WVU School of Public Health announces 2016 Speaker Series

The WVU School of Public Health will host its spring 2016 Public Health Dialogues Speaker Series beginning January 22. The series is free and open to the public. The spring 2016 speaker series will focus on the topic of food and politics.

The Public Health Dialogues Speaker Series is sponsored by the Office of Public Health Practice and Workforce Development within the WVU School of Public Health. Unless otherwise noted, presentations will be held in Room 1905 of the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center North at 12:15 p.m.

Those interested in attending the on-campus event should RSVP to sph-dialogues@hsc.wvu.edu to reserve a complimentary lunch. Please indicate in the subject line which event(s) you plan to attend. For more information about the spring lineup as well as how to view the presentations online, please visit our Schedule of Speakers page at http://publichealth.hsc.wvu.edu/ophpwd/continuing-education/schedule-of-speakers/.

 

The spring 2016 Food and Politics schedule is as follows:

• January 22—Cheryl Brown, PhD, Daniel Eades, and Elizabeth Spellman will present “Healthy Food in West Virginia: The Farm to Table Movement” at 12:15 p.m. in Room 1905, Health Sciences Center North. The three-person panel will focus on the rise of the farm to table movement in our state.
• February 17—The WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program, WV Food and Farm Coalition, WV Foodlink, and SPH Research Project on Food Access will jointly present “Food Access: A Dialogue between Research Groups” from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Fukushima Auditorium, Health Sciences Center North. This event will feature different groups and researchers working on food access issues in West Virginia. The audience is also invited to participate in the discussion.
• March 4—John Courtney, Executive Officer of the American Society for Nutrition, will present “How Agricultural Policies Affect Nutrition” at 11:45 a.m. in the Okey Patteson Auditorium, Health Sciences Center North. Dr. Courtney will discuss how the American Society for Nutrition has become the central resource where policymakers, government funders and though leaders go to get the latest information on nutrition research and practice.
• April 8—Tracie McMillan will discuss “Labor, Economics, and Politics: How the Working Poor Eats” at 11:30 a.m. in Room 1905, Health Sciences Center North. Mcmillan, an award-winning journalist and author, presents her experiences across the U.S. while gathering information for her book, “The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table.”

In addition to the Food and Politics Speaker Series, The Annual Delta Omega Series will host a speaker this semester, as well.

• February 12—John R. Blosnich, PhD, MPH, will present “Transgender Veterans and Suicide Risk in the Veterans Health Administration” at 12:15 p.m. in Room 1905, Health Sciences Center North. Dr. Blosnich will discuss an approach for identifying the high prevalence of transgender Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration and describe suicidal risk and suicide mortality among transgender VHA veterans.