The 3rd annual ColoradoSPH Research Exchange kicked off on a hopeful note last week, by showcasing climate change and actions that can be taken to improve health benefits.
The keynote speaker was Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH, Vilas Distinguished Professor & John P Holton Chair of Health and the Environment, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
He said there are actions everyone can take to reduce the impacts of climate change, including:
- Consuming less red meat
- Using less fossil fuels and transitioning to alternative energy sources such as solar and wind energy
- Switching to e-transportation modes, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and electric bikes (e-bikes)
For example, Patz said, e-bikes have had more of a positive impact on the climate than the shift towards use of e-vehicles. According to The Conversation article Patz referenced:
“There were over 280 million electric mopeds, scooters, motorcycles, and three-wheelers on the road last year. Their sheer popularity is already cutting demand for oil by a million barrels of oil a day—about 1 percent of the world’s total oil demand, according to estimates by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.”
With more than 170 attendees, and 27 students presenting their research, ranging from statistical methods, impacts of cancer diagnosis and wellbeing at work , COVID-19 and lessons from the pandemic, opioid use, worker health, occupational injuries, and more. The panel sessions ranged in topics including substance misuse, and work environment as a social determinant of health. This year the faculty research committee added an interactive workshop session focusing on writing a successful research grant broken into three concurrent sessions on career development, submitting your first R01 grant, and program projects detailing how to submit a large center grant.
The third annual research exchange is led by the school’s Office of Research. Faculty and students from all three of our universities—CU Anschutz, CSU, and UNC—and community partners participate.
Associate Dean of Research Dana Dabelea, MD, PhD, said the event went well.
“This event brought together the Colorado School of Public Health community as we celebrated the tireless and impactful work of our colleagues, collaborators, and trainees. We are proud of our reach, our productivity, which continues to climb, as well as our impact, which is global,” said Dabelea, the Conrad M. Riley Distinguished Professor, director (LEAD Center).
During this event, students were encouraged to enter the poster competition portion of the event. Five ColoradoSPH students won the poster competition: Christopher Hollander (MPH Candidate), Jessica Ellis (MS Candidate), Jonna Finocchio (DrPH Candidate), Julia Pangalangan (DrPH Candidate), and Madeline Farron (PhD Candidate).
