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March/April Newsletter

announcements

Congratulations to the Class of 2021! 

 
Eleven MPH candidates presented their capstone projects virtually via Zoom on April 15th and 16th.  Their topics included intimate partner violence in Ethiopian refugee camps, suicidal ideation and gender affirmation among non-binary adults, and the association between quality of maternal care with primary Spanish language among Latina women in California. For a complete list of presentations click here.  
philip r. lee

In Memoriam: Philip R. Lee, 1924-2020


Philip R. Lee, founder of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Policy Studies at UCSF, passed away in October of 2020.  A fierce advocate for racial equity and health care reform and an inspiring leader and life-long mentor, Dr. Lee made an indelible mark on the nation's health care environment. Since its inception in 1972, the Institute has employed many interns and alumni from the UC Berkeley Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health program.  Read more and view the tribute video on the Institute's website.  

Claire Brindis, Advisor to UC Berkeley MCAH CoE, Receives Top Honors

Claire D. Brindis, longtime advisory board member for the UC Berkeley Center of Excellence in MCAH, was awarded two prestigious awards in 2020: The Maternal and Child Health Bureau Title V Lifetime Achievement Award and APHA's Martha May Eliot Award in Maternal and Child Health. Dr. Brindis is an alumna of UC Berkeley's DrPH program ('82, Behavioral Sciences) and in 2018 was listed as one of Berkeley Public Health's 75 Most Influential Public Health Alumni.  She is the director of UCSF's Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.

COVID-19

A farmworker dumps green peppers into a bin

COVID-19 & Farmworker Health: Julianna Deardorff & Michael Bakal


In early April, MCAH professor and Center of Excellence director Julianna Deardorff and MCAH alumnus Michael Bakal (MPH '14) presented qualitative results from the Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health/CHAMACOS study on the psychosocial effects of COVID-19 on Salinas Valley farmworker health. View a video of the talk on Youtube
Coco Auerswald

i4Y Focuses on COVID-19 & Youth Experiencing Homelessness 

 
Berkeley Public Health Innovations for Youth (i4Y) Co-Director Coco Auerswald gave a talk in April along with members of i4Y's Youth and Allies Against Homelessness and UC Berkeley MPH students about the impact of COVID-19 on youth experiencing homelessness (YEH).  YEH face issues like substance abuse, chronic illness and mental health challenges which put them at higher risk of developing COVID-19, said Auerswald in a March Daily Californian article. 

research centers

cartoon of a person in a white lab coat standing in front of a stove with a smoking pan

CERCH Conducts The AIM Study: Airflow Improvements During Meal-Prep

 
The Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH) is recruiting participants for a study of children with asthma and indoor cooking in the city of Richmond, California.  The project will also train a cohort of local high school youth in environmental health literacy. Read more on the CERCH website
Vandana Sharma

I4Y, Bixby Center Host Talk with 
Dr. Vandana Sharma of Harvard

 
On April 22, UC Berkeley School of Public Health's Innovations for Youth (i4Y) Child Marriage and Youth Empowerment Group and the Bixby Center for Population, Health and Sustainability hosted Dr. Vandana Sharma, global health researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for a talk on displacement-related changes in marital practices and associated intimate partner violence risk among Somali refugees in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia. 
a person holds a tape measure around their waist

CHAMACOS Study: BMI & Pubertal Timing in Salinas Preteens


MCAH professor Julianna Deardorff authored a study on childhood obesity and puberty onset, published in April. The study, focusing on Latino populations in the Salinas valley who are part of the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, found that higher BMI was associated with earlier pubertal timing among girls, but had no similar effect in boys.  The study was coauthored by MCAH professors Kim Harley and Brenda Eskenazi and MCAH program alumna Sasha Tilles; view it on the American Journal of Epidemiology website.  

 

students

Abena Asare

Abena Asare Selected for NASHP Emerging Leaders of Color Fellowship

 
MCAH MPH student Abena Asare has been selected for the inaugural Emerging Leaders of Color Fellowship class, one of 108 applicants chosen for three fellowships.  The program was created by the National Academy for State Health Policy to increase health policy equity at state level. In addition to her studies at Berkeley Public Health, Ms. Asare currently works as Senior Program Assistant at Prevention Institute, coordinating community-based approaches to addressing intimate partner violence, mental health and well-being.  Read more on the NASHP website.
Noel Leon, Mo Xu, Lauren Dinsmore

Student Profiles: Noel Leon, Mo Xu, and Lauren Dinsmore

 
We asked MCAH students Noel Leon, Mo Xu and Lauren Dinsmore about what brought them to the UC Berkeley Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Program, and where they will be interning this summer. Read their responses on our website.  
Sarah Johnson & Elle Ford

Summer 2020 Internship Recap:  Sarah Johnson & Elle Ford


In summer of 2020, MCAH students Sarah Johnson and Elle Ford interned at Gobee Group and Blue Shield of California (Johnson) and MOMentum Park (Ford).  Their projects included community-based access to HIV treatment, a post-project evaluation of a domestic violence program, and how technology might close the racial gap in health outcomes for African American mothers. Read about Elle Ford's internship here and Sarah Johnson's here on the Wallace Center website. 
 

alumni

Text: #sexointeligente manual de sexualidad para adolescentes, Andrea Huneeues. Image:  red heart on a blue background

Andrea Huneeus Authors Guide to Sexuality for Adolescents


MCAH alumna and Chilean gynecologist Andrea Huneeus has published a Spanish-language book, #SexoInteligente (#SmartSex), Manual of Sexuality for Adolescents. From Dr. Huneeus's Instagram description: "This book attempts to help teens and parents fill the gap in sex education with concrete, easy-to-understand, science-backed language."   Find out more about the book on Amazon
 

Alison Gemmill Authors Study on Preterm Birth & COVID-19


MCAH/Berkeley Public Health alumna Alison Gemmill, MPH ('11) PhD ('17), led a study showing that the U.S. preterm birth rate, among other birth outcomes, was lower than expected in March and April of 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The study was coauthored by researchers from Mailman School of Public Health, UC Irvine and UC Berkeley Schools of Public Health and the UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative. Read the study at Medrxiv.org. 
 
Helena Hutchins, Megan Bontempo, Cheralynn Corsack, Christine Hotaru Naya

MCAH Alumni: 
Life After Graduation 


We asked four recent MCAH alumni—Helena Hutchins, Megan Bontempo, Cheralynn Corsack and Christine Hotaru Naya—to briefly summarize their post-MPH career since graduation.  Read their responses on our website

faculty

Anu Manchikanti Gomez

Anu Manchikanti Gomez Gives Update on PTBI's SOLARS Study 


MCAH affiliate professor Anu Manchikanti Gomez presented at the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative's (PTBI) March Collaboratory on the Supporting Our Ladies and Reducing Stress to Prevent Preterm Birth (SOLARS) study. SOLARS, funded by PTBI, looks at how stress, resilience and coping affect gestational duration and preterm birth in Black and Latinx women.  Dr. Manchikanti Gomez is co-Principal Investigator of the study.  Watch a recording of the talk on the PTBI website
Dilys Walker

Dilys Walker Speaks on PRONTO International Preterm Program


In February, affiliate UCB MCAH professor Dilys Walker MD, director of the Maternal & Newborn Child Health Research Cooperative at UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences, presented on PRONTO International's program to improve survival of preterm infants. Walker is president and co-founder of the nonprofit, which provides simulation and team training for obstetric and neonatal emergencies View the recorded talk on Youtube.
Kim Harley

Kim Harley Joins Safe Pest Management Work Group


MCAH Professor Kim Harley joined the Sustainable Pest Management Work Group in February, which was launched by the California Pesticide Regulation and Food and Agriculture Departments. The 26-member group will accelerate systemwide adoption of safer, sustainable pest control practices; it includes farmers, community members, university researchers and representatives from commodity groups and the pesticide industry. Read the announcement here
Brenda Eskenazi

Brenda Eskenazi Presents at UCSF Environmental Justice Panel 


MCAH Professor Emerita Brenda Eskenazi presented at a March UCSF event, Environmental Justice and Human Health: Creating Systemic Solutions.  Her presentation about the Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health CHAMACOS study was part of a panel talk, "Reimagining An Equitable Food System: Impact of Food Production on Agricultural Communities". It can be viewed at this link at the 25:22 minute mark. 

opportunities

cartoon of the earth in space with a computer monitor and smart phone

Call for Abstracts:
2021 Youth Tech Health Conference

Deadline:  April 30, 2021

In its thirteenth year, YTH Live Global 2021 aims to further center youth voices in technology and health. The conference will focus on the health and wellness of youth in the US and around the globe, seeking to understand how innovative technology can be leveraged to improve health outcomes for all and promote health equity.  Click to find out more

an african american couple with their baby

Call for Papers for Thematic Issue: Black Maternal Health Experience in America
Deadline: ongoing

The Maternal and Child Health Journal is soliciting manuscript submissions to be considered for an upcoming thematic issue focusing on the unique maternal health challenges, needs, policy options, and experiences of Black women and birthing people living in America. Find out more on their website.

graphic:  a blue city skyline with a family holding hands.  Text:  citymatch

Call for Abstracts:  City MatCH Leadership and MCH Epidemiology Conference
Deadline: April 30, 2021

CityMatCH welcomes and encourage submissions on a variety of topics as they relate to maternal and child health for its December conference.   Find out more on the CityMatCH website

jobs

Deputy Director, Homeless Prenatal Program: San Francisco, CA
Assistant/Associate Specialist, UC Berkeley School of Public Health: Berkeley, CA
Manager, Africa and Middle East Programs, Americares: remote or Stamford, CT
Research Analyst – Child and Family Health Team NAHSP: remote, then Portland ME or Washington DC
Child Development Care Coordinator, First 5 Alameda County: Alameda CA 
Manager, Maternal Infant Health Initiatives, March of Dimes: Honolulu, HI
Bilingual Technical Advisor, Maternal, Infant & Young Child Nutrition, FHI 360 
Director, Maternal Infant Health & Collective Impact, March of Dimes: Ft. Lauderdale
Epidemiologist 2, State of Washington Department of Health: Tumwater, WA
Research and Data Coordinator, CredibleMind, Inc. 
Program Officer, Birth JusticeMs. Foundation for Women: Remote
Director, Institutional Partnerships, Ms. Foundation for Women: Brooklyn, NY

publications

Recent selected publications from MCAH faculty, postdocs and alumni

Person-centered antenatal care and associated factors in Rwanda: a secondary analysis of program data. Miller P, Afulani PA, Musange S, Sayingoza F, Walker D. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, March 12, 2021
    
Women's techniques for making vaginal penetration more pleasurable: Results from a nationally representative study of adult women in the United States.  Hensel DJ, von Hippel CD, Lapage CC, Perkins RH. PLoS One. April 14, 2021.

Development of the Person-Centered Prenatal Care scale for People of Color.
Afulani PA, Altman MR, Castillo E, Bernal N, Jones L, Camara T, Carrasco Z, Williams S, Sudhinaraset M, Kuppermann M.  Am J Obstet Gynecol. April 13, 2021
Psychological and physiological stress and burnout among maternity providers in a rural county in Kenya: individual and situational predictors.  Afulani PA, Ongeri L, Kinyua J, Temmerman M, Mendes WB, Weiss SJ.  BMC Public Health, March 6, 2021

The relationship between air pollutants and maternal socioeconomic factors on preterm birth in California urban counties.  Mekonnen ZK, Oehlert JW, Eskenazi B, Shaw GM, Balmes JR, Padula AM. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol, April 15, 2021


 
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