The department of health policy and management at UNC Gillings School
of Global Public Health is pleased to announce the following recent
award winner and forum and conference news.
Lee receives Presidential Early Career Award
Jessica Y. Lee, PhD, DDS, associate professor of health policy and
management at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, was named by
President Obama on Nov. 5 as one of 85 recipients of the Presidential
Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
The award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government
on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their
independent research careers. Ten federal departments and agencies
collectively nominate "the most meritorious scientists and engineers
whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for assuring
America's preeminence in science and engineering and contributing to
the awarding agencies' missions," according to the Office of Science
and Technology Policy announcement.
"Science and technology have long been at the core of America's
economic strength and global leadership," President Barack Obama said
in the award announcement. "I am confident that these individuals, who
have shown such tremendous promise so early in their careers, will go
on to make breakthroughs and discoveries that will continue to move our
nation forward in the years ahead."
Lee, who is also associate professor of pediatric dentistry in the UNC
School of Dentistry, is principal investigator for a $1.8 million grant
addressing how the oral health literacy of caregivers and parents
affects the oral health outcomes of their preschool-age children. More
than 1,000 underserved families in seven North Carolina counties -
Buncombe, Burke, New Hanover, Wake, Orange, Brunswick and Robeson - are
being interviewed about oral health literacy and possible challenges
that may prevent them from accessing oral health care.
The study, funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial
Research (NIDCR), is a collaboration of the UNC schools of dentistry
and public health and the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. The study
is believed to be the first RO1 grant on health literacy funded by the
NIDCR.
Lee previously received the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's
2008 Jerome B. Miller "For the Kids" Award for her outstanding efforts
directed to advancing childhood oral health and well-being.
She is a board-certified pediatric dentist with the UNC Dental Faculty
Practice, is involved in teaching, clinical practice and research (both
her own and mentorship of student research), and maintains several
research grants. Her major research interests include health literacy,
outcome assessment, cost-effectiveness investigations, access to oral
health care and health disparities in young children.
Lee received Master of Public Health and Doctor of Dental Surgery
degrees from Columbia University and a certificate in pediatric
dentistry and doctorate in health policy analysis and administration
from UNC-Chapel Hill.
"Dr. Lee's students and colleagues always knew that she was an
extraordinary teacher and researcher," said John W. Stamm, DDS, interim
dental school dean. "But even those closest to her did not expect the
recognition for this to come from the White House itself. What an honor
for Dr. Lee, the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and the Department
of Health Policy and Management, as well as UNC-Chapel Hill."
"Dr. Lee's research in the area of oral health literacy is helping
unlock the complex issues surrounding barriers to oral health care in
the United States," said Tim Wright, DDS, chair of the dental school's
Department of Pediatric Dentistry. "Her work is providing fundamental
information that is helping develop novel approaches directed at oral
health education and accessing the oral health care system. The
significance of her work is underscored by the oral health crisis in
the United States, with dental caries being the most common disease of
children."
The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers,
established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, are coordinated by the
Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of
the President.
More information on the award and this year's 85 recipients is available online.
HPM hosts forum for international public health professionals and executive doctoral students
Doctoral students and public health professionals from across the U.S.
and around the world were on UNC's campus Jan. 4-7 as part of a health
policy and leadership forum that addressed a wide range of issues -
from health policy for U.S. Veterans Affairs facilities to health
structures and policy in Norway. The event was held at UNC Gillings
School of Global Public Health.
Three times each year, distance learners in the Doctoral Program in
Health Leadership (DrPH) in the School's health policy and management
department travel to the UNC campus for special lectures and training
activities. The January visit coincided with a meeting of the UNC-led
International Network for Doctoral Training in Health Leadership
(NETDOC), members of whom observed the distance learning program in
action and made presentations about health issues in their geographic
regions.
NETDOC is a consortium of schools that aims to build a cooperative
network of partner programs dedicated to accelerating the pace and
reach of urgently needed doctoral-level leadership training for senior
health professionals around the world.
Members share curricula, distance learning technology and school
resources. They plan to function as a well-coordinated network in which
faculty members teach across universities and students may take courses
or portions of courses from schools other than the schools in which
they are enrolled. The group's goal is to contribute substantially to
efforts to improve the health of people worldwide by addressing the
critical need for global leadership development within the senior
public health workforce.
On Jan. 5, NETDOC presenters spoke to students in the executive
doctoral program in health leadership about health challenges and
changes in health services facing the Nordic countries, France, the
U.K. and Canada. In attendance as well were representatives from
University of Georgia, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the
University of Minnesota. Morris Weinberger, PhD, UNC's Vergil N. Slee
Distinguished Professor of Healthcare Quality Management, also spoke to
the students about leadership lessons from the U.S. Veterans Affairs
health system.
"We are incredibly excited by the opportunities available to us now to
extend health leadership training at the doctoral level through the
creative use of technology," said Suzanne Havala Hobbs, DrPH, director
of the executive doctoral program. "Together with our graduates and
partners in education, we hope to make a substantial contribution to
improving the public's health around the world."
Innovative Conference Held in St. Malo, France
Seven HPM faculty attended a two-day meeting titled “Innovations and
Applications in Teaching Health Policy and Management” in St. Malo,
France Oct. 24 and 25, 2010. This meeting allowed faculty in Health
Policy and Management from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sante
Publique (EHESP) and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
along with selected colleagues at Virginia Commonwealth University and
Columbia University to share their teaching experiences and introduce
each other to new and effective teaching methods in health policy and
management.
The goal of the meeting was to introduce innovative teaching methods by
using them as the pedagogical tool for the conference. Thus,
participants were introduced to active learning by their use in opening
the program with a participatory process for goal setting and group
interaction. The program also included significant team based learning
processes that started with simple exercises to help develop
communications within groups and to demonstrate principles of how team
based learning could accelerate learning and be adapted to allow for
individual assessment. The agenda also covered specific topics
including development of a syllabus, the role of leadership training in
management and public health, the U.S. accreditations process, the
development of competencies specific to UNC and/or EHESP degree
programs, distance education processes and the use of “new media” to
facilitate learning and communications with students.
The meeting ended with a practical planning session to develop joint
projects and programs and plan for future implementation of what was
learned in the meeting and to identify things that needed to be
presented in future meetings on the topic.
In attendance were 26 EHESP, 7 UNC, 1 Columbia University and 1 VCU faculty members.