UM Center for Population Health Research - CPHR

Boise State Public Radio News recently highlighted the work of Drs. Luke Montrose (CSU) and Ethan Walker (CPHR).

Research aims to shield Idaho nursing home residents from wildfire smoke When there’s smoke outside senior facilities, how much is coming in?

Dr. Sophia Newcomer, Sarah Michels, and Alexandria Albers are being recognized nationally for their study about children who start but do not complete recommended vaccine series. Check out the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) press release here: https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/pediatrics2/2023/more-than-1-in-6-toddlers-dont-complete-early-childhood-vaccine-series/

Recently funded work through Texas Parks & Wildlife and US Fish & Wildlife Service has allowed researchers (Julie Weckworth, Casey Day, and Erin Landguth) at UMT/CPHR to work towards predicting North American bat fungal disease dynamics through a spatially-explicit mechanistic framework that integrates changing environments with disease ecology and genomics.

Congratulations to CPHR Data and Modeling Core Director Jon Graham and his Washington Middle School Math Counts team. They recently placed first in team competition with two students advancing to nationals!

CPHR project lead Dr. Sophia Newcomer recently spoke at the National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE). Dr. Newcomer's talk was titled "Trends in immunization schedule adherence in the U.S."

Also featured at the NISBRE was CPHR researcher Dr. Brian Loyd's flash talk, "Deploying a Novel Tool for Assessing and Treating Vestibular Hypofunction to Multiple Patient Populations."

A new issue of the CPHR quarterly newsletter, the CPHR Insider is hitting your inbox today! Did not receive it? Click on the link below to read and be sure to click on "subscribe" in the newsletter footer so you don't miss the next issue.

CPHR Insider Volume 2 Issue 3 CPHR project lead, Erin Landguth, PhD, MS, is an Associate Professor in the School of Public and Community Health Sciences. Erin also leads the Computational Ecology Lab with a focus on integrative and interdisciplinary research to advance scientific understanding of emerging issues at the interse...

Check your inbox to stay up-to-date on CPHR news!

Not a subscriber? Click here: https://umt.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=57e13f04d511a0fb6f5e6ac13&id=05b597cf66

A new issue of the Center for Population Health Research (CPHR) quarterly newsletter, CPHR Insider, is out! Check your inbox to stay up-to-date on CPHR news.

Not a subscriber? Click here:
https://umt.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=57e13f04d511a0fb6f5e6ac13&id=05b597cf66

The Center for Population Health Research (CPHR) held its second annual Research Symposium at the Missoula Public Library on July 22, 2022. The Symposium welcomed keynote speaker Dr. Chelsea Bodnar and featured 10 talks from Center researchers and 12 student and core staff lightning talks presented to over 65 attendees. It was a great day celebrating the research of the Center and we look forward to next year's symposium!

Have you registered to attend the 2022 CPHR symposium? There's still one week left to register!

https://umt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eIGwZDcfLIXtYYC

Congratulations to Dr.'s Landguth, Newcomer, and Semmens on receiving promotions and tenure during this academic year's faculty evaluation process!

Check out Confluence's recent Professor Spotlight podcast, which features CPHR-affiliated researcher Dr. Katrina Mullan.

Dr. Mullan discusses many of her research interests and work with graduate students, in addition to her collaboration with public health researchers, such as questioning "How do people change their behavior in response to wildfire smoke, which might then affect what the final health outcomes are?"

Click the link to listen to the full podcast:
https://www.umt.edu/grad/telling-our-story/stories-folder/katrina-mullan.php

The Center for Population Health Research (CPHR), within the School of Public and Community Health Sciences at the University of Montana, is seeking an Administrative Associate IV to join the team!

With excellent benefits, a rewarding career, and helping make a difference in the health and wellbeing of communities, this position could be perfect for you!

Details can be found at the following link: https://university-montana-hr.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&jobid=3251&company_id=16254&version=1&source=ONLINE&jobOwner=992275&aid=1

Please apply via the link provided, not on Facebook. We can't wait to meet you!

UM Earns Top-Tier ‘R1’ Research Status In a major milestone for the University of Montana, UM is now a top-tier “R1” research institution.

"Professor Erin Landguth of the University of Montana’s Center for Population Health Research showed new studies linking summer smoke exposure to influenza cases later that winter. Cases go up 16 to 22% for every 1 microgram increase in smoke pollution, resulting in flu seasons three to five times worse than average following a bad fire summer."

Click on the link below to read the full article by Rob Chaney in the Missoulian:
https://missoulian.com/news/local/wildfire-smoke-studies-show-health-risks-later/article_49558e20-f81e-5d24-aa11-9f45721d3aeb.html -source=home-top-story

Wildfire smoke studies show health risks later “Montana jumps out compared to other states,” George Washington University post-doctoral researcher Katelyn O’Dell said of the state’s deaths related to wildfire smoke exposure.

CPHR researcher Dr. Erin Semmens' work with the BREATHE study (Bronchiolitis Recovery and the Use of HEPA Filters) is featured in The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program's newsletter. Check it out!

https://echochildren.org/echo-connector/jan2022/

Jan2022 - ECHO Welcome to the ECHO Connector! The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program is a research program at the NIH with the mission to enhance the health of children for generations to come. The ECHO Connector will keep you informed of program news and our latest research findings....

CPHR affiliated researcher Dr. Will Rice's research was featured in a recent article in The Guardian. Click the link below to read on:

“Our research serves as a note of caution to land managers and the tourism community at large,” [Dr. Rice] says. “Covid had negative impacts on efforts to create a more inclusive outdoors. We need to figure out how to distribute our nation’s recreation resources more equitably.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/01/national-parks-us-tourism-crowds-busy

‘Everyone came at once’: America’s national parks reckon with record-smashing year Crowds at ‘crown jewel’ sites have meant more trash, more rescues and unaffordable housing nearby

New CPHR publication alert! Check it out by clicking on the link:

Vaccine timeliness and prevalence of undervaccination patterns in children ages 0–19 months, U.S., National immunization Survey-Child 2017 Typically, early childhood vaccination coverage in the U.S. is measured as the proportion of children by age 24 months who completed recommended vacci…

Congratulations to CPHR research assistant and UM graduate student Teigan Avery. Teigan was recently named one of two UM Rhodes Scholar finalists!
https://www.umt.edu/news/2021/12/1220rhod.php

UM Yields Two Rhodes Scholar Finalists Two University of Montana seniors recently interviewed for the world’s oldest and most prestigious academic recognition, the Rhodes Scholarship. As Rhodes finalists, Teigan Avery and Arwen Baxter joined an elite group of U.S. college students recognized for their scholarly achievements, commitment...

The third issue of the CPHR Insider, CPHR's quarterly newsletter is hitting your inbox today! Here's a link for early viewing:
https://mailchi.mp/129aa758144d/cphr-insider-volume-1-issue-5276662

Meet Dr. Ethan Walker - CPHR's new Assistant Professor!

Ethan Walker, PhD, MPH, is the newest member of the CPHR research faculty research team. Read more about Dr. Walker here: http://health.umt.edu/cphr/story-pages/walker_faculty_hire.php

The first annual CPHR Symposium was held virtually on October 4, 2021, bringing together over 70 members of the CPHR community to share and celebrate the research efforts of the center.

The symposium featured 8 presentations from center-affiliated researchers and 19 undergraduate and graduate student / UM staff lightning talks.

CPHR is proud of the work being done to support the health of our communities!

CPHR researcher and UM SPCHS associate professor Dr. Erin Landguth is quoted in a recent article in the Washington Post regarding wildfire smoke exposure and health impacts. Check it out here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/10/20/wildfire-smoke-deaths-eastern-us/

Wildfire smoke harms more people in the Eastern U.S. than West, study shows About 75 percent of smoke-related asthma cases and deaths occurred east of the Rocky Mountains in recent years.

The School of Public and Community Health Sciences (SPCHS) at the University of Montana, Missoula invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor of Biostatistics. The position is part of a strategic hire opportunity supported by our Center for Population Health Research.
Priority application deadline is November 30th. Click the link for more information and to apply:
https://university-montana-hr.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&id=23&jobid=3053&company_id=16254&version=1&source=ONLINE&JobOwner=992276&level=levelid2&levelid2=36338&startflag=3

Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, School of Public and Community Health Sciences - Missoula, Montana, United States - University of Montana   The School of Public and Community Health Sciences (SPCHS) at the University of Montana, Missoula invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor of Biostatistics. The position is part of a s...

Continued Growth Shatters UM Record for Research Activity There is more research happening at UM today than at any point in the flagship institution’s history.

CPHR researcher and UM associate professor Dr. Erin Landguth's work, among the work of other researchers studying the impacts of wildfire smoke on potential infectious disease risk, is discussed in today's article featured in "The Scientist."
Check it out:
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/how-wildfire-smoke-raises-infectious-disease-risk-69166

How Wildfire Smoke Raises Infectious Disease Risk As fires blanket growing swathes of the West, scientists are beginning to understand more about how their smoke affects the transmission and severity of COVID-19 and other illnesses, and how it differs from that of other types of air pollution.

New publication alert!
Check out the paper - "Best Practices for Conducting Clinical Trials With Indigenous Children in the United States" from the ECHO ISPCTN team, including CPHR researchers Erin Semmens, Niki Graham, and Paul Smith in the American Journal of Public Health.
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306372