3rd Annual Doctoral Symposium Showcases Diversity In Research At College

Doctoral students at the College for Public Health and Social Justice shared their research with the SLU community at this year’s Doctoral Research Symposium, competing for honors and cash awards in the poster and oral presentation categories. Now in its third year, the symposium has become one of the college’s premier showcases for the diversity of research being conducted within — and across —departments.

Winners of the reserach symposium pose with their certificates.

Left to right: Enbal Shacham, co-director of the Ph.D. in Public Health Studies program, stands next to the symposium research winners: Betelihem Tobo, Maya Tabet, Ting Xiao, Katie Holzer, Lorinette Wirth. Far right: Mario Schootman, associate dean for research; back, Michael Vaughn, director of the Ph.D. in Social Work program.

Eduardo J. Simoes kicked off the symposium with a keynote presentation, sharing experiences and lessons learned during his 30-year career as an applied epidemiologist. A native of Brazil, Simoes is currently chair of health management and informatics and alumni distinguished professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Previously, he served as director of the Prevention Research Centers Program Office in the CDC's Division of Adult and Community Health.

Oral presentation winners:

First place - Lorinette S. Wirth (Ph.D. in Public Health Studies - Health Outcomes Research) for her presentation “Disparities in Diabetes and Stroke by Immigrant Status and Region of Birth in a National U.S. Sample.”
Second place - Maya Tabet (Ph.D. in Public Health Studies - Epidemiology) for her presentation “Birthweight and Neonatal Death: Reexamining the Low Birthweight Cut-off Point using Sibling Data.”

In the poster category:

Katie J. Holzer (Ph.D. in Social Work) took the top spot for her poster titled “Trends in Marijuana Use Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States, 2002-2014.”
Betelihem Tobo (Ph.D. in Public Health Studies – Epidemiology) won second place for her poster “Determinants of Mental Distress Among Immigrant Versus Non-immigrant Women in the Preconception Period.”
Ting Xiao (Ph.D. in Public Health Studies – Epidemiology) rounded out the winners in third place for her poster “Assessment of Local Health Department Organizational Processes and Infrastructure for Supporting Obesity Prevention.”

###
CPHSJ Communications
Published: November 4, 2016

3rd Annual Doctoral Symposium Showcases Diversity In Research At College

Next Steps to SLU