Four Students Selected for Public Health Policy Awards

The Office of Public Health Practice and Training and the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently selected four graduate students to receive the 2011-2012 Lipitz Policy Fund Public Health Policy Pilot Awards.

The annual awards provide resources for innovative, student-led projects that advance public health policy through field research or practice. The program encourages students who wish to address an important public health problem either on the local or global level, and supports projects where students seek to actively engage with government officials or community partners.

This year’s award recipients include:

	Adele Houghton, MPH student, Prevalence of Green Building Strategies Reducing Localized Climate Change Vulnerabilities Houghton will study the link between the effects of climate change and the amount of green building projects in several local communities. The findings will be presented as a model for integrating climate change considerations into the green building process.
	Linnea Laestadius, PhD Candidate, Department of Health Policy and Management, Livestock Production, Meat and Dairy Consumption, and Climate Change: A Grounded Theory of NGO Responses Laestadius will seek to understand what shapes the reactions of NGOs to the evidence that meat and dairy consumption affects climate change. A theory explaining NGO responses will be developed, as well as recommendations for researchers and advocates who seek more political action on the issue.
	Susan Lynch, DrPH Candidate, Department of Health Policy and Management, Studying Evidence-Based Guidelines for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease and Developing an Education Campaign for the Medical and Public Health Communities Regarding the Benefits of Early Detection Lynch will review current interventions and best practices for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and, based on previous successes, make recommendations for future public health education campaigns aimed at early detection of the disease.
	Ligia Paina, PhD Candidate, Department of International Health, Dual Practice in Uganda: A Mixed Methods Study on Policy and Management Paina will first describe dual practice policy and management in Kampala, Uganda and then analyze public sector health provider preferences. The work will contribute evidence to the dialogue on health workforce issues in Uganda and could act as a model for other settings as well.

For more information about the Lipitz Policy Fund Public Health Policy Pilot Awards, please contact the Office of Public Health Practice and Training at practice@jhsph.edu.

Media contact: Tim Parsons, director of Public Affairs, at 410-955-7619 or tmparson@jhsph.edu.