Bethany Lanese, Ph.D.
Congratulations to Bethany Lanese, Ph.D., assistant professor of Health Policy and Management, for receiving the 2023 Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award. The prestigious honor was given in March, recognizing her extraordinary dedication to mentoring an honors undergraduate student throughout her eight week Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) and as her honor’s thesis advisor. Sponsored by the Office of Student Research and the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs, the award is intended to recognize 91ֿ’s exceptional faculty and the work they do to support student researchers. Lanese was nominated by a Ph.D. student and a faculty colleague. The College of Public Health is proud of Lanese and her continuing commitment to student success.
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Tianyuan Guan, M.D., MPH, Ph.D
Congratulations to Tianyuan Guan, M.D., MPH, Ph.D, assistant professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, for her invitation to participate in the poster competition at the upcoming Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in Toronto, Canada this summer. JSM is one of the largest statistical events in the world with more than 5,000 attendees from 52 countries. JSM offers a unique opportunity for statisticians in academia, industry, and government to exchange ideas and explore opportunities for collaboration. Beginning statisticians (including current students) can learn from and interact with senior members of the profession. According to Guan, “by attending conferences like JSM, it presents a unique opportunity to translate information and data directly into the classroom for our students. We’re able to learn new skills and ultimately help these students find jobs. There are so many job opportunities, including research, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies that utilize biostatistics to secure grants,” she adds. Guan recently presented her “Markov Process Multistate Modeling of Large Data” at Penn State’s Eberly College of Science. Her study focused on senior diabetic patients (age 65 and older) at Mercy Health. With a great deal of valuable data collected, the research models the movement of the status of diabetes over time. Guan published her methodology paper “Sample Size Calculation for Simple Linear Regression: A New Approach on Entropy'' in April.
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Matthew Stefanak and Tsz “Joe” Chun Lam, Ph.D
Matthew Stefanak, ambassador for 91ֿ College of Public Health, and Tsz “Joe” Chun Lam, Ph.D, student in epidemiology, recently attended the Preparedness Summit presented by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). During the four day conference in Atlanta, both Stefanak and Lam presented an analysis of modeling results. Current Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) funding allocations to Ohio LHDs (Ohio Health Districts) do not take into consideration the unique social vulnerability of communities to public health emergencies that are unique to each community. The two presenters have developed a risk-adjusted model for PHEP fund allocations in Ohio that employs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index. “I’m extremely impressed with Joe’s persistence and his understanding of public health preparedness, particularly in terms of funding models”, said Stefanak. “Presenting at a conference like this, as well as future publishing of results, is very important as Joe continues to work on his Ph.D.,” he added.
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Mary M. Step, Ph.D, CPH and Fola Ayoade, Ph.D
Mary M. Step, Ph.D, CPH, associate professor of Health Sciences, and Fola Ayoade, Ph.D, candidate in Prevention Science, for presenting at the Society for Behavioral Medicine 44th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions April 26-29, 2023. During the four-days conference in Phoenix, AZ, they presented a poster about “Self-Reported Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana use and HIV outcomes among young people living with HIV.” Congratulations!