GREMAP student Ashley Rapp organized a menstrual product donation drive with the Detroit chapter of I Support The Girls (ISTG). Local news outlet The Chaldean News has published an article and interview about her work on this project.

Congratulations Ashley!!

In October, Dr. Bergmans presented at the National Network of Depression Centers 10th Annual Conference in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Bergmans‘ poster, titled Depression, food insecurity and diabetic morbidity: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study, examined mediation of the association between food insecurity and depression by diabetic morbidity among older adults with diabetes. Results indicate food insecurity is associated with odds of depression two years later and that this relationship is largely attributable to diabetic morbidity–including kidney problems and poor control of diabetes. Findings may inform development of integrated and/or collaborative treatment strategies that alleviate psychosocial distress associated with diabetes management.

Dr. Monique Brown-Smith has accepted a position as an assistant professor in the at the University of South Carolina. She will be joining the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Arnold School of Public Health, where she will continue her research on HIV, mental health, and aging.

The University of South Carolina has posted a news article about Monique and her research.

On September 10, 2018, Dr. Bruce Link visited the University of Michigan to give a talk entitled “Stigma and discrimination associated with mental disorders and what we can do about it.” Dr. Link is a Professor at the University of California – Riverside and is an expert in social and psychiatric epidemiology. You can watch his lecture here.

Allison Delaney (MPH 2018) will be the Pediatric/Women’s Health Chaplain and serve as Faculty in the Department of Patient Counseling within the College of Health Professions at Virginia Commonwealth University starting in September.

Joshua Montgomery (MPH 2017) has been selected as a Public Health Analyst Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow! Josh will  work in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Washington, DC. The Chief Medical Officer serves as the primary medical advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health on the development and implementation of HHS-wide public health policy recommendations. He will begin his fellowship in Fall 2018.

Congrats to Allison and Josh!!

GREMAP member Michael Trujillo will be graduating from VCU this spring with his doctorate in Health Psychology. After graduation, Michael will do a post-doctoral fellowship at the university of California San Francisco working with Nancy Adler, one of the worlds experts in stress and disparities.

Congratulations Michael!!

The Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research (MCDTR) will be hosting their annual symposium May 10, 2018, from 9 AM to 1 PM. The symposium will be held in the lower level of the dining area in building 18 of the North Campus Research Complex (2800 Plymouth Rd. Ann Arbor, MI). The symposium will include talks, a poster session, and a buffet lunch.

For more information about the symposium, or to submit an application to present at the poster section, please visit the MCDTR website.

GREMAP is excited to launch another alumni into the world!

Josh Montgomery, MPH graduated this semester (he is shown here with VCU Graduate Program Directors Dr. Saba Masho and Jordyn Wallenborn, PhD graduate).

His capstone, “Evaluation of characteristics associated with weight loss in the Richmond YMCA Diabetes Control Program,” used community-based participatory research principles and a mixed-methods approach to examine the correlates of weight change in a local diabetes self-management program.

Congrats Josh!!!