April 1, 2016 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
The Arnold School of Public Health celebrated 40 years of excellence and remarkable growth with an array of School-wide and department-sponsored events during the third week of March. The week kicked off with a presentation by David Buchner on March 15 that was hosted by the Department of Exercise Science. On March 17, Environmental Health Sciences (ENHS) Assistant Professor Sean Norman hosted a screening of the film, Resistance, and a panel discussion.
The majority of the 40th anniversary events were held on Friday, March 18. Naturalist Rudy Mancke, who is a retired USC Distinguished Lecturer of Natural History and the current host of NatureNotes on SCETV and S.C. Public Radio, provided a guided nature tour that began at the USC Horseshoe. The Cancer Prevention and Control Program (CPCP) held one of their signature colloquium series events with a presentation in Discovery by CPCP Director James Hébert, CPCP Researcher Nitin Shivappa, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Research Assistant Professor Michael Wirth, and Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB) Assistant Professor Brie Turner-McGrievy on diet-associated inflammation. In addition, HPEB held an open house in Discovery. The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders also held an open house, which included free hearing screenings, over in the Keenen Building.
Meanwhile, at the University of South Carolina Alumni Center, the Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities and the Environment and Sustainability Program held their 6th Annual Symposium to discuss the new dietary guidelines. ENHS hosted a Mini-Symposium on Antibiotic Resistant Infections, which included presentations by ENHS Professor and Associate Dean of Research Alan Decho (Biofilms in Environments & Disease: Hiding-Places for Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria), ENHS Assistant Professor Anindya Chanda (Fungal and Mold Hazards in the Environment), and U.S. Department of Agriculture and Mississippi State Ecologist Jeff Evans.
During the afternoon, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics hosted a keynote presentation by Distinguished Professor Emeritus Robert McKeown: What’s Up (and Down) with the Nation’s Health? Trends in Major Health Indicators. McKeown discussed mortality trends in conjunction with life expectancy changes as well as chronic illnesses and other causes of death and disease. He highlighted how these trends have changed over time along with influential factors, such as increased access to healthcare, protection against infectious diseases and improved vehicle safety features.
The Department of Health Services Policy and Management also hosted a presentation by Mayo Clinic Professor of Health Sciences Research and Scientific Director James Naessens. His presentation was titled, Conducting Health Services Research in Clinical Practice: Experiences from the Center for the Science of Healthcare Delivery at Mayo Clinic Florida. Naessens discussed several projects related to healthcare delivery to share lesson learned and best practices from his Mayo Clinic experiences.
The day concluded with information tables and a research poster session (which had been displayed throughout the day) hosted by the Arnold School’s Office of Research and then a reception organized by the Dean’s office. Through the coordination from departments and programs across the Arnold School and contributions by numerous experts, the 40th celebration reflected well on the School’s many accomplishments.