice in the Philadelphia area. This annual event is one of several activities in celebration of National Professional Social Work Month commemorated each March.
A professor of practice in the Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition, Cowart co-founded the Genesis Health Project in 2004. It is a partnership between minority churches, community and government sponsors and Syracuse University to reduce health disparities in minority populations. Focused on black families in low-income areas of Syracuse, this community-designed, culturally sensitive initiative promotes healthy lifestyles across the lifespan among African Americans who have the highest rates of obesity in the U.S. by empowering them to improve their diets, food preparation techniques, and exercise habits.
Under Cowart’s leadership, the Genesis Project has accomplished numerous milestones, including health seminars, fitness programs, educational programs at barber shops, and healthy lifestyle activities with churches and universities. Her work and the Genesis Health Project were recognized with the prestigious National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Director’s Award in 2008 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health. She received the 2011 Robert F. Allen Symbol of H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Through Empowerment) Award for her efforts related to addressing health disparities and will receive the 2012 Post-Standard Achievement Award in May for her pioneering work with the Genesis Health Project in the Syracuse community.
For over 30 years, the Rubenstein Social Justice Award recognizes a person who reflects the values of social justice in his or her professional and personal life. The award is given in honor of the late professor Daniel Rubenstein, a former faculty member in the School of Social Work and his late wife, Mary Lou, a former school social worker.
Gump research links PFC exposure, children’s impulsivity
Perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, have been used in the manufacture and processing of many household items since the mid-1950s. Daily human exposure to PFCs may result from non-stick cookware, food packaging, paints and coatings, and waterproof fabrics. Today, PFCs are associated with attention and behavior problems in children, which was detailed in recently published research by associate professor of public health, Brooks Gump, in the June 17, 2011 edition of Environmental Science and Technology.
In this study, Gump and a collaborative research team found that increasing levels of PFCs in children’s blood were associated with an impaired ability to inhibit responses during an assessment, thus suggesting greater impulsivity. “These findings are critical because this environmental toxicant is widely dispersed in the environment and in the food we eat. All children in our convenience sample had detectable levels of PFCs. The outcome we considered—impaired response inhibition—is a core deficit of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).”
ADHD is a neurological disorder characterized by impulsive/hyperactive behavior and difficulty concentrating. While PFC exposure to people is widespread most notably through food, children are more highly exposed to the chemicals because in addition to food sources, the floors where they crawl, sit and play are prime locations where PFCs in household items, such as carpets, can escape and accumulate.
Gump’s research includes some of the first explorations of the relationship between PFC compounds and behavior problems, specifically impulsive behavior. Further research is needed to discern human health effects of PFC exposure. To date, few studies have examined the correlation between PFC exposure and its impact on child behavior.
With an array of research and publications, Gump’s specialties include psychosocial factors and their overall effect on health, and more recently, the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage, race, and environmental toxicants on children and adolescents’ health. He serves on the editorial board of the journal, Psychosomatic Medicine, and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous other journals, including the American Journal of Epidemiology, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine and Social Science and Medicine. He is currently serving a 4-year term on the National Institute of Child Health and Development’s (NICHD’s) Health, Behavior, and Context Subcommittee.
He has been principal investigator on a number of grants from the National Institutes of Health and is currently principal investigator on a grant from the National Science Foundation, “Research Education for Undergraduate (REU) Site for Training Veterans to Conduct Trauma Research with Fellow Veterans.”
Graduate Studies Featured at November 5 Information Session
Falk College faculty and current students welcomed potential graduate students interested in long-standing graduate programs in child and family studies, public health, marriage and family therapy, nutrition science and dietetics, and social work during a special Fall Information Session for graduate studies on Saturday, November 5 in Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building.
Detailed information was provided on the College’s newest 36-hour graduate program: the M.S. in Global Health. Admissions was available at the information session to meet with students and provide information on academic programs, scholarships and housing.
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