ASTMH News
August 2012
1. ASTMH Annual Meeting, Nov. 11-15, Atlanta: Science Preview
The premier forum for the latest research in tropical medicine, hygiene and global health
ASTMH's conference is the largest gathering of its kind, bringing together world-class experts in malaria, polio, dengue fever, cholera, tick-borne diseases and drug-resistant TB. Vaccine developers will discuss the results from two potentially ground-breaking late-stage clinical trials, one seeking to provide the world with its first licensed malaria vaccine and another testing the world's first vaccine against dengue fever. Hear new data on the spread of drug-resistant malaria in Asia; an expert assessment of why polio eradication is proving so difficult; insights into why drug-resistant TB in China is emerging in new patients, not just in those previously treated; research into how human scents and even home design influence the risk of mosquito-borne diseases.
2. Register Now! Members Save 20%! Intensive Update Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers' Health, Oct. 15-16, San Diego
Attend this compact two-day course, Oct. 15-16, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA, USA. Members save 20 percent on registration ($400); non-member registration rate is $500. (After Sept. 18 registration is $475 members/$575 non-members). Physicians and physician assistants will earn 15 hours of AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM.
If you want the latest updates in clinical tropical medicine and travelers' health, if you are actively engaged or spend a portion of your time in this area, you can benefit from learning directly from the world's leading authorities. Even if you aren't working in this area, but have an interest in tropical medicine and travelers' health, this course will provide a substantive overview that can help you focus and pinpoint specific interests. Download the 2012 course brochure or email Buffy Finn for information.
3. AJTMH Rabies Study Earns International Media Coverage
More than 44 news outlets--dailies, TV/radio, periodicals and blogs--around the world featured a study in the August AJTMH, Evidence of Rabies Virus Exposure Among Humans in the Peruvian Amazon, in several languages including French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish, among others. The news release announcing the study was distributed by an additional half-dozen science blogs. The study was even disseminated on Twitter via NPR News, Science News, Bat World Sanctuary and more.
The New York Times: Peru: Antibodies Seen in Amazon Dwellers Suggest that Rabies May Be Survivable
Scientific American: Bites from Vampire Bats Might Protect People from Rabies
Los Angeles Times: Not All Rabies Infections Lead to Death; Some May Have Resistance
The Independent (UK): First Evidence of Immunity to Rabies Found in Community Ravaged by Vampire Bats
Der Spiegel (Germany): Mogliche Resistenz: Indios in Peru uberleben Tollwut-Infektion
Nature Medicine: Antibodies Found in Peruvians Suggest Natural Resistance to Rabies in Local Vampire Bats
4. Member Profile: Mary Galinksi, PhD, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University
Why are you a member of ASTMH?
The Society nutured a sense of belonging, and I am now in a position where I can give back. Attending the annual metings, networking with leaders from funding agencies, foundations, governmental bodies, research consortiums, etc., staying informed about the latest trends in science and sharing my own research have made the Society feel like home.
You joined ASTMH very early in your career, when there weren't many women in science, nor in the Society. What changes have you seen in the Society?
I did not notice the ratio of women to men when I joined 25 years ago. At that time, my research department was 50/50--and run by a woman. Today, women faculty are in the minority--less than 15 percent--perhaps an unexplainable phenomenon, but noticeable nonetheless. As an aside, there are many challenges we face as researchers, and maintaining our physical and mental health is critical. In 2007, I was fortunate to meet the founder of Choi Kwang Do Martial Art International, Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi, and I engaged him in the fight against malaria. I have since earned my Black Belt, and daily martial arts training gives me the mental strength no matter what the circumstances.
You established the highly successful International Center for Malaria Research, Education and Development (ICMRED) at Emory's Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Center since 1998. What role has the Society and its network of members had in helping you build this program?
As a conduit for networking, the Society and its members have been supportive in establishing ICMRED, affiliated with the Department of Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases, which has dedicated ASTMH members. The annual meeting remains "the place to be" for sharing research ideas, developing collaborations and following up, which were important in creating ICMRED.
Read more at ASTMH Blog.
5. Congress Appropriations Update: Where Do We Stand?
It's August and an election year; where does federal funding for research stand?
Before Congress adjourned for recess, an agreement was reached between the House and Senate Democrats and Republicans to pass a six-month Continuing Resolution that will fund the first six months of FY2013 at FY2012 levels. In other words, funding remains flat. While the members of Congress on the appropriations committees made progress earlier in the year in completing their funding bills, only six bills passed the full House while none made it to the Senate floor. Many fault this inability to come to decisions on the visible acrimony within Congress. Read more.
6. ASTMH Partners with U.S. State Department: Public Diplomacy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation
Members of ASTMH have been engaged in science-diplomacy by virtue of their research and programmatic efforts as long as the Society has existed. In a new partnership with the U.S. State Department, ASTMH joins with 10 other leading societies, including the National Academies of Science, AAAS and the American Society for Microbiology, to work together to build U.S. relationships abroad in the fields of science, technology and innovation. With the support of U.S. embassies and the global networks of ASTMH and others, the State Department will seek to identify new or existing opportunities to engage key Society leaders in ways to advance the message and value of a strong investment in science and research.
Former Council member and longtime member and mentor Joel G. Bremen, MD, DTPH, represented the Society in Washington, D.C., at the formal recognition of this partnership. Bremen personifies science-diplomacy with his lifetime of accomplishments in smallpox and measles in Guinea, endemic diseases in Burkina Faso, ebola hemmorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo and malaria at the CDC.
7. ASTMH's Kent Campbell, MD, and Boston University's Jonathan Simon, MD, on Malaria in Washington, D.C.'s Blog, The Hill
"We must employ multiple program approaches in the fight to eliminate malaria--and PMI is one of our best," write longtime ASTMH leader and former President Kent Campbell, MD, and Jonathan Simon, MD, in The Hill's Congress Blog. In a departure from their scholarly writings, Campbell and Simon address an arguably more important audience, those charged with allocating funds for U.S. research and programmatic efforts: the U.S. Congress. Read the blog post.
8. Former ASTMH President Dan Colley, PhD, Honored for Life Sciences Research
ASTMH congratulates longtime Society leader Dan Colley, PhD, director, University of Georgia Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, on being awarded the 2012 Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation Distinguished Life Sciences Scientist Award. Colley was awarded for his research in tropical medicine and parasitology. Colley has focused on the immunology of schistosomiasis for more than 40 years. Read more.
9. Council's Summer Reading List Picks Are In! Your Purchase Gives Back to ASTMH
What books are ASTMH leaders reading this summer? This year, we've added a few popular recent movies. Through a partnership with Powell's online bookstore, ASTMH receives a portion of each sale made via ASTMH.org. Go to the list and purchase a book today!
10. Travel in Style with an ASTMH Baseball Cap
More than protection from the sweltering sun or the monsoons, this fashionable baseball cap shows off your ASTMH pride. Available in navy blue and beige, ASTMH baseball caps are adjustable and made of recycled plastic. Each baseball hat is $12 (includes shipping); order yours today at ASTMH.org! Register for the Annual Meeting and order your baseball cap for only $10! Simply pick up your purchase with your registration packet when you check in at the Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Register for the Annual Meeting and order your cap!
11. Make Plans to Attend Career Fair During Annual Meeting, Nov. 13, Atlanta
To meet the demand of Annual Meeting attendees for career development information and opportunities, ASTMH will feature its second annual Career Fair on Nov. 13, during the 61st Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
The Career Fair has proven to be a popular destination at the Annual Meeting, providing a place for conversation and information at the intersection of gloval health and career paths across a wide range of for-profit and not-for-profit options. With nearly 20 percent of last year's nearly 4,000 attendees students and trainees, this is a must-attend for early- and mid-career attendees as well as institutions and organizations seeking experts. Register now for the Career Fair or email Buffy Finn for more information.
12. Back by Popular Demand! Mentor/Mentee Program at Annual Meeting
If you are a student or early career professional and are looking to benefit from the counsel of a more experienced, established ASTMH member, register to be a mentee at the Annual Meeting in Atlanta. You do not have to be a member to be a mentee. ASTMH will review your request and provide you with the contact information of an appropriate mentor so you can establish contact and make plans to meet at the conference.
Interested in being a mentor? Email Buffy Finn for more information.
13. ASTMH Annual Meeting: Maximize Your Resources and Hold Your Affiliate Meeting with Us
More than 100 meetings of U.S. domestic and international organizations and institutions were held at the ASTMH Annual Meeting in 2012. Why? Because their U.S. and international colleagues also attended the Annual Meeting.
Take advantage of the media platform that ASTMH generates through domestic and international coverage. Consider using this timeframe to announce your institution or organization's new effort, report or announcement.
You'll find outstanding facilities at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Request meeting space today by emailing Buffy Finn, or downloading the form and faxing it to +1-847-480-9282.
14. Updated! ASTMH Thanks Annual Meeting Sponsors and Exhibitors
Supporting Sponsor
Novartis Pharma AG
Exhibitors
Access Bio
Baylor College of Medicine-National School of Tropical Medicine
Boditech Med, Inc.
Duke Global Health Institute
Fast-Track Diagnostics
International Society of Travel Medicine
London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Maney Publishing
National Research Council of the National Academies
Oxford University Press
QBC Diagnostics
Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
RTI International
Shiin Poong Pharm Co., Ltd.
Southeast Medical Books
SRI International
UTMB-National Biocontainment Training Center
Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network
15. New Joint Report by AAMC and ASPH: Cultural Competence Education for Medicine and Public Health
In a new report by the Association of American Medical Schools and the Association of Schools of Public Health, Cultural Competence Education for Medicine and Public Health, guidance is offered on the core cultural competencies at the nexus of medicine and public health, and for the first time highlights findings for educators in both disciplines on the knowledge, skills and attitudes critical for addressing the health needs of an increasingly diverse American public.
While some content published in the report can be found separately in the literature of medical education and public health, the recommendations bring together for the first time resources from both disciplines. Read more.
16. Welcome New Members
Sharjeel Ahmad, Community Health Services, Inc.
Theresa Barton
Chris Bawa, Bawku Presbyterian Hospital
Andrew Beeghly, U.S. Army
Bruna Blauth, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ.
Natalie Bowman, Univ. of North Carolina
Brice Campo, Medicines for Malaria Venture
Maria Eugenia Carter
Steven Cashen
Elizabeth Clarke, Univ. of Colorado
Karah Cloxton, Marshall Family Medicine Residency
Jill Conley
Karen Corson, NAMRU-2 Pacific
James Cowan, Univ. of Washington
Annette Dougall, James Cook Univ.
Glen Drobot, Univ. of Manitoba
Dan Dulek, Vanderbilt Univ. Medical Center
Clare Dykewicz, CDC
Eleanor Friedman, Tulane Univ. School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
Katherine Gibney, Monash Univ.
Rafik Hanna, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital
Neville Jadeja, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Adam Kawalek, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Katherine Kay, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Nauman Khan
Michael Khoury
Karl Kirby. St. Mark's Family Medicine Residency
Evelyn Lake, Stanford Univ.
Sara Lary
Edward Leitz
Scott Lillibridge, Texas A&M Univ.
Shanna Livermore
Pasri Maharom, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Carina Marquez
Alyssa Mezochow, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Victor Mobegi, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Carlos Montiel
Winston Morris, Doctors Express
Hatoon Niyazi, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Janet Olaitan, Osun State Univ.
David Olsen, Merck & Co, Inc.
Lorine Pelly, Univ. of Manitoba
Paulo Pimenta, Fiocruz-Mg
Daniel Poole, Marshall Family Medicine Residency
David Raveh-Brawer
Melissa Reyes
Jessica Ricaldi, Univ. Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Alessandra Ricciardi, McGill Univ.
Marilyn Ruiz, Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Timothy Ruttan
Jonathan Said
David Sears
Nagila Secundino, Fiocruz-Mg
Eva Maria Staehli-Hodel, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Judith Steyer, Kachemak Bay Medical Center
Michael Story, U.S. Army
Devi Shankar Suman, Rutgers Univ.
Ashwini Tayade
Margaret Tomann, Tulane Univ. School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
Jacaranda van Rheenen, Washington Univ.
Meagan Vaughn
Kristina Wickham, SUNY Upstate Medical Univ.
Terry Wuerz, Univ. of Manitoba