Continuum

School of Public Health Publication Spring 2016

ON THE ROAD
TO RECOVERY
New Faces in
Public Health p4

The future of
our children p8

Unpacking health
disparities p11

TABLE OF CONTENTS
2

The Providence Center

New Faculty

6 Health Impact!
13 Honors and Awards
14 Learn by Doing
16 Public Health Pioneers
19 Alumni News

LETTER FROM THE DEAN

The headlines have become all too frequent Drug Overdose Hits
Record High, Authorities Investigate Heroin Overdose, Opioid
Overdoses Double from Last Year. The public health implications of
the opioid epidemic have become unimaginable. Addressing a crisis of
this magnitude requires a multi-faceted approach involving public
health partners from all areas of government, academia, community
health services, and the private sector. Faculty in the School of Public
Healths Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies and the Department
of Epidemiology and faculty in Alpert Medical School work together to
conduct research to improve prevention, treatment and public policy
for addiction, and to train our students to conduct research that leads
to more effective treatments for this disease. We partner with state
officials in the Governors office and the Department of Health and
community based institutions to find strategies to help people who are
struggling with addiction in their lives. As you will read in this issue, in
addition to these efforts, our community partner, The Providence Center,
takes a long term approach to helping people recover from addiction.
Along with addiction, this issue touches on two other important public
health prioritieschild health and population health disparities. In the
area of child health, we are fortunate that the Hassenfeld family has
continued their legacy of philanthropy toward improving the health of
children here in Rhode Island and around the world. A major gift from
the family has launched the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation
Institute which will integrate research, clinical practice, and education
to become a national model for what can be achieved in child health.
This Institute reflects a strong collaboration among the School of Public
Health, Alpert Medical School, Hasbro Childrens Hospital and Women
and Infants Hospital. Late last fall, President Paxson delivered the
Levinger Lecture, entitled Unpacking Racial Health Disparities, in
Sayles Hall to a crowded audience of students and faculty. She reported
on research that shows that the consequences of racial differences in
health and health care contribute to increased expenditures for care,
lower quality of care, and premature loss of life. Educating our students
about health disparities and helping them to understand and apply
more culturally appropriate interventions is a feature of the School of
Public Healths curricula, from the undergraduate to the doctoral level.
By educating future health leaders on this complex problem we plant
the seeds of health equity for future generations.

121 South Main Street

Providence, Rhode Island
02912, USA
Phone: 1.401.863.3375
Fax: 1.401.863.3713
Public_Health@brown.edu

Faculty and students are the lifeblood of our school. This issue
celebrates notable faculty who have recently achieved national acclaim,
faculty who are redirecting their efforts toward retirement, and those
who have recently joined Brown. We also feature student, Ashley
Lowrey, who is Learning by Doing at the School of Public Health
through interdisciplinary work in the area of addiction studies. And
lastly we continue to bring you updates from our growing number of
alumni who are pursuing careers in academia and public health service
that cover the globe. The world is a better place because of their
collective efforts.

Terrie Fox Wetle, MS, PhD

Dean, Brown University School of Public Health

Editors Note
Governor Gina Raimondo recently said If we treat people
with substance-abuse problems instead of sending them
[to prison], were going to save money and save lives.
Addiction is at the forefront of public health discussion
as the epidemic continues to have a stranglehold on the
United States. The National Institute on Drug Abuse
estimates that we spend over $600 billion annually on
substance abuse. In recent years the abuse of opioids such
as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers in
particular has been a major public health issue. In fact, it is
estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people
abuse opioids worldwide.
Such a serious problem prompts impactful intervention.
Organizations across the nation are working hard to
intervene on this problem and create effective, sustainable
change. This is an epidemic that has become problematic

by Julia Nagle MPH16

force includes three Brown University School of Public

Health faculty members whose job was to develop a plan
that would combat the addiction problem and reduce
opioid overdose deaths. The task force recently published a
report that outlines a four part plan to tackle this problem.
The Providence Center, a community resource that provides
mental health and substance use services to Rhode Island,
is also working to combat the addiction problem. They
offer a wide range of programs for all ages struggling with
substance abuse.
Brown University School of Public Health students are
also researching drug and alcohol related problems.
Ashley Lowery, ScM16 is working on a project that
focuses on examining selfother differences (SODs) for
college students approval ratings of intoxicated behaviors.

Addiction is at the forefront of public health discussion as the addiction epidemic

continues to have a stranglehold on the United States.

not only for the individuals suffering from the condition,

but for the society as a whole. This issue of Continuum will
focus on addiction and some of the measures that are being
taken by students and researchers at the Brown University
School of Public Health as well as our local community to
combat this challenging public health issue.
One of the ways Raimondo is responding to the opioid
addiction crisis in Rhode Island is establishing an Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force. The task

Continuum / Spring 2016

In a time where addiction has grown into an epidemic and

opioid abuse is making news headlines, public health is
essential. The consequences from the opioid addiction
epidemic have been disastrous. Since 1999, the number
of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain
killers has quadrupled. The Brown University School of
Public Health and the Rhode Island community are
utilizing public health strategies to eradicate this significant
driver of morbidity and mortality in the United States
through interventions, education, and research.

brown.edu/public-health

The Providence
Center:
Healthy minds ages 1-89
by Julia Nagle MPH16

If all you do is address the mental health issue or their addiction,

they may or may not get better. What we really need to do is
address the social determinants.

Dr. Dale Klatzker
Dr. Dale Klatzker is President
and CEO of The Providence
Center, a community resource
that provides mental health and
substance use services to Rhode
Island. Established in 1969, The
Providence Center offers over 40
programs and serves more than
13,000 individuals each year. The
Providence Center focuses on
the integration of primary and behavioral healthcare
through consumer driven philosophies and community
outreach. Dr. Klatzkers interest in behavioral health began
at Brandeis where he received a BA in American Studies
and got a job in behavioral health services. This interest
continued as he moved on to receive an MA in social work
from Boston University, and a doctorate in social policy and
management from the Heller School at Brandeis University.
Before becoming president of The Providence Center in
2004, Dr. Klatzker served as CEO for community behavioral
health centers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The
Providence Center works with low-income populations
who have mental illnesses and/or substance abuse issues,
some of our most vulnerable individuals. Dr. Klatzker says
that The Providence Center works to provide this community
with high quality healthcare and to foster an environment
where patients and consumers are treated with dignity and
2

Continuum / Spring 2016

respect. Today, The Providence Center offers a broad

spectrum of programs to their clients including
employment assessment and job placement assistance,
crisis intervention, and primary health care services.
The Providence Center takes an individualized approach
to care. The services you need may not be the same as
what your neighbor needs, says Klatzker and what you
need today may not be what you need 6 months from now.
This individualized strategy is essential at The Providence
Center, where a diverse group of patients from different
backgrounds, ethnicities, and age groups receive services.
According to Dr. Klatzker the oldest client that they serve
is 89 and the youngest is 1.
The Providence Center is committed to bringing health
and safety to the community. Recently, The Providence
Center teamed up with the Warwick and Providence police
departments to develop a new program aimed at improving
public safety and healthcare in Rhode Island. Through this
partnership The Providence Center assigns a community
diversion clinician to assist the police department in
responding to incidents where mental health plays a role.
The Providence Centers clinicians work with the police to
assist people struggling with psychiatric or substance abuse
problems. The clinician is there to de-escalate the situation
and conduct a clinical assessment at the scene to provide

the individuals with effective and appropriate care. The

clinicians work with police officers to connect at risk
individuals with the resources they need to seek treatment
and avoid being placed in the criminal justice system. This
partnership provides law enforcement with an important
assessment tool to avoid crisis situations. The program also
provides individuals with the opportunity for improved
health in a safe environment.
Another program that The Providence Center offers is a
school that works with children grades pre-K through 12
who are struggling with behavioral and emotional
symptoms. This school is fully licensed by the Department
of Education and caters to both children and adolescents
who have been referred for special needs education by
school districts across the state. They have a team of special
education teachers, teaching assistants, master-and doctoral
level clinical therapists and psychologists who work to
personalize a teaching approach that will address the
academic, social and mental health needs of each student.
The Providence Center School makes it their mission to
prepare each student to return successfully to their
community school, enroll in a private program, pursue
higher education or join the workforce.
Dr. Klatzker is a member of the School of Public Health
Community Advisory Board, a partnership that keeps
Brown connected to the Providence community and shines
a focus on population health issues. The SPH Community
Advisory board also helps provide feedback on education
opportunities for students at the School of Public Health.

The Providence Center is dedicated to helping

people live healthy, whether that means maintaining
long-term recovery from substance use, overcoming
the challenges of mental illness, adopting good
nutrition and exercise habits or a child being
successful in school. The following services are
offered for thousands of Rhode Islanders:
Adult Services
Child and Family Services
Integrated Primary and Behavioral Care
Wellness, Employment and Education
Residential Services
Crisis and Emergency Care
Client Resources

The Providence Center

528 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02904
providencecenter.org

brown.edu/public-health

WELCOME NEW FACULTY!

by Matthew Gannon

Top Row: Tongzhang Zheng, Adam Sullivan, Matthew Mimiaga. Bottom Row: Ani Eloyan, Elizabeth Aston, Katie Brooks Biello, Theresa Shireman,
Tyler Wray, Alison Field.

The School of Public Health is fortunate to have several new faculty members in the fold
whose research interests run the gamut from behavioral interventions to reduce risk
among racial, sexual and gender minorities, to weight-related disorders, to longitudinal
mediation analysis, to HIV prevention and pharmacoeconomics. Take a moment to learn
how they are working to improve population health.
ELIZABETH ASTON
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social
Sciences (Research)
Elizabeth Aston received her PhD in neuroscience in 2012
from Wake Forest School of Medicine. Her doctoral research
investigated estimation of breath alcohol concentration and
simulated driving behavior among heavy episodic drinkers.
In 2013 she became a Teaching Program Fellow at Browns
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS), where
she examined predictors of cannabis use disorder severity
among regular marijuana users and the relative reinforcing
value of marijuana using a behavioral economic marijuana
purchase task. She has joined the faculty at Brown to continue
this research in laboratory marijuana administration
methodology, behavioral economic theory, and advanced
data analysis.

KATIE BROOKS BIELLO

Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social
Sciences (Research)
Katie Brooks Biello comes to Brown from the Harvard T.H.
Chan School of Public Health, where she was a research
scientist in the department of epidemiology. She was also
an adjunct assistant professor in the department of
epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public
Health, and an affiliated investigator at the Center for
Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at the Yale School of
4

Continuum / Spring 2016

Public Health, where she also received her PhD in

epidemiology and public health. Her research interests are
in identifying and understanding the underlying risk
factors for social inequities in HIV/STIs and developing
behavioral interventions to reduce risk among racial,
sexual and gender minorities and those in resource limited
settings, both domestically and globally.

ANI ELOYAN
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics
Ani Eloyans research interests include statistical analysis of
brain images, multivariate analysis of high dimensional
data, and Bayesian analysis of large data. She received her
PhD in statistics at North Carolina State University. Her
dissertation focused on semi-parametric likelihood based
methods for independent component analysis and
constrained density estimation via a modified EM algorithm.
Prior to joining Brown, Eloyan was an assistant professor
in the department of biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health.

ALISON FIELD
Professor of Epidemiology, Chair of the Department
of Epidemiology
Alison Fields research focuses on determining the optimal
classification for eating and weight-related disorders and
identifying the modifiable causes, correlates, consequences,

and course of overweight and eating disorders among

children, adolescents, and adult women. Her early research
on eating disorders focused on identifying the personal,
peer, family, and media influences on starting to binge eat,
purge, or develop an eating disorder. She is currently
investigating how eating disorders should be best classified,
and is pursuing obesity classification research using a
variety of samples of children, adolescents, and adults. Field
earned her ScD in epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health, where she was also a professor of
both epidemiology and pediatrics before coming to Brown.

worked on structural equation models, sensitivity analysis

and longitudinal mediation analysis. He also co-created the
first flipped/blended course at Harvard, and worked as a
fellow in Harvards Initiative on Health, Religion and
Spirituality, where he researched connections between
spirituality and end of life cancer care. Sullivans future
research will focus on longitudinal mediation, statistics
education and palliative care.

MATTHEW MIMIAGA
Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences,
Professor of Epidemiology, Director of the
Institute for Community Health Promotion

Tyler Wray earned his PhD from the University of South

Dakota in 2013 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at
Brown University in the Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies. Wrays work involves using technology to help
stop HIV. He is often involved in projects that lie at the
intersection between behavioral and computer science.
This sets the stage for exploring how technology can be
used to help identify at-risk individuals (both for
transmission, and for those living with HIV, those at risk
for falling out of care), to help reduce unhealthy or risky
behaviors (like alcohol, drug use, unprotected sex) and to
help increase preventive behaviors (like HIV testing, using
condoms, using PrEP).

Matthew Mimiaga was most recently an associate professor

of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and an
associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H.
Chan School of Public Health, where he also received his
ScD. His research interests are in behavioral medicine,
infectious disease and psychiatric epidemiology, and global
health. He conducts longitudinal epidemiological
investigations, and mixed-methods (qualitative/quantitative)
research, and develops and tests both behavioral and
biomedical intervention trials. His intervention trials focus
on HIV primary and secondary prevention; substance abuse
prevention and treatment development studies for crystal
methamphetamine and other stimulant dependence in the
context of concurrent HIV; and global public health research
that takes place in settings for which little work has been
done with respect to HIV prevention, treatment for substance
dependence, and intertwined psychosocial conditions that
exacerbate HIV risk behaviors and infection.

THERESA SHIREMAN
Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice
Theresa Shireman specializes in pharmacoepidemiology,
pharmacoeconomics, and health services research.
She earned her PhD in pharmacy economics and in
epidemiology and public policy at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Shireman utilizes three overlapping
sets of research skills: analysis of large, observational
databases; pharmacoepidemiology; and cost-effectiveness
analysis. She has many years of experience with programming
and analyzing administrative claims data, particularly CMS
data such as Medicare and Medicaid claims, and applies
health economic evaluations to health care interventions.

ADAM SULLIVAN
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics (Teaching Scholar)

TYLER WRAY
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social
Sciences (Research)

TONGZHANG ZHENG
Professor of Epidemiology
Dr. Zheng comes to Brown from the Yale University School
of Public Health, where he was the Susan Dwight Bliss
professor of epidemiology and the chair of the department
of environmental health sciences for the past 12 years.
Dr. Zheng earned an ScD in epidemiology from Harvard
University and a medical degree from the Tongji Medical
School, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
Dr. Zheng has been conducting epidemiological research
to investigate the relationship between environmental
exposures, genetic polymorphisms, epigenetic factors and
gene-environment interactions in the risk of various cancers
in the US and in China.
Dr. Zheng has authored or co-authored over 380 articles
and book chapters and co-edited the textbook, Epidemiology
and Biostatistics. He has been leading two Fogarty training
programs in China and he is currently building three large
cohort studies in China. He is currently the Chief Scientific
Advisor for China National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, and he has served as a senior advisor and
member on several committees for the National Academy
of Sciences and the International Agency for Research on
Cancer (WHO).

Adam Sullivan earned his PhD in biostatistics from the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he
brown.edu/public-health

Health Impact!
BROWN EXPERTS ADVISE GOVERNORS OVERDOSE TASK FORCE
by Laura Kallio Joyce

Woonsocket

Harrisville
Pascong

Cumberland
Lincoln

Glocester

OVERDOSE DEATHS
RATES PER CAPITA
(2014 - 2015)

MASSACHUSETTS

Slatersville

> 60.0 (per 100,000)

> 50.0 to 60.0

Valley
Falls

Smithfield

> 40.0 to 50.0

> 30.0 to 40.0

Central
Falls

Greenville

> 20.0 to 30.0

> 10.0 to 20.0

North
Providence

Scituate

> 1.0 to 10.0

Rumford
Johnston

CONNECTICUT

Foster

Cranston

Riverside

Hope
Coventry

Providence

Barrington
West
Warwick

Greene

Warwick

Bristol

East
Greenwich
West
Greenwich

Prudence
Island
North
Kingston

Trenton
Portsmouth

Exeter
Hope
Valley

Saunderstown

Richmond
Hopkinton

Middletown
Newport

West
Kingston

Carolina
Wood River
Junction

Jamestown

Kenyon

Bradford

South
Kingston
Charlestown

Westerly

Continuum / Spring 2016

Block
Island

Little
Compton

The statistics are startling. In 2014, 239 people in RI lost

their lives to overdose, more than the number of homicides,
motor vehicle deaths, and suicides combined. The
problems of opioid dependence and accidental drug
overdose have been growing for some time. And growing
in direct relation to a dramatic increase in the amount of
opioids prescribed. According to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, the number of unintentional overdose deaths
from prescription pain relievers has skyrocketed, more
than quadrupling since 1999 in the United States. The State
of Rhode Island has been one of the hardest hit. In 2013,
Rhode Island had the highest rate of drug overdose in
New England.
In August of last year, Governor Gina Raimondo responded
to this crisis. The Governors Overdose Prevention and
Intervention Task Force was established by executive order
and charged with delivering a plan of action. The Task
Force has been closely advised by three experts from the
Brown University School of Public Health. Drs. Jody Rich,
Traci Green, and Brandon Marshall, were co-authors of
a report that calls for a four-pronged strategy to address
the crises.
The report, Rhode Islands Strategic Plan on Addiction
and Overdose, presents a grim picture, not only of the death
toll from opioid overdoses, but of the size of the population
with untreated addictions. The goal of the four-part plan
is to reduce opioid overdose deaths in Rhode Island by
one-third within three years.
The four prongs the Report centers its recommendations
around are treatment, rescue, prevention, and recovery.
Treatment requires making medication therapy for opioid
addiction more widely available. Buprenorphine, a
substitute opioid known by its trade name Suboxone, is
available from fewer than 75 physicians in Rhode Island.
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott MPH11, director of the RI
Department of Health, has said that the state should have
about 750 buprenorphine prescribers. According to Brandon
Marshall, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, We need to
help providers understand how opioid addiction can be
treated effectively in the primary care setting. In addition
to increasing the number of doctors prescribing buprenor-

phine, and the number of patients they treat, the Report

also recommends the development of medication-assisted
treatment delivery systems at emergency departments,
hospitals, clinics, and drug treatment programs, as well as
increased cross-institutional collaboration.
The rescue component of the recommendations calls for
increasing the availability of naloxone. Naloxone saves lives
by reversing the severe respiratory depression caused by
opioids and can be administered by laypeople trained to
identify and respond to overdose. Furthermore, laws,
policies, and communication strategies that encourage
people to seek help in an overdose emergency are a critical
part of the rescue strategy.
In order to prevent opioid addiction in the first place,
the report recommends keeping closer track of the
prescribing and dispensing of certain prescription
medications. Prevention efforts including educating
physicians, clinics, and pharmacists on safer prescribing
and providing aggressive safety messaging to patients are
also recommended.
The Reports recovery strategy includes a large-scale
expansion of recovery coach reach and capacity. The States
peer recovery services have not kept pace with the opioid
epidemic and the report recommends doubling the
number of recovery coaches statewide.
The plan also recommends creating an online dashboard to
keep the public up to date with the groups progress.
Marshall reports that, Rhode Island was successful in
obtaining a new grant from the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC). We were one of several states to receive
this funding to identify new strategies to help prevent
overdose deaths. That grant will fund the Dashboard, for
example, an online platform which well use to track our
successes. So there is committed funding already to
implement some of the recommendations.
There is a long way to go however. Experts from the School
of Public Health have helped to lay a foundation with their
plan to address Rhode Islands growing opioid crisis and to
measure the success of their ambitious goals moving forward.

In 2014, 239 people in RI lost their lives to overdose, more than the number of
homicides, motor vehicle deaths, and suicides combined.

brown.edu/public-health

HASSENFELD CHILD HEALTH INNOVATION INSTITUTE

by David Orenstein

My greatest hope is that when we look back 10, 20, 30 years, we will have
created global solutions to alleviating some of these child health conditions.
Alan Hassenfeld
With a gift of $12.5 million from the family of retired
Hasbro Chairman and CEO Alan Hassenfeld, Brown will
establish the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute
to accelerate progress on the urgent health needs of the
smallest states smallest residents.
Brown President Christina H. Paxson and Hassenfeld
joined Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo and other
leaders at the State House Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, to
announce the new institute, which will launch a child
health focus from pregnancy through young adulthood,
including three initial initiatives:
1. Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Fitness;
2. Autism, a Precision Medicine Approach; and
3. Childhood Asthma Research Innovation.
Brown will raise $12.5 million to match the Hassenfeld
familys founding gift, supporting an integrated approach
to research, clinical practice, public health efforts, and
educational programs.

Left to right: Patrick Vivier, Alan Hassenfeld, Fox Wetle, Jack Elias

Continuum / Spring 2016

With Alan Hassenfelds generosity and vision, we will bring

the strength of Browns research expertise together with
our affiliated hospital and community partners as never
before to transform child health in Rhode Island, Paxson
said. This is an unprecedented opportunity for crossinstitutional collaboration to address critical health needs
of a vulnerable population.
Browns School of Public Health and its Warren Alpert
Medical School have brought together leaders from both
of the states major hospital networks to forge important
partnerships that will contribute to the institutes success,
Paxson said.
I must thank Alan and his family on behalf of the entire
Brown community for the opportunity to develop a
collaborative model that will make a real impact in the
lives of families, Paxson said.
Hassenfeld, a former Brown trustee, said his familys long
commitment to children inspired him to work with the
University to identify a set of initiatives that could make
a lasting difference.

Many excellent doctors have researched areas of child

health and brought us to a certain level, and the question is,
Can we take those past learnings and create something even
more impactful? Hassenfeld said. He explained that the
inspiration for which areas of child health to target at the
new institute came from researchers and doctors at Brown,
Women & Infants Hospital, and Hasbro Childrens Hospital,
the pediatric division of Rhode Island Hospital for which
Hasbro Inc. provided lead funding under the Hassenfeld
familys leadership more than two decades ago. Researchers
from other institutions, such as Bradley and Butler hospitals, will also be partners.
My greatest hope is that when we look back 10, 20, 30 years,
we will have created global solutions to alleviating some of
these child health conditions, Hassenfeld said. I know we
cant remove them, but at least we can put the dollars
behind research that will develop innovative approaches
that help us truly move the needle in significant ways.
Raimondo said by bringing together public, private, and
university partners, Rhode Island will be uniquely positioned to spur its innovation economy and become a leader
in childrens health.
This new collaboration has my full support, especially as a
mom of two young kids, Raimondo said. Not only will
this innovative institute help give kids a chance to be
healthy and thrive, but it will also showcase our incredible
relationships and talents across health care, universities,
and government. This partnership across government,
health care and the university will help spark our states
comeback, providing opportunity for everyone to make it
in Rhode Island.
Across many new programs, the institute will work to
produce an understanding of the important influencers of
child health, said Dr. Jack A. Elias, dean of medicine and
biological sciences at Brown. Researchers and clinicians will
then apply their findings to improve health.
The work of the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation
Institute will contribute to our understanding of the genetic,
prenatal, and early life factors associated with health problems
of children, Elias said. This will allow us to develop
effective new strategies for prevention and treatment.
Improving child health will benefit children, their families,
and their communities, not only in Rhode Island, but also
beyond, added Terrie Fox Wetle, dean of the Brown
University School of Public Health.

Alan Hassenfeld speaks passionately about the vision of the new institute.

Innovative initiatives and programs

The institute will launch at the beginning of 2016 under
the leadership of an executive committee composed of
Dr. Phyllis Dennery, the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor and
Chair of Pediatrics at Brown and pediatrician-in-chief at
Hasbro Childrens Hospital; Dr. Maureen Phipps, the
Chace-Joukowsky Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
at Brown, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, and executive chief of obstetrics and gynecology
at Women & Infants Hospital; and Dr. Patrick Vivier, the
Royce Family Associate Professor of Teaching Excellence,
associate professor of health services, policy and practice
and of pediatrics at Brown, and director of general pediatrics
and community health at Hasbro Childrens Hospital.
The team will build a core research and evaluation unit with
all the statistical, bioinformatic, genomic, epidemiologic,
and medical expertise needed to conduct rigorous and
effective studies of myriad childhood health issues. In all
cases, these efforts will succeed with the partnership of
Rhode Island families.
The inaugural focus of the institutes work will be on the
three initiatives autism, asthma, and nutrition and fitness
in which teams of researchers will develop innovative new
solutions over the next six years.
In Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Fitness, the
institute will engage in studies and interventions addressing
factors, even before birth that can place children at risk for
excess weight, poor nutrition or low physical activity as
they grow up. These range from the mothers health and
environmental exposures during pregnancy and after birth,
to neighborhood conditions such as safety for outdoor play
and the availability of healthy food. The work will build on
the leadership of Miriam Hospitals Weight Control and
Diabetes Research Center in confronting these factors.
brown.edu/public-health

Through its work the institute can improve the health of entire communities,
enhance the lives of families, and help children thrive in school and their future
endeavors, Wetle said. The research findings we produce and the training we
provide to our students will also extend these benefits to the nation and the
world. We look forward to building an institution that is a national leader.

For Autism, a Precision Medicine Approach, researchers

will build on the work of the Rhode Island Consortium for
Autism Research and Treatment, which has developed a
registry of more than 700 families affected by autism
spectrum disorders. The initiative will develop and test
protocols for integrating genomic and other biomarker
information into autism diagnoses to provide fine-tuned
clinical care.

A donors vision
Hassenfelds family has a long history of supporting
childrens health. In addition to the Hasbro companys
leadership in the opening of Hasbro Childrens Hospital in
1994, the family established the Stephen D. Hassenfeld
Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at New
York Universitys Langone Medical Center in 2011, has
funded the new Hassenfeld Pediatric Center to be completed
at NYU in 2017, and at Brown established the Alan G.
Hassenfeld Professorship of Pediatrics and the Sylvia Kay
Hassenfeld Professorship of Pediatrics.

In some areas of the state, such as Greater Providence, more

than a quarter of children in some schools have asthma.
The Childhood Asthma Research Innovation initiative
will build on current work at Hasbro Childrens Hospital to All of our incredible success is because of children the world
dig deeper into the complexities of asthmas causes and
over, Hassenfeld said, referring to the prominence of his
treatment, especially among different subgroups of children. familys toy and game company, Hasbro. We always have
Researchers will look at genes, stress, environmental factors, been a family that has tried to give back to our community,
and treatment adherence. Theyll develop new programs
and to women and children around the globe.
and interventions, particularly to address disparities in
outcomes among the states children.
Hassenfeld emphasized that the gift to establish the new
child institute reflects the commitment of his entire family,
In addition to the research core and these initiatives, the
including his wife, Vivien, and sister Ellen Hassenfeld Block.
institute will also create programs to promote research and
It also continues a long history of engagement with Brown,
teaching in other ways:
from which several Hassenfelds have graduated, including
his cousins John Hassenfeld, Benjamin Robbins and
Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Awards. Faculty
Richard
Engle, two of his uncles, and also Alexander Casdin,
members can apply for seed grant funding for innovative
the
spouse
of Hassenfelds niece, Susan Block Casdin.
ideas in childrens health. Such grants fund preliminary
work needed to earn major research grants.
Hassenfeld Child Health Scholars. To engage and
train undergraduates and graduate students, as well as
early-career physicians, the institute will provide summer
research and classroom programs and clinical and research
fellowships on topics in child health.
Workshops, symposia and lectures. In venues at Brown
and beyond, the institute will host events on subjects such
as healthy weight, child development, injury prevention,
maternal health, precision medicine and other topics
related to its work.

10

Continuum / Spring 2016

Alan Hassenfeld himself has served in numerous leadership

roles at Brown, including as a member of the Advisory
Council on India, the Advisory Council on Biology and
Medicine, and the Medical School Board of Overseers.
What it comes down to is two things: We have tremendous
confidence in the success of this institute that aligns with
strong work being done at Brown, Hassenfeld said. And the
other is that I really do believe our greatest national resource
is our children. My job where I sit today is to do whatever
I can to maybe bring a smile where there has been a tear.
With this institute, we feel we can truly make a difference.

LEVINGER LECTURE
by David Orenstein

When people begin and then continue life with poorer

health, less income and wealth, higher degrees of stress,
and less access to education and health care, their health
itself will suffer, and that in turn can make improving any
of their other disadvantages harder. The statistical evidence
shows that this complex interplay of difficulties disproportionately affects black people and underlies the significant
racial disparities evident in health quality in the United
States, said Brown University President Christina Paxson,
delivering the 2015 Levinger Lecture Monday, Nov. 16, 2015.
These gaps are large and they are deeply disturbing, said
Paxson, an economist who has studied and taught about
the issue for years.
Now, when this nation is so focused on issues of structural
racism and discrimination, it seems especially right to give
a renewed emphasis on racial disparities in health, she
said to an audience that crowded in Sayles Hall for a talk
entitled, Unpacking Racial Health Disparities.

health are necessary to reduce disparities. Doing so is among

her top three priorities in office, Alexander-Scott said.

Many dimensions of disparity

The foundation of Paxsons remarks was her presentation
of data illustrating that the differences between blacks and
whites in the United States occur across many dimensions
that economists consider in models of how health is
determined. On average, black people are more likely to
start life with low birth weight and poorer overall health
quality. They are less likely to earn a college degree, and
make less money on average. The average black household
has starkly less total wealth than the average white
household $11,000 vs. $190,000 in 2013. By many
measures, black people receive worse health care services
than whites do.

Paxsons research focuses on economic development and

health, with specific attention to the relationship between
economic status and health over the life course. She shared
the lectures stage with Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director
of the Rhode Island Department of Health, who said that
addressing the social and environmental determinants of
brown.edu/public-health

11

When you look at the data, you look at the studies, I come
At the same time, the data show that black people had
away with the sense that this is just a complex mix of lower
higher mortality and infant mortality rates than any other
wealth, higher stress, greater discrimination, and lower
U.S. ethnic group in 2005. Black people were also more
economic opportunities, Paxson said. And this mix all
likely to report worse overall health, and higher rates of
specific conditions such as arthritis, heart conditions, stroke, feeds in to a life course of disadvantage that cumulates in
higher morbidity and eventually higher mortality.
high blood pressure, diabetes, and breathing disorders.
Moreover, they reported in the National Health Interview
The cumulative nature of the negative interplay of poverty,
Study that they were more likely to be limited in working
discrimination, less education, and lower health quality
because of these conditions.
requires early and sustained intervention, Paxson said.
Improving maternal and neonatal health, improving early
And there were different reasons for this, Paxson said,
child development and education, and treating chronic
listing earlier onset of conditions; less ability to control the
progression of the disease because of poorer quality medical conditions such as high-blood pressure and obesity that
lead to larger health problems are all important examples,
care or worse environmental factors; [and] less income or
but so are ending educational and economic disparities
wealth and we saw the wealth gaps that are needed to
throughout life.
buffer the effects of the disease or the condition on the
quality of life.
I dont think we are really going to solve this problem until
we dismantle structural barriers to social and economic
opportunity, she said. Thats a really big order but its one
we really need to focus on.

Disparities in Rhode Island

Alexander-Scott said racial disparities in Rhode Island
require an emphasis not only on the delivery of health care
in the hospital or the doctors office, but also on the living
conditions of people in the community as a whole. Those
are the social and environmental determinants of health.
One effect evident in the data is that black people often
report reaching levels of ill health quality morbidity
about a decade before white people do. Yet, Paxson said,
when people cant work in their 50s because of poor health,
they miss out on the prime earning years when they need to
save for retirement.
There isnt one lone factor that can account for the disparities
in health. Paxson crunched numbers to find that even if
blacks had the same rate of college education as whites,
the disparities would narrow, but still would not close
completely. Its also a problem that cant be solved solely
by the expansion of health insurance provided by the
Affordable Care Act.

When you give them that script, do you know if they have
the transportation to get them to the pharmacy to pick it
up? said Alexander-Scott, an alumna who is also an
assistant professor in the Alpert Medical School and the
School of Public Health. Do they have the electricity to
refrigerate the medication that we have given them the
script for?
Alexander-Scott noted that the United States spends
much more than other countries on health and gets only
middle-of-the-pack results in life expectancy. Meanwhile,
the country spends much less than others on social
support services.

Now, when this nation is so focused on issues of structural racism and

discrimination, it seems especially right to give a renewed emphasis on
racial disparities in health.

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Continuum / Spring 2016

HONORS AND AWARDS

by Dave Orenstein

VINCENT MOR ELECTED TO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE

Members of the National Academy of Medicine have elected
Brown University Professor Vincent Mor to join their ranks.

decades to study how the delivery of health care affects the

well-being of frail and chronically ill people, particularly
the elderly. Since coming to Brown in 1981 he has made
many contributions in assessing health care delivery and
patient outcomes in long-term care settings. Most recently,
for example, he and colleagues have produced needed
evidence that flu vaccinations prevent hospitalizations and
deaths among elderly nursing home residents.
Just two years out of graduate school, under the supervision
of former Brown medical dean Dr. David Greer, Mor led a
study that helped convince Congress to establish a Medicare
hospice benefit. He said election to the NAM reminded
him of working with Greer and Dr. Sidney Katz, who were
NAM members.

Membership in the NAM is considered one of the highest

honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes
individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional
achievements and commitment to service, according to
the Academy, formerly known as the Institute of Medicine.
Current active members elect new members from among
candidates nominated for their accomplishments and
contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences,
health care, and public health.
Mor, the Florence Pierce Grant University Professor in the
Brown University School of Public Health, has worked for

[Greer] would regularly attend those meetings and was on

one or two of those committees, and at one point presented
information from the studies we did together, Mor said.
So thats been in my head for the last 35 years, thinking of
that as the pinnacle because thats where my mentors were
spending time. [Katz] chaired the committee that actually
had a profound effect on the quality of care in nursing homes.
To Mor, election feels like a cherished rite of passage.
My appreciation of the role of the institute is all bound up
in my relationship with my mentors, he said.

CONSTANTINE GATSONIS RECEIVES LONG-TIME EXCELLENCE AWARD

At the 11th International Conference on Health Policy
Statistics at the Biltmore Hotel Oct. 7-9, 2015, Constantine
Gatsonis, chair of Brown Universitys Department of Biostatistics, delivered the plenary talk and received the groups
Long-Time Excellence Award. More than a dozen Brown
University faculty members and students presented during
the three-day event.
As one of the founders of the Health Policy Statistics
Section of the ASA, co-chair of the first International
Conference on Health Policy Statistics in 1995, and
founding editor in chief of the journal Health Services and
Outcomes Research Methodology, I was deeply touched by
this honor at the 11th ICHPS, held in Providence this year,
said Gatsonis, who chairs the Department of Biostatistics
in the Brown University School of Public Health.
For decades, Gatsonis has developed methods to study
variations in health care utilization and outcomes, to
compare health care providers, and to evaluate medical

technology for diagnosis and prediction. More recently

he has focused on ways to access and link large sources of
health care data, notably health insurance and electronic
medical records, to study the effectiveness of medical tests.
On the website of the 11th International Conference on
Health Policy Statistics, Gatsonis is acknowledged as a
world leader in methods for applying and synthesizing
evidence on diagnostic tests in medicine.

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13

Learn by Doing
by Julia Nagle MPH16

Julia Nagle MPH16 talks to

Ashley Lowery about life in
the BSHS Masters program
at Brown.

14

Continuum / Spring 2016

Ashley Lowery always had a passion for health, but didnt

always know that public health was the right choice for her.
As an undergraduate student at Jackson State University she
studied psychology and was drawn to drug and alcohol abuse
related issues. An internship at Washington University in
St. Louis combining psychiatry with public health practices
sparked her interest in the field. Her growing passion and
interest in public health was solidified by corresponding
public health courses that she took her senior year of college.
Today, Ashley Lowery is a second year Masters student in
Behavioral and Social Health Sciences at the Brown University
School of Public Health.
One thing that draw Lowery to public health was the
flexibility it allows for combining disciplines. Public health
has given her the opportunity to fuse together her interest in
psychiatry with public health ideologies. She came to Brown

they perceive others to feel. These discrepancies that arise

within self versus other comparisons are referred to as
self-other differences (SODs).
Similar to attitudes, these self-other differences are subject to
variability depending on several factors such as gender and
race/ethnicity. Lowery will examine whether SODs exist
among college students regarding intoxicated behaviors and
also if gender and race are significant predictors of variance
in those differences.
Researchers have examined SODs in regards to several norm
targets such as protective behavioral strategies, levels of
drinking, and consequences but SODs in the context of
intoxicated behaviors has yet to be explored. This research
project will add to the existing literature by adding insight
into college students personal attitudes toward intoxicated

I came to Brown University wanting to gain as much experience as I could,

working with Dr. Carey has been an incredible opportunity.
University hoping to gain research experience and to help
communities on a large scale and the School of Public Health
has allowed her to do just that. Lowery is currently working
with Dr. Kate Carey on a research project that looks at the
drinking environment on college campuses. Lowery says
I came to Brown University wanting to gain as much
experience as I could, working with Dr. Carey has been an
incredible opportunity.
Lowery is working on a project that focuses on examining
selfother differences (SODs) for college students approval
ratings of intoxicated behaviors. Due to the subjective nature
of social norms, differences are often observed between
peoples evaluations of their attitudes or feelings and how

behaviors as well as how accepting they perceive others to

be of those same behaviors. The findings of this study may
also be useful in developing future interventions utilizing
normative feedback.
Lowery says that the classes she has taken at the Brown
University School of Public Health have improved her
research abilities and enhanced her skillset. She says Brown
University has provided me with a great network of people;
I have tons of resources, and get to work with the best
researchers in their field.

brown.edu/public-health

15

Public Health
Pioneers

by Matthew Gannon

JOSEPH LAU, MD
At the end of August, Joseph Lau, MD, retired from the
School of Public Health. During his career he has earned a
reputation as an invaluable collaborator, mentor, pioneer,
innovator, and beloved colleague.
Lau retired as professor of health services, policy, and
practice at the School of Public Health, where he was also
the co-director of the Center for Evidence-based Medicine.
A prolific researcher, he applied evidence-based methods
to a variety of clinical, biomedical, and health care topics.
His research focused on the development of tools and
methods to conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses
to more reliably understand the impact of factors that may
contribute to differences of results in scientific studies. His
work has also evaluated methods of combining data and
assessed the baseline risks in the interpretation of clinical
trial results. Lau created the web-based Systematic Review
Data Repository and has published over 230 articles on
methodology for systematic review and meta-analysis. In

16

Continuum / Spring 2016

a 2014 interview, the journal Research Synthesis Methods

described Lau as a world-leading expert in meta-analysis
and systematic reviews.
Born in Hong Kong and educated at a Catholic Boarding
School, Lau immigrated with his family to New York City
as a teen. He developed a habit of taking things apart and
then trying to improve them as he put them back together.
By the late 1970s while undergoing medical training, the
young Lau was constructing his own personal computers
and tinkering. In his senior year at college he helped set up
a community free health clinic in New York Citys Chinatown, which has since evolved into a large and successful
community health center. He received his MD from Tufts
University School of Medicine and completed a fellowship
in clinical decision making and medical computer science
at the New England Medical Center.
After they met at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical
Center in 1988, Lau began to collaborate with the late
Thomas C. Chalmers, a pioneer in the field of meta-analysis.

Lau wrote one of the first computer programs to perform

meta-analysis, and developed cumulative meta-analysis,
a method to summarize scientific knowledge on a given
topic and demonstrate how it changes over time. Together
with Chalmers, Lau undertook a series of meta-analyses on
treatments of acute myocardial infarction, and their results
were published in The New England Journal of Medicine and
JAMA in 1992.

quiet, when he speaks it is with great thought and directly

on point. He rarely gets irritated and exemplifies persistent
and very focused leadership. Norma Terrin, professor of
medicine at Tufts, agrees that Laus personality and intelligence make for a compelling combination, describing him
as an original and unconventional thinker, a quiet and
unassuming man who can blow your mind.

Lau has served as professor of medicine and professor of

clinical and translational science at the Institute for Clinical
Research and Health Policy Studies at Tufts Medical Center.
He directed the Tufts Evidence-based Practice Center from
1997 until 2012 and led the production of over 80 evidence
reports, technology assessments, and comparative effectiveness
reviews under contract with the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality.

Many of Laus colleagues cite his scholarly and personal

support for his peers as integral to his work. I have always
admired Josephs ability to combine knowledge with
modesty and kindness, says Dr. John Ioannidis, a professor
at Stanford University. Dr. Deborah Zarin of the NIH says
her most vivid memory does not involve Laus phenomenal
analytic skills, but his can do attitude. Dr. Peter Bonis of
Tufts University School of Medicine, concurs, noting that
Lau embodies productivity, excellence, patience, innovation,
mentorship, kindness, intellectual curiosity, and dedication.

Much of Laus career has been dedicated to refining

methods for conducting and interpreting meta-analyses,
understanding their limitations, and developing new
approaches to this work. He told The Lancet that his
primary goals are to modernize the processes of evidence
integration and interpretation, raising the bar on systematic
reviews and meta-analyses even higher, and to facilitate
evidence-based practice on a global scale.

Tom Trikalinos, Laus colleague in the department of health

services, policy, and practice and the Center for
Evidence-based Medicine, credits Lau with helping him
grow as a researcher and scholar: On matters of science,
Joseph showed me glimpses of the big picture, and taught
me to trust others and to function in a team.

Lau is widely recognized as a major force in transforming

medicine through meta-analysis and its applications in
diverse fields. David Moher, Director of the University of
Ottawa Evidence-based Practice Center and Ottawa
Hospital Research Institute, remembers reading Laus
pioneering papers of the early 1990s. It was probably one of
the first times Id seen meta-analysis; it seemed so efficient
and sensible to me.

In 2014, Lau told Research Synthesis Methods that his ultimate

goal at Brown was cultivating future generations of research
synthesis researchers and methodologists, not only in
healthcare but also in other scientific disciplines that face
problems similar to what we have encountered in medicine.
Judging from the influence of his research and the impression
he has made on those he has worked with, Lau can rest
assured that he has indeed laid a solid foundation for those
future generations to flourish.

But Moher adds that Laus personality was just as impressive

as his research. While Josephs external demeanour is often

WILLIAM RAKOWSKI, PhD

Anybody who knew me as a teenager, including me, Bill
Rakowski insists, would have never expected me to have
the career that I had. Im not saying it was stellar but to
wind up at an Ivy League? Rakowski, professor of behavioral
and social sciences and associate dean for academic affairs
at the School of Public Health, retired after a decades-long
career at Brown, and speaks like someone who still cant
believe the good fortune hes had along the way.

Though he came from a large extended family his father

had eight sisters and two brothers and his mother had four
sisters and four brothers he says I truly was a first-generation college student, and essentially was feeling my way the
whole time. Yet from this beginning he went on to carry
out groundbreaking research in the behavioral sciences; to
dedicate himself to the promotion of public health; and to
teach, mentor, and advise countless people along the way
winning him the admiration of students and colleagues alike.
brown.edu/public-health

17

In 1991, in the midst of his cancer screening research,

Rakowski became a tenure-track faculty member. Since
that time, much has changed in public health at Brown, not
least of which was the transformation of the department
of community health into the full-fledged School of Public
Health. Rakowski, however, has not just witnessed these
changes, but helped make them happen. Ive had a bit of a
hand in it, he acknowledges. Becoming associate dean, he
says, was an opportunity to contribute to the development
of the School, as he wanted to take part in maintaining the
growing School of Public Health.

Rakowskis path to public health started when he went to

Notre Dame for his undergraduate studies, where he was a
dyed-in-the wool psych major. He describes psychology in
the early seventies as an open discipline where there was
room to be creative, giving him the opportunity to explore
the more non-traditional psychology classes that interested
him. I was an over-achiever, he admits, and he was fascinated
with aging as a health topic.
After Notre Dame he earned his PhD in Human Development
from Penn State, where he specialized in adult development
and aging and wrote a dissertation on perceptions of luck
and perspectives of time in middle age adults. He spent
time as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of
Michigan before coming to Brown in 1986 as a hospitalbased faculty member at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket.
Initially trained as a gerontologist, he transitioned to broader
types of disease prevention, such as cardiovascular disease
and cancer.
Vince Mor, a professor of health services, policy and practice
who helped talk Rakowski into coming to Brown in the first
place, praises Rakowskis highly successful research career
in the domain of cancer prevention and control and adeptness
at how to do fundable research.
His big research break came while studying the effectiveness
of mammograms. He surveyed women about their mammography practices, hoping to find that as women took
action, they ultimately felt the benefits of mammograms
outweighed the drawbacks. He and his colleagues collected
the data, ran the numbers, held our breath when we hit the
submit key on the computer, and, to their delight, the data
fit the pattern they were looking for. They wrote a seminal
paper detailing their results for Health Psychology in 1992.
That was an important finding, he says, and the success of
this work opened up opportunities for further research.
18

Continuum / Spring 2016

Recognizing these contributions, Terrie Fox Wetle, dean

of the School of Public Health, says she is so appreciative
of Bills can do spirit of service to the University and to
the School of Public Health, adding that his eye for detail
and fluency in administrative matters have been invaluable
during the development of the School.
Dean Wetle said that Rakowski is also noteworthy for his
commitment to students, especially our undergraduate
concentrators. Rakowski himself cites working with students
as a highlight of his career. Theres something about the
undergraduate program, the undergraduate world here at
Brown, thats kind of special. He worked extensively with
students, serving two stints as undergraduate concentration
director. He has even had the opportunity to watch some of
them rise from undergraduates to doctors, an experience
he humbly describes as gratifying. Not for anything that I
did. But just to see them develop and diversify and flourish.
Its great.
Annie Gjelsvik, assistant professor of epidemiology, recalls
developing and co-teaching a course with Rakowski when she
was a new faculty member. It was an amazing opportunity
to learn from a master teacher. Each week he brought
stories and humor to the course and brought even the
driest topics alive.
Reflecting on his long career at Brown, Rakowski remarks,
its been a really intriguing ride over the years. Hes a
raconteur, filled with an insiders insights into how Brown
works. His experiences with many extra-curricular
organizations were instructive in terms of peeling back
the curtain and seeing the wizards of Oz operating. He
explains this participation in university life as an effort to
raise the visibility of public health, to show that they are
constructive players in the university. Besides, there are a
lot of nice people to work with at Brown, he says. I just
got along with a lot of people.

ALUMNI NEWS
SARAH DAVEY, MPH 15
Sarah Davey is working as a project
associate for a nonprofit organization
called Management Sciences for
Health (MSH), in Medford, MA. MSH
is one of the primary recipients of
USAID funding for global health and
health systems strengthening, as well
as projects with UNICEF, the Gates
Foundation, Save the Children, and
other private donors. The MSH
mission is: Saving lives and improving
the health of the worlds poorest and
most vulnerable people by closing the
gap between knowledge and action in
public health. Currently, Davey is
working on USAIDs Leadership,
Management, and Governance (LMG)
project in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Zambia,
and Afghanistan; human resources for
health projects in Angola and Ethiopia;
maternal, newborn, and child health
nutritional health finance project in
Afghanistan, and a community health
worker project in Malawi.
BRIAN YOUNG, MPH 11
Brian Young is currently a PhD
candidate in Law and Public Policy at
Northeastern Universitys School of
Public Policy and Urban Affairs. He
studies the legal, economic, and public
policy issues affecting the structure of
health systems and the delivery of
health services. Working under
Timothy Hoff, the Patrick and Helen
Walsh Professor of Management,
Healthcare Systems, and Health Policy
and Visiting Associate Fellow at
Oxford University, he is currently
examining how safety net hospitals
have adapted to the changing
reimbursement landscape, with
respect to their institutional structure,
operational activity, and the special
role of internal organizational dynamics.

JOHN PATENA, MPH 14

John Patena is currently the coordinator
of tobacco control and lung health
with the American Lung Association
in Greater Chicago. He does communitybased work around the topics of
tobacco control, asthma, and COPD.
In tobacco control, Patena implements
smoking cessation clinics, assists
multi-unit housing properties to go
smoke free, educates youth to prevent
tobacco use initiation, and writes
grants for the Illinois Tobacco
Quitline. In lung health, he conducts
home assessments to help reduce
environmental asthma triggers for
children, coordinates programs to
teach kids about asthma, and assists in
fundraising events for asthma, COPD,
and lung cancer.

NATHANIEL LEPP, MPH 09

After completing his MPH at Brown,
Nathaniel Lepp earned his MD at New
York Medical College, where he was
awarded the James Matthew Hagadus
Good Physician Award. He was the
commencement speaker at Carnegie
Hall. Following medical school Lepp
began a 3-year residency in the
Department of Family Medicine at
Natividad Medical Center in Salinas,
CA. It is a full-spectrum training
program where he will learn to care for
patients of all ages in the clinic, on
inpatient units, in labor and delivery,
and in the emergency room. Lepps
hospital is a county, safety-net hospital

that serves a population of mostly

Latino agricultural workers. Lepp lives
with his wife in Monterey, California
and doesnt miss the snow one bit. In
this photo Nathaniel is training on
sonogram equipment.

BETH SUNDSTROM, MPH 07

Beth Sundstrom (PhD, University of
Maryland, College Park; MPH, Brown
University), and husband Bryan Joffe,
MPA06, welcomed twins Miles
Delphine Louise and Dempsey Eleanor
Freya, in October. Sundstrom is an
assistant professor of communication

and public health at the College of

Charleston in South Carolina, where
she is a member of the graduate faculty
and the Co-Director of the Womens
Health Research Team. She also holds
an adjunct assistant professor appointment at the Medical University of
South Carolina (MUSC). Her research
interests include health communication,
social marketing, and womens health.
Dr. Sundstroms research has been
published in Contraception, the Journal
of Health Communication, Health
Communication, the Journal of Social
Marketing, and Social Marketing
Quarterly, among others. Sundstroms

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19

first book, Reproductive Justice and

Womens Voices: Health Communication Across the Lifespan (Lexington
Books) was released in October. It
offers an in-depth analysis of womens
reproductive health, including
contraceptive use dynamics, pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum
period. Dr. Sundstrom conducts
praxis-oriented research that bridges
the gap between theory and practice,
informing the development of
community-based public health
interventions and communication
campaigns. She recently led the
development and implementation of
Its My Time: A theory-based
communication campaign for Cervical
Cancer-Free South Carolina, which
was awarded the multi-media category
overall winner in the 24th Annual
PHEHP Public Health Materials
Contest by the American Public
Health Association (APHA).
ANISH DUBE, MPH 09
Anish Dube is currently working as a
child and adolescent psychiatrist for a
County of Santa Barbara, CA community mental health center. Following
his MPH at Brown, Dube went on to
complete his residency training in
general psychiatry at the University of
Connecticut in 12, followed by a child
and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at
Brown in 14, and then a forensic
psychiatry fellowship at the University
of Pennsylvania in 15. He remains
interested in structural violence and its
mental health impact on the subaltern
and is active within his professional
organizations such as the American
Psychiatric Association, the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry and the American Academy
of Psychiatry and the Law.
WEN-CHIH WU (HANK), MPH 10
Wen-Chih Wu is currently the Chief
of Cardiology at the Providence VA
Medical Center and is a funded

20

Continuum / Spring 2016

investigator by the VA Health Services

Research Merit Review program. He is
also an associate professor of medicine
and epidemiology at Brown University.
CAITLIN K. BARTHELMES, MPH 09
Caitlin K. Barthelmes is the Director
of the new Student Wellness Center
at Dartmouth
College in
Hanover, NH.
She is putting the
research experience she gained
through the Brown MPH program
into action by implementing evidencebased programs to prevent and reduce
high-risk behaviors and to promote
healthy lifestyles and culture change.
The department takes a holistic
approach to wellness and works to
apply best practices from the field of
public health to cultivate an environment that supports the wellbeing of
students. Barthelmes is also part of the
Motivational Interviewing Network of
Trainers (MINT) and offers trainings
in motivational interviewing, a skill
set she gained through her Brown
MPH assistantship.

outbreaks, and more. The education,

opportunities, and mentorship she
received at Brown prepared her very
well for this role. Its been a pleasure to
serve the communities of Rhode Island
following her graduation from the
MPH program.
PAIGE WALSTROM, MPH 11
Paige Walstrom attended Browns
public health program from 20092011 as a Global Health Scholar and
currently lives in Dangriga, Belize,
working as the health advisor for
HIV/AIDS intervention programs for
an NGO called Productive Organization for Women in Action (POWA).
Dangriga is a seaside town on the
Caribbean with a large Garifuna
population, part of the West African
diaspora in the Caribbean and Central
America. Dangriga has the second
highest HIV prevalence rate in Belize,
a country with the highest prevalence
rate in Central America. The main

ALI ZAMAN, MPH 15

Ali Zaman is a growth marketing
associate at HERO Health, a health
technology startup based in NYC.
HERO is building a smart appliance
that manages medications and
vitamins which will launch early
this year.
SARAH HART SHUFORD, MPH 15
In May 2015, Sarah Hart Shuford began
working for the Rhode Island Department of Heath as a public health
epidemiologist in the Center for Acute
Infectious Disease Epidemiology.
Shufords responsibilities include
surveillance of acute infectious
diseases, case management, data
collection, management, and analysis,
assisting with the control of disease

focus of the work Walstrom does with

POWA is directed toward women and
adolescent girls infected or affected by
HIV/AIDS, many of whom are victims
of various forms of gender-based
violence, including sexual violence
and child abusesome of the main
drivers of the HIV epidemic in Belize.
Walstrom supports people living
with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and their
families, through psychosocial support

as well as support for medication adherence and understanding of health

and wellness. She often supports new
HIV clients when starting medication
regarding side effects, enhancing their
skills and knowledge of nutrition,
lifestyle, and the effects of drugs and
alcohol on medication. Additionally,
she trains POWA staff to empower
vulnerable populations to seek services
and reduce risky behavior. In order to
create sustainability, theres a large
focus on building the capacity of
POWAs own local staff and volunteers
in psychosocial counseling, grant
writing, support group implementation and facilitation, and classroom
education facilitation.
Walstrom loves the community, the
food, the music and dancing. She feels
lucky to be in Dangriga and to be of
service to this tiny part of the human
race. She even tolerates the sweat and
the mosquitoes . . .
DANYA QATO, HEALTH SERVICES
RESEARCH PHD 14
Danya Qato is currently a Fulbright
Scholar based at Birzeit University in

Palestine. Her work focuses on improving

and developing pharmaceutical policies
and drug safety systems in the Middle
East and North Africa.
OLGA ELIZAROVA, MPH 15
When Olga Elizarova was still in the
MPH program she interned with a
human-centered design company in
Boston working on various projects
including healthcare. Her summer
internship there was amazing and
unforgettable. Every project was an
opportunity to learn something new,
to apply the knowledge that she
obtained at Brown, and through her
medical education in Russia. The
breadth and scope were impressive.
Elizarovas first project was redesigning
the user experience for a company
doing online mental health treatment.
Other projects included developing a
health risk assessment in a buzzfeed-like style. Her internship
continued through her 2nd year of
school and later transitioned into
full-time employment as a behavior
change analyst. Her department is
responsible for the research and
diagnosis of clients problems.

Elizarova enjoys solving problems and

using the tools that Browns MPH
program provided. There is not a
single day where she doesnt thank one
of her professors for giving her the
knowledge that she applies every day;
whether it is of the US health care
system or the theories of behavioral
and social science.
The best part
of her job is
her teammates.
They are the
most fun,
cool, clever
and inspiring
people that
she knows!
They all come
from different backgrounds, but share
passion for work, empathy for the
people whose problems they are
solving, and a sense of responsibility
for the solutions they create. She is
endlessly grateful to Brown for the
opportunities and knowledge that she
gained, and that led her to where she
is now.

SAVE THE DATE

APRIL 13, 2016

APRIL 14, 2016

APRIL 20, 2016

Public Health
Research Day

Womens Health Issues

Around the World

The Barnes Lecture

Sayles Hall

Jennifer Klein 87
Georgetown University,
The Clinton Foundation
121 South Main, Room 375

Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, MBA

Yale School of Public Health
121 South Main, Room 375

121 South Main Street

Providence, RI 02912, USA

EDITOR
Julia Nagle, MPH16
ART DIRECTION AND PRODUCED BY
Brown University Graphic Services
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Karen Scanlan
Laura Kallio Joyce
CONTRIBUTORS
David Orenstein
Matthew Gannon

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