Interdisciplinary Research Consortium on Health Disparities (IRCHD)

Comments Sought on National Plan for Action to End Health Disparities

The Office of Minority Health is now seeking public comments on the National Plan for Action to End Health Disparities.

The National Plan for Action, which captures the status of minority health disparities in our country and proposes 20 strategies for their elimination, is a thoughtful and thorough collaborative effort of representatives from community, faith-based and non-profit organizations, academic institutions, foundations and Federal, State and local agencies.

Individuals are invited to comment on individual chapters of the report or on the report overall. Comments will incorporated into the final report.

The plan will be available for your comment until February 12, 2010.

Communicating Public Health Data Online Seminar

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) kicks off a series of monthly cyber-seminars in January designed to engage researchers, cancer control and public health practitioners in a discussion around the successes and challenges of translating research into practice.

Making Data Talk: Communicating Public Health Data to the Public, Policy Makers, and the Press
January 26, 2010
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET

The first interactive cyber-seminar will highlight Making Data Talk, a book by NCI authors Drs. David Nelson, Brad Hesse, and Bob Croyle.

Presenters will provide practical suggestions on how scientists and other public health practitioners can better communicate data to the public, policy makers, and the press in typical real-world situations. Following the presentation, you will be invited to share your experiences during an interactive question and answer session.

Featured Presenters:

David Nelson, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program, National Cancer Institute

Brad Hesse, Ph.D.
Chief, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, National Cancer Institute

Please click on the url below to register for this event. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with the toll free number, passcode, and your unique PIN.
https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/rsvp/index.jsp?customHeader=mymeetings&Conference_ID=2892385&passcode=2832909

National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate

The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) is hosting a National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate on March 10-11, 2010. The Summit will take place in Philadelphia, in conjunction with the NPA’s Annual Meeting, which begins on March 12th. All those with an interest in fostering programs and initiatives to assist postdoc women in transitioning to the professoriate are invited to attend the Summit.

Postdocs are especially encouraged to come, and are invited to apply for a travel award to cover their travel expenses. Travel awards of up to $750 per person are available to cover registration, lodging, meals, and
travel to the Summit.

DEADLINE FOR TRAVEL AWARD APPLICATIONS: December 18, 2009.

For more information on the Summit and instructions for applying for a travel award, visit: http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/advance-summit.

DoD Era of Hope Scholar and Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards

The Era of Hope Scholar Award supports individuals who have high potential for innovation in breast cancer research early in their careers. Nominees for this award should be exceptionally talented, early-career scientists who have demonstrated that they are the “best and brightest” in their field(s) through extraordinary creativity, vision, and productivity. They also should exhibit strong potential for leadership in the breast cancer research community and be able to articulate a vision for the eradication of breast cancer. Experience in breast cancer research is not required; however, the application should focus on breast cancer research, and the PI must commit at least 50% of his/her full-time professional effort during the award period to breast cancer research. Principal Investigators (PIs) must be independent, non-mentored investigators within 6 years of their last mentored position.

Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards support exceptionally talented recent medical or other doctoral graduates in their pursuit of innovative, high-impact breast cancer research during their postdoctoral training and allows them to obtain the necessary experience for an independent career at the forefront of breast cancer research. The postdoctoral trainee is considered the Principal Investigator (PI) and, as such, should write the project narrative with appropriate direction from the mentor. While the PI is not required to have previous experience in breast cancer research, this application must focus on breast cancer research. Applications must provide evidence of the PI’s potential for success in becoming an independent breast cancer researcher based on his/her qualifications, characteristics, achievements, and letters of recommendations. The mentor (or co-mentor, if applicable) must possess the appropriate expertise and experience in breast cancer, to include peer reviewed breast cancer funding and publications, and clearly demonstrate a commitment to guiding the PI’s research and training. As of the application submission deadline, the PI must have been in the laboratory in which this research is to be performed for no more than 2 years, and he/she must have a total of less than 4 years of postdoctoral research experience (excluding clinical residency or fellowship training).

DEADLINES for FY09 BCRP Era of Hope Scholar Awards and Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards:

• Pre-Application through http://cdmrp.org/ required and due: November 18, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
• Confidential Letters of Recommendation through the http://cdmrp.org , are required and due: December 2, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
• Application is to be submitted through http://www.grants.gov/ due December 2, 2009, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Health Disparities Calculator Now Available

The Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc) is a calculator—statistical software that generates multiple summary measures for evaluating and monitoring health disparities—can be used either as an extension of SEER*Stat, which allows users to import Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data or on its own with other population-based health data, such as from the National Health Interview Survey, California Health Interview Survey, Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey, and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The intended audience for HD*Calc includes anyone interested in health and cancer-related disparities, as well as those interested in learning about summary measures of health disparities.

Data such as cancer rates, survival, and stage at diagnosis, which are categorized by groups such as ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status and geographic areas, can be used with HD*Calc to generate 11 absolute and relative summary measures of disparity. The output can be presented in both tabular and graphic formats, which will allow users to specify various conditions and formats. HD*Calc also provides pair-wise comparisons that allow users to explore underlying trends in the data.

HD*Calc can be downloaded on the SEER Web site, at http://seer.cancer.gov/hdcalc/.

Other relevant Sites:

• Methods for Measuring Cancer Disparities
• National Health Interview Survey
• California Health Interview Survey
• Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey
• National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Career Roadmaps for Postdocs Symposium at Univ of Michigan

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and Postdoctoral Association announce an exciting event for all postdocs, researchers, and senior graduate students:

“Career Roadmaps for Postdocs: National Postdoctoral Association Regional Meeting”

The symposium will provide postdocs with a comprehensive knowledge of possible career opportunities in different fields, such as academia, industry, and organizations Speakers include NIH official, university professors, industry employees, Red Cross member, and more Topics cover both biomedical and social sciences.

The all-day event will be hosted at the Biomedical Sciences Research Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI on Saturday, October 10th 2009.

Find more information and register @ http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/meetings-and-events/michigan-meeting
The registration fee is $20 and this includes breakfast, lunch, and reception.

Submit Abstract to Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Conference

Submission deadline September 17, 2009, 11:59 pm eastern Visit the Call for Abstracts for easy-to-follow instructions: http://www.sbm.org/meeting/2010/callforabstracts.asp

The Society of Behavioral Medicine invites your abstract submission for review. Accepted abstracts will be presented at the Society’s 31st Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions, April 7-10, 2010, in Seattle, Washington. The largest behavioral meeting in the world, the conference attracts more than 1300 preeminent researchers, clinicians, educators and policy makers as well as outstanding graduate students from the nation’s top academic institutions. All accepted abstracts appear in the Society’s journal, Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Submit Abstract to APOS 7th Annual Conference

The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) is now accepting abstracts for symposium, podium and poster presentations for the APOS 7th Annual Conference, 18 – 21 February 2010 in New Orleans, LA, USA.

The conference is dedicated to Integrating Psychosocial Research and Practice in Quality Cancer Care: Confronting Challenges Together.

Psychosocial oncology professionals in all disciplines and cancer advocates are encouraged to submit abstracts for presentation. The abstracts will be reviewed and selected for presentation based on importance and timeliness of topic, scientific rigor, appropriate analytic approach, meaningful findings, applicability to the theme and learning objectives of the meeting, and clarity of writing.

The deadline is September 30, 2009.

Submit Abstract to Global Health & Innovation Conference

Unite For Sight has put out a call for abstracts for the GH/Innovate 2010 Conference. The conference is for anyone interested or involved in international health and development, social entrepreneurship, public health, eye care, medicine, nonprofits, philanthropy, microfinance, human rights, anthropology, health policy, advocacy, public service, environmental health, and education. The goal of the conference is to exchange ideas about best practices to achieve global goals.

Abstract Categories:

The abstracts may be research-focused, clinical-focused, or program-focused.

• Global Health
• Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• International Development
• International Education
• NGOs and Community-Based Programs
• Scientific and Medical Laboratory-Based Research
• Clinical Research
• Advocacy and Health Policy

Abstract Deadline: September 20, 2009

Submit Abstract to HINTS 2009 Conference

The third biennial Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Data Users Conference is scheduled for Septermber 24 – 25, 2009 in Silver Springs, MD. This conference is an exciting opportunity for data users from academic, private and public sectors to share analyses from HINTS. This year’s theme “Partners in Progress” reflects an expanding reach and greater participation in HINTS activities and results.

They are currently accepting abstract submissions for both oral and poster presentations at the conference. A subset of papers and/or posters will be selected for inclusion in a special journal issue devoted to HINTS-related research. All abstracts must be submitted electronically no later than midnight (EST) on Friday, June 12, 2009.