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IU School of Public Health-Bloomington faculty member investigates contributing factors to congenital syphilis

Posted on by IU School of Public Health-Bloomington

Pregnant women with syphilis who do not receive a proper diagnosis and/or adequate prenatal care may spread the infection in utero to their fetuses. Congenital syphilis can have major health impacts, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birthweight, as well as jaundice, meningitis, deformed bones and severe anemia in infants.

In a recent qualitative study of contributing factors in cases of congenital syphilis reported in the state of Indiana, all instances were found to be attributable to maternal social or behavioral influences that can hamper women’s care, rather than affected by any missed opportunities by providers to follow accepted guidelines for screening and treatment. “Social Vulnerability in Congenital Syphilis Case Mothers: Qualitative Assessment of Cases in Indiana, 2014–2016,” published online ahead-of-print in the Journal of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association, was led by Dawne DiOrio, adjunct instructor in the undergraduate Health Care Management and Policy faculty group at School of Public and Environmental Affairsand in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department at the School of Public Health. (more…)

IU School of Public Health researchers find many Indiana pharmacists are not dispensing naloxone

Posted on by IU School of Public Health-Bloomington

Beth Meyerson
Beth Meyerson

Naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication, can save lives, as reflected by the U.S. surgeon general’s recent advisory that Americans carry it and know how to use. But in Indiana, only one in four pharmacists have actually dispensed the medication, an Indiana University study found.

Researchers at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington’s Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and the Institute for Research on Addictive Behaviorinvestigated the role of Indiana community pharmacies in naloxone access and found that while 58 percent of pharmacies stocked naloxone and 48 percent of pharmacists were comfortable dispensing it, only 24 percent of pharmacists had actually dispensed the medication. The findings were recently published in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal.

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NIH Career Development Award (K08) to Facilitate Innovative Youth Intervention Program for Researchers at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion

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Brian Feinstein
Brian Feinstein

Dr. Brian Feinstein, research assistant professor at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and affiliated faculty at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion (CSHP) at Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, has received an $887,000 Career Development Award (K08) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Brian Dodge, associate professor in the Department of Applied Health Science and CSHP associate director, will serve as scientific mentor on the award.

The grant will support a five-year program focused on examining factors that drive engagement in HIV risk behavior and substance use among self-identified bisexual male youth (ages 14-17 years) in order to facilitate developing and pilot testing an HIV and substance use prevention intervention for bisexual male youth. Additionally, the award will provide support for training in adolescent health, qualitative research methods, and intervention development. (more…)

Michael Hendryx named a Fulbright Distinguished Chair

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Michael Hendryx, professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, has spent his career researching environmental health disparities, particularly for people living in mining communities.

Michael Hendryx
Michael Hendryx

He will soon be expanding that work to Australia after being named a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Multiple Disciplines, the most prestigious appointment in the Fulbright Scholar Program.

“It is an honor to be selected as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair,” he said. “I feel that this award is a significant recognition of the value of the research I have done throughout the years regarding environmental health disparities for people living in proximity to coal mines. Similar public health concerns have been raised about coal mining in Australia, but relatively little research has been conducted there. So this award will help me bring the work I have done here to similar communities in Australia.”

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IU School of Public Health-Bloomington faculty member to serve on NSCA Foundation Investment Committee

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Michael S. Willett

Michael S. Willett, associate chair in kinesiology, has been selected to serve on the National Strength and Conditioning Association Foundation Investment Committee for a three-year term, ending in January 2021.

The investment committee will assist, develop, monitor and administer NSCAF assistantships, grants and scholarships in accordance with industry best practices, as well as oversee investments with the NSCAF Board of Directors. (more…)

IU School of Public Health-Bloomington researcher receives National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grant to study congenital heart defects

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Ming Li
Ming Li

Congenital heart defects are the most prevalent and severe among all birth defects. Each year, 1.35 million infants are born with CHDs worldwide, affecting 8.1 infants per 1,000 live births. A substantial number of affected infants die in infancy, and many who survive may require repeated surgeries and lengthy hospitalizations. There are currently few strategies for reducing the public health impact of CHDs.

Ming Li, assistant professor in epidemiology and biostatistics, has been awarded a K01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study the genetic and epigenetic causes of CHDs. (more…)

IU Bloomington scientists examine reproducibility of research issues and remedies in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Sackler Colloquium series

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Reproducibility of scientific findings has long been an important indicator of the validity of data gleaned from research, a process deemed even more critical in this age of ever-changing technologies and methods. At the Sackler Colloquium focused on “Reproducibility of Research: Issues and Proposed Remedies,” David B. Allison, dean of the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, and co-organizers Richard Shiffrin, Victoria Stodden and the late Stephen Fienberg invited discussion on the main topics of defining reproducibility in various research contexts and providing remedies that contribute to greater reproducibility and transparency.

A dozen articles shaping the colloquium were published in the March 2018 special issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America and covered a comprehensive range of subjects from the collection of data to the dissemination of findings from both the scientific and non-scientific communities. Featured among them is “Scientific Progress Despite Irreproducibility: A Seeming Paradox,” by Shiffrin; Katy Börner, distinguished professor of engineering and information science at Indiana University Bloomington; and Stephen M. Stigler, at the University of Chicago. At a time in which scientific advances are taking place daily and governing much of modern society, it seems contradictory that the way science is practiced makes quite a few reported findings difficult or impossible to reproduce. However, scientific practice has continued to evolve and advance despite elemental problems, not the least of which being that a number of years may have to pass before the validity, importance and usability of findings can be properly ascertained.

The researchers acknowledge that it is often possible for even invalid findings and conclusions to be reproduced but note that the repetition of fundamental—and frequently avoidable—errors is usually at the core of such a result. Therefore, to maximize progress, they recommend that a balance be struck between the sharing of promising early-stage results and the maintaining of strict vigilance to ensure quality reporting. Shared data must be not only reliable and important, but also of true scientific value with the ability to generalize to similar settings.

The authors examine proposed new remedies designed to reduce the degree of irreproducibility—such as demanding preregistration of studies to prevent “cherry-picking” data—and recommend reforms tailored to research type and goals. This stance is bolstered by the varying consequences that are possible if invalid results are published: findings gleaned during the exploration process would be unlikely to bring about harm, although a faulty real-life application of conclusions could cause serious damage. They caution, however, that any remedy and reform can have unintended consequences that can slow rather than speed scientific progress.  

Also highlighted in the PNAS issue is a report by Andrew Brown, assistant professor in applied health science; Kathryn A. Kaiser, assistant professor in health behavior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and Allison, titled “Issues with Data and Analyses: Errors, Underlying Themes, and Potential Solutions,” which focuses on errors that could conceivably have been avoided by application of good established practices.

The researchers discuss such influences as citation and publication bias, mathematical miscalculations, errors in interpretation and working with bad data that was obtained through questionable methods, designs or techniques. Incorrect management and storage of data can also affect the ability to confirm findings, as can errors of communication and logic. They stress that consequences of invalid interpretation and reporting range from the loss of public trust to the potential loss of life.

The merits and drawbacks of the peer review process as a reliable upholder of scientific integrity in the literature are also deliberated. Despite such challenges as what the authors term “an unknown unknown”—meaning that reviewers read what is presented in manuscripts without having additional information (or perhaps even complete information) with which to evaluate potential errors—being inherent in this process, Brown and the team maintain that there are certain actions and methods that well-trained scientists should and could recognize as erroneous and/or lacking in rigor.
Additional articles featured in the PNAS special issue are:

Notes Brown, “The entire colloquium focused on research rigor and reproducibility. In particular, we were interested in identifying challenges and limitations to rigor and reproducibility, but, more importantly we were interested in identifying paths forward to make science more rigorous and reproducible. We need to start from a position that scientific thinking is still our best way of coming to have objective knowledge of the world. I think we as a scientific enterprise have done a thorough job noting that reproducibility is a problem, even if more work needs to be done to determine underlying causes, more rigorously catalog errors and pitfalls, and identify the best interventions for reinforcing scientific rigor. However, we know that there are incremental and structural changes we can make now to improve the present condition of scientific investigations and publications to fulfill the mantra that science is self-correcting.”
To view videos of the talks on the Sackler YouTube Channel, click here.

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IU School of Public Health-Bloomington faculty member receives NSF research grant to study the brain’s systems for motor and perceptual learning

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Hannah Block
Hannah J. Block

Hannah J. Block, assistant professor of kinesiology in the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, has been awarded a research grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the intricate relationship between how individuals perceive their surroundings and how they operate within those surroundings.

To perform a voluntary movement-for example, reaching out to pick up an object-the brain must plan such motor parameters as movement direction and extent. The movement will not be effective unless the brain correctly perceives hand position, ascertained through a combination of information gained through such factors as vision, body position sense and touch. (more…)

Faculty member investigates contributing factors to congenital syphilis

Posted on by IU School of Public Health-Bloomington

Pregnant women with syphilis who do not receive a proper diagnosis and/or adequate prenatal care may spread the infection in utero to their fetuses. Congenital syphilis can have major health impacts, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birthweight, as well as jaundice, meningitis, deformed bones and severe anemia in infants.

In a recent qualitative study of contributing factors in cases of congenital syphilis reported in the state of Indiana, all instances were found to be attributable to maternal social or behavioral influences that can hamper women’s care, rather than affected by any missed opportunities by providers to follow accepted guidelines for screening and treatment. “Social Vulnerability in Congenital Syphilis Case Mothers: Qualitative Assessment of Cases in Indiana, 2014–2016,” published online ahead-of-print in the Journal of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association, was led by Dawne DiOrio, adjunct instructor in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department at the School of Public Health and adjunct instructor in the undergraduate Health Care Management and Policy faculty group at School of Public and Environmental Affairs. (more…)

IU School of Public Health-Bloomington faculty member studies blood lead levels as predictor of violent crimes

Posted on by IU School of Public Health-Bloomington

Could criminal and antisocial behavior be linked to the distribution of lead within a region? That is the question Erik J. Nelson, assistant professor in epidemiology and biostatistics, in collaboration with lead author Brian B. Boutwell of Saint Louis University, sought to answer in the ecological study “Aggregate-level Lead Exposure, Gun Violence, Homicide, and Rape” Recently published in PLOS One, it is one of the first studies to directly explore blood lead levels as an indicator of firearm crimes, as well as homicide and rape.

Exposure to and subsequent absorption of lead in utero and during early childhood is related to various abnormalities in physiological and neurological growth, such as a reduction in total brain volume and gray matter, which are believed to have a lifelong effect on impulse regulation and general intelligence. A number of lines of study have discovered that diminished prefrontal cortex function is linked to impulsivity, violent tendencies and persistent criminal conduct.

(more…)

IU’s Center for Underwater Science at the IU School of Public Health expanding its partnership with NOAA

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Indiana University’s Center for Underwater Science program at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington has signed a new agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to enhance the two entities’ collaboration on underwater and maritime archaeology, conservation, heritage management and public outreach.

The five-year agreement for underwater archaeology work in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary — which has been granted to only one other university, the University of Miami — will not only enhance IU’s partnership with NOAA, but will serve as a catalyst for securing  funding. It will also simplify the process for researchers and students within IU’s Center for Underwater Science program to conduct scientific research in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

“This agreement builds upon the long-standing collaboration with NOAA and represents a chapter in IU’s efforts to protect the cultural and biological resources of the Florida Keys,” said Charlie Beeker, director of the Center for Underwater Science, in the School of Public Health-Bloomington. “Through this collaboration, IU students and staff will work closely with NOAA staff to enhance scientific research taking place in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and beyond. We look forward to enhancing our partnership with NOAA and providing even more opportunities for IU students to engage in scholarly research.”

Although located in a nearly landlocked state, IU’s Center for Underwater Science program is one of the oldest and largest academic diving programs in the country. For more than 30 years, the center has been partnering with NOAA and other entities in the Florida Keys to establish underwater protected areas, document precious cultural and biological resources, and provide methodological training for their dive team.

Past projects with NOAA’s 13 designated National Marine Sanctuaries include several underwater archaeological surveys in the Florida Keys; proposing and implementing the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck Trail; assisting with the sinking of two historic ships as artificial reefs and placement of the Coast Guard cutter Duane on the National Register of Historic Places.

Through the recent agreement with NOAA, Beeker is applying for NOAA and state permits to survey the 1733 San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve, which Beeker helped survey, enhance and establish as a Florida state underwater park in 1989, and the 1733 San Felipe, which Beeker helped nominate to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. As part of the projects, and thanks to the recent agreement, almost a dozen IU students will take part in the research, working directly with NOAA divers and researchers.
Students and faculty with the center will begin the project in June, using 3-D photogrammetry to document the shipwrecks and associated corals growing on the site. This technique will help determine what impacts occurred to the shipwrecks and its resident marine life from Hurricane Irma.

“IU was among the first academic institutions in the world working to create shipwreck parks that protect both the cultural and biological resources,” said Sam Haskell, assistant director for the Center for Underwater Science. “With the devastating effects of anthropogenic climate change on our planet’s oceans, it is of the utmost importance to have historic, comparative data to track changes to these underwater resources. By creating and managing underwater parks that allow archaeological sites to act as a foundation for promoting reef growth and bio-connectivity, IU and NOAA hope to not only improve the way we interact with the natural, underwater world but also hopefully preserve it for future generations.”

Matt Lawrence, maritime archaeologist at NOAA, said Beeker’s commitment to documenting and interpreting sanctuary archaeological resources in the Florida Keys is responsible for much of the knowledge about these sites today. He said he looks forward to collaborating even more with IU, particularly the fieldwork that will take place this summer.

“This agreement provides a framework for us to expand our partnership, providing more educational opportunities for IU students, while at the same time bringing new and innovative techniques to Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary underwater cultural heritage management,” he said. “I’m excited for the upcoming fieldwork with Dr. Beeker, his staff and students to document and monitor several shipwrecks this summer.”

The image caption followsView print quality image
Charlie Beeker, director of IU’s Center for Underwater Science, in the Dominican Republic on the Captain Kidd Underwater Archaeology Preserve. Photo provided by IU’s Center for Underwater Science.

IU Bloomington awards research grants for food systems sustainability

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In the face of environmental change and persistent public health issues, how do we develop more resilient sustainable food systems? This question, and others, are at the heart of research initiatives selected to receive 2018 Emerging Areas of Research awards from Indiana University Bloomington.

James Farmer

The Emerging Areas of Research program, created as part of the Bicentennial Strategic Plan for IU Bloomington, is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research to invest in key areas of research and creative strength on the IU Bloomington campus. This year’s competition resulted in 21 proposals representing nearly 250 faculty at IU Bloomington.

The “Sustainable Food Systems Science” initiative is led by James Farmer, a faculty member in the School of Public Health-Bloomington, along with co-leaders Eduardo Brondizio, Analena Bruce, Daniel Knudsen, Jennifer Robinson and Peter Todd, as well as other collaborators. The research team will receive up to $2.5 million for the four-year initiative.

The goal of the sustainable food systems Emerging Areas of Research initiative is to analyze food systems from varying perspectives and in both local and international contexts to identify what it takes to create environmentally sustainable, socially just and resilient systems for food, from production to procurement.

“We aim to identify the leverage points for building such systems, and to understand how those leverage points vary and how they contribute to food systems that are regenerative and just — not compromising environment, economic or social contexts,” Farmer said. Farmer is also co-director of the newly established IU Campus Farm.

Adapted from: 

https://news.iu.edu/stories/2018/02/iub/releases/22-bloomington-awards-research-grants.html

Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington
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