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The Division of Epidemiology hosts a biweekly seminar series that is open to students, faculty, and staff throughout VCU. Lectures address various aspects of epidemiologic research and practice and include presentations by leaders in the field of population health.
Seminars are generally held from 12:00 to 1:00 pm on TUESDAYS. All Spring 2021 seminars will be held via Zoom; please see the listings for how to acquire the Zoom link.contact us
Seminars 2020-2021 (please note that the details are being finalized and will be updated regularly) | ||
Date | Presenter | Seminar Title |
Spring 2021 | ||
1/19/21 | Courtney Blondino, MPH | PhD Candidate, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: MPH | A Network Approach to Substance Use, Internalizing, and Externalizing Comorbidity in U.S. Adults |
1/26/21 | Erin L. Britton, MPH | Doctoral Student, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy and April R. Williams, M.S., CNS®, LDN | Doctoral Candidate, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Overdose Risk Varies by Outpatient Treatment Initiation Setting Among Adult Medicaid Members in Virginia (Britton); Associations Between Nutrition Care Documentation and Blood Pressure Control Using Structured Data from Electronic Health Records of Patients with Hypertension (Williams) |
2/2/21 | James Clifford, MS | PhD Candidate, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | The Association of Peer Group Cigarette Use and Tobacco Use: An Exemplar of Propensity Score Analysis |
2/5/21 (FRIDAY) | James F. Thrasher, PhD | Deputy Director, Global Health Initiatives; Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health Seminar Type: Massey Cancer Center Director's Seminar Series | Key challenges for public health communication about diverse tobacco products: Emerging research and future directions |
2/8/21 (MONDAY) | Ali Jalali, PhD | Postdoctoral Associate, Weill Cornell Medicine, Population Health Sciences Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Cost-effectiveness of Extended-Release Naltrexone Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Prior to Release from Incarceration: Preliminary Results |
2/9/21 | Kellie E. Carlyle, PhD, MPH | Associate Professor, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Making the Case for Trauma-Informed Mentoring in Graduate Education |
2/11/21 (THURSDAY) | Janet R. Cummings, PhD | Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management; Deputy Director, Southeast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, Emory University Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care quality among children and adolescents |
2/16/21 | Félice Lê-Scherban, PhD, MPH | Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Training Core Lead, Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health Seminar Type: MPH | Electronic Health Records for Children’s Health Disparities Research: Promise and Challenge |
2/23/21 | Omar El Shahawy, MD, MPH, PhD | Assistant Professor of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine; Assistant Professor of Global Health, NYU School of Global Public Health Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Evaluation of Factors Associated with E-cigarette Use Perceptions and Patterns |
3/2/21 | Whitney Graves, MPH | PhD Student, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | Life Course Adversity and Mental Health Services Utilization among Women |
3/16/21 | TBD Seminar Type: MPH | TBD |
3/30/21 | John Lee, MS | PhD Student, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | TBD |
4/6/21 | National Public Health Week Seminar Type: MPH | TBD |
4/13/21 | Wendemi Sawadogo, MPH and Medhin Tsegaye, MPH | PhD Students, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: MPH | TBD |
4/27/21 | Yufan Guan | PhD Student, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | TBD |
Completed Seminars Fall 2020 | ||
7/31/20 (FRIDAY) | James Burch, PhD | Associate Professor, Dept. of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Cancer Prevention & Control Program, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina; Health Research Scientist, WJB Dorn Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Seminar Type: Special Invited Speaker | The Role of Circadian Rhythm Disruption in Cancer |
8/25/20 | Matthew Merritt | Senior Peace Corps Recruiter, Commonwealth of Virginia Seminar Type: PhD/MPH | Global Public Health Roles in the Peace Corps |
9/8/20 | Yeatoe Gloria McIntosh, MPH '08 | Co-Founder, The Tosh Foundation; Public Health Practice Manager, American Public Health Association's Center for Public Health Practice and Professional Development Seminar Type: MPH | An Immigrant Journey of Resilience: Violence, Racism & Public Health |
9/15/20 | Andrew Barnes, PhD | Associate Professor, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Treatment Experiences of Medicaid Members with Opioid Use Disorder in Virginia: Early Results of a Member Survey |
9/22/20 | no seminar this week | - |
10/6/20 | Andrea Chapman, MPH, CHOP, CIC | Infection Preventionist, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Seminar Type: MPH | A Day in the Life of an Infection Preventionist During a Pandemic |
10/13/20 | Dina M. Jones, PhD, MPH | Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Center for the Study of Tobacco Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Cessation, Harm Reduction, and Tobacco-related Disparities in the Age of E-cigarettes |
10/20/20 | Alexis Donaldson, BASW | MPH Student, VCU Division of Epidemiology; Wendemi Sawadogo, MPH | PhD Student, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: MPH | APHA Practice Talks: National health and nutrition examination survey 2011-2014: Association between self-reported traumatic brain injury history and employment status (Donaldson); Association Between History of Stroke and Sleep Disturbances: The National Health Interview Survey (Sawadogo) |
10/27/20 | Yamilé Molina, MS, MPH, PhD | Assistant Professor, Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health Faculty Affiliate, Center for Research on Women and Gender Academic Partner and Member, Cancer Center University of Illinois Chicago Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Considering Network Effects of Cancer Equity Interventions: From Recipient to Resource |
11/3/20 | no seminar Election Day | - |
11/17/20 | DaShaunda Taylor, MPH | PhD Student, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | An Overview of the Impact of Racism and Neighborhood Context on Perinatal Outcomes |
12/1/20 | Ericka Boone, PhD | Director, Division of Loan Repayment, National Institutes of Health Office of Extramural Research Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Imposter Syndrome: Confronting the Career Development Monster Hiding Under the Bed |
12/2/20 (WEDNESDAY) | Doug Kurnel and Janae Shatswell | December 2020 MPH Graduates, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: MPH | Food Insecurity's Association with Overweight and Obese BMIs (Kurnel); Communication Preferences of Patients Diagnosed with Chlamydia and/or Gonorrhea Based on Age (Shatswell) |
12/8/20 | Kathy Tossas, PhD, MS | Assistant Professor, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy Seminar Type: Department of Health Behavior and Policy Research Seminar | Methods, Madness and Ministry Trinity: My own bench to community journey |
Completed Seminars 2019-2020 | ||
Date | Presenter | Seminar Title |
9/10/19 | Natalie Pennywell, MPH, CHES | Site Director, VCU Health Hub at 25th Seminar Type: MPH | MPH to Health Hub: A Winding Professional Road |
9/24/19 | Megan Hollis, MS | Associate Director, Health Sciences Career Advising, VCU Career Services Seminar Type: MPH/PhD | Developing a Targeted Job Search |
10/8/19 | group discussion Seminar Type: MPH | The Role of Medicaid in Addressing the Overdose Crisis |
10/22/19 | Mirinda Gormley, MSPH, NRP | PhD Candidate, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | Is layperson naloxone administration associated with refusal of emergency medical services transport to the hospital after a nonfatal opioid overdose? |
11/1/19 | Arielle Deutsch, PhD | Assistant Scientist, Sanford Research; Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences Department of Pediatrics Seminar Type: MPH/PhD | Systems, Syndemics, and Solutions: Embracing complexity in health disparities of alcohol exposed pregnancy |
11/12/19 | Hua Zhao, PhD | Professor, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | Obesity and obesity related cancers among Mexican Americans |
11/19/19 | MPH Students | attended American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo | My APHA Experience |
12/6/19 | Tiara Willie, PhD, MA | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Miriam Hospital | The Sociopolitical Context of Intimate Partner Violence and U.S. Women's Health: Advancing Health Equity through Collaborative Response Efforts |
1/16/20 (THURSDAY) | Jacqueline Britz, MD, MSPH | Chief Resident, University of Virginia Family Medicine Residency Seminar Type: Special Invited Speaker | Transforming transgender health in the primary care setting |
1/21/20 | Aderonke A. Akinkugbe, DDS, MPH, PhD | Assistant Professor, Dental Public Health and Policy, VCU School of Dentistry; Member, Oral Health Transdisciplinary core, VCU iCubed Seminar Type: MPH/PhD | Prenatal smoking and risk of early childhood caries |
1/31/20 (FRIDAY) | Sebastian Tong, MD, MPH | Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine Specialist Seminar Type: Special Invited Speaker | Addressing the Intersection of Addiction, Loneliness and Social Needs |
2/18/20 | Courtney Blondino, MPH | PhD Candidate, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type:PhD | Using Latent Class Analysis to Characterize Comorbidity of Substance Use and Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in U.S. Adults |
3/3/20 | James Clifford, MS | PhD Candidate, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type:PhD | Modeling Electronic Cigarette Use: Potential Misclassification and Recommendations for the Future |
3/17/20 | John Lee, MS | PhD Student, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | Risk Estimation of County-level Opioid Mortality Rate with Bayesian Spatiotemporal Modeling |
3/24/20 | Fidelma Rigby, MD | Associate Professor, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, VCU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Seminar Type: MPH/PhD | The Crucial Role of Public Health in Addressing the Human Trafficking Crisis (presented in partnership with PhD in Epidemiology Student Body and Medical Students Fighting Human Trafficking) |
4/14/20 | Whitney Graves, MPH and DaShaunda Taylor, MPH | PhD Students, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | Intimate Partner Violence, Perceived Racial Discrimination, and Postpartum Visit Attendance among Women in the U.S. (Graves); Hearing Impairment and Injury in U.S. Children (Taylor) |
4/14/20 | Wendemi Sawadogo, MPH and Medhin Tsegaye, MPH | PhD Students, VCU Division of Epidemiology Seminar Type: PhD | Self-reported history of Stroke and recent Sleep Disturbances in U.S. adults (Sawadogo); Factors associated with Prediabetes among US adults: findings from BRFSS 2017 (Tsegaye) |