UB celebrates National Public Health Week 2015

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions (SPHHP) will recognize National Public Health Week April 3-12 with a series of events that highlight and celebrate public health efforts locally and globally.

All events are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise indicated, all take place on UB’s South Campus.

“We have a number of exciting events taking place that highlight various areas of public health and the breadth of our school,” says Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, dean of the SPHHP.

National Public Health Week at UB kicks off on April 3 with the annual Saxon Graham Lecture by world-renowned cancer epidemiologist Tim Byers, MD, a former collaborator of Graham’s. Byers will give his talk, “Nutrition and Cancer: Personal Reflections on 40 Years of Slow Progress,” at 11:30 a.m. in 144 Farber Hall. For those unable to attend, the lecture will be live streamed at http://bit.ly/1OdnuuC.

Byers is professor of epidemiology at the University of Colorado, Denver; associate director for cancer prevention and control at the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center; and associate dean for public health practice and director of the Center for Public Health Practice at the Colorado School of Public Health. His research interests include epidemiologic and clinical studies of nutrients as protective factors in certain cancers; treatment decision-making by patients and physicians; cancer genetics; and programs to promote early cancer detection.

Other events planned for Public Health Week:

• Community health promotion health assessments. UB students and staff from community and county organizations will assess risks from falls and cardiovascular risk, as well as provide educational information about nutrition, fire prevention, caregiver assistance and other topics. The assessments will take place at the Community Health Center of Buffalo, 34 Benwood Ave., Buffalo. Specific dates and times can be accessed online.
• Public health leadership workshop. This workshop on public health leadership skills led by Timothy Maynes, PhD, assistant professor of management, organization and human resources, will take place from noon to 1 p.m. April 7 in 182 Farber Hall.
• “Person-centered care: From practice to theory to practice.” This brown bag seminar, sponsored by the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, will be led by Davina Porock, PhD, associate dean for research and scholarship in the School of Nursing. It will take place from noon to 1 p.m. April 9 in 111 Kimball Tower.
• Second Annual Refugee Health Summit. Sponsored by the Office of Global Health Initiatives, the summit’s mission is to continue building pathways toward culturally engaged health care for refugees in Western New York. The summit will be held from 12:30-5 p.m. April 9 at UB’s Educational Opportunity Center, 555 Ellicott St., Buffalo. A full schedule and registration information are available online.
• “Alive Inside,” a screening of the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award-winning documentary by director and writer Michael Rossato-Bennett. It will begin at 9 a.m. April 10 at the North Park Theatre, 1428 Hertel Ave., Buffalo. The film examines how music can help combat memory loss. A panel discussion will follow the screening.
• Fifth Annual Global Health Day, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., April 10, Lippschultz Room, Biomedical Education Building. Topics to be addressed include “Extinguishing the tobacco pandemic: Considerations for public health policy, planning and practice,” and “The challenge of improving global health: Threats and opportunities in a changing world.” A full schedule is available online.
• Jill Cameron, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto, will discuss “Supporting Stroke Family Caregivers across the Care Continuum” at 2 p.m. April 10 in 111 Kimball Tower.
• Screening of the documentary “Fire in the Blood,” 2 p.m., April 10, 134 Farber. Unni Karunakara, PhD, MPH, past international president of Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders, will speak after the film.

In addition to these events, UB students from the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior’s Graduate Student Association will take part in renovating a home for Habitat for Humanity.

More information about UB’s celebration of National Public Health Week is available at sphhp.buffalo.edu/nphw.

Additional sponsors include the Office of Global Health Initiatives, Office of Interprofessional Education, Institute for Person-Centered Care, Pi Theta Epsilon, Tau Chapter Student Occupational Therapy Association, School of Social Work Graduate Student Association (GSA), Physical Therapy Club, Nursing Student GSA and the UB GSA.

The UB School of Public Health and Health Professions offers undergraduate and graduate degree level programs, and is home to five departments; Biostatistics, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Community Health and Health Behavior, Rehabilitation Science and Epidemiology and Environmental Health. It is one of only a few schools across the country that includes health-related professions as an integral component of the public health educational and research system, and is the only accredited public health program in Western New York. SPHHP is located on the South Campus of University at Buffalo in Kimball Tower.  For more information about the school, visit www.sphhp.buffalo.edu.