The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has awarded Kim Tieu, professor and interim chair of the department of Environmental Health Sciences at FIU’s Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, a $6.6 million grant to study how brain cells die in Parkinson’s disease and to develop effective drug therapies for this brain condition.

One of FIU’s Emerging Preeminent Programs, the Brain, Behavior and the Environment program focuses on factors that affect brain health. The transdisciplinary initiative unites the dynamic and diverse neuroscience community at FIU. Learn more about the program from post-doctoral researcher Dr. Aseel Eid and graduate student Alexander N. Rodichkin.

Today in the United States, nearly six million citizen children live with a family member who is undocumented, usually a parent.

Maryam Rafieifar started working with undocumented immigrants while she was a project manager for the International Committee of the Red Cross in her home country of Iran; she managed a project providing primary health care services to Afghan refugees and undocumented immigrants. The project expanded to include mental health services, referrals and social workers.

The field of Social Work allows practitioners the opportunity to improve the lives of people in society and engage in varying communities. By helping people function the best they can, Social Workers strive to improve lives on a daily basis or to change policies for the greater good.
Social Workers may lead the charge for social justice, affect policies that improve neighborhoods or work one-on-one with clients who need assistance and direction. 
At Stempel College, studying Social Work is an opportunity to learn from renowned faculty who are on the frontlines of social change as well as community engagement and research.

The Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, in partnership with the FIU Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED), recently hosted a symposium to discuss research regarding brain health and the promotion of interventions that could help alleviate the crisis related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Often times, people think of a nutritionist or dietician when they want to change the way they eat to lose or gain weight, or as the result of a larger health issue. When studying dietetics and nutrition at a research university, students quickly learn that nutrition and dietetics is so much more than that.

As part of the mission of the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social, the Global Health Consortium recently hosted the 2019 Global Health Conference, offering three days of cutting-edge workshops and plenary sessions themed around innovative topics and inspiring panelists and speakers. The aim of the conference was to present, analyze and discuss state-of-the art risk analysis and scientific progress on key issues of global health and the serious threats of emerging diseases. This includes new research approaches and innovative scientific and technological solutions to global threats.

At the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology, postdoctoral associates Drs. Damaris Albores-Garcia and Aseel Eid were awarded honors for their respective work and research within Stempel College’s Brain, Behavior and Environment program, a FIU Emerging Preeminent Program.

Dr. Quentin Felty, associate professor at Florida International University Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, has been awarded a $439,500 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study stem cells lining the lung vessel wall in persons with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Recently, Shed Boren, visiting clinical instructor in the School of Social Work and his partner, Jose Valdes-Fauli, generously gifted the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work 29 pieces of Young’s art.

“Purvis’ work speaks to the community that we serve as social workers,” said Boren. “I discovered his art when I was working with the indigent and homeless populations in Miami and really appreciated how it represented that point of view, one that many try to turn a blind eye to but that Purvis understood and celebrated.”

Abraham Degarege Mengist is making malaria his mission.

A doctoral student in public health with a concentration in epidemiology, Mengist came to the Robert Stempel from his native Ethopia to acquire training in epidemiological research methods from renowned faculty and a curriculum that would give him the research skills to advance health at home and globally.

Mengist — in collaboration with Stempel College researchers Merhawi T. Gebrezgi, Gladys Ibanez and Purnima Madhivanan as well as Mats Wahlgren of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden — conducted a meta-analysis study examining the effects of blood type on susceptibility to severe malaria and related morbidities.

Representatives from the Universidad de Córdoba in Colombia recently visited Stempel College as the two institutions embark on a new research project together.
“These relationships that we are forging with the Universidad de Córdoba and other universities in Colombia will advance our research and educational agenda in Latin America, which is directly linked to Stempel’s college excellence and mission,” said Stempel Dean Tomás R. Guilarte.

Socioeconomic status is often associated with differences in people’s reported self-rated health status. Many studies have been conducted on self-related health status in developed countries, but few studies have reported on self-related health in developing countries.

Prof. Wenjie Sun recently worked on a collaboration with Tulane University, Shenandoah University, Wannan Medical College, and Soochow University to better understand how self-rated health affects perceived socioeconomic status in China.

Suicide comes to the forefront when a celebrity passes away but, for many, it is a persistent daily thought. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. and the 3rd leading cause of death for ages 15-24 in Florida – and it is on the rise.

Stempel College recently celebrated the research and dedication of its students with the college’s first Research Day. Students showcased twenty-four ongoing research projects, from both the Ph.D and master’s levels, across all disciplines at the college. It was an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to learn about the work being done throughout the college and opportunity for students to gain more experience in explaining their research.

A delegation of Stempel College representatives, led by Dean Tomás R. Guilarte and Carlos Espinal, director of the Global Health Consortium, recently visited Colombia as part of the college’s efforts to strengthen ties and improve public health in the country. The Global Health Consortium is focusing much of its efforts in Colombia, while the college looks to strengthen ties with deeper and broader collaborations in the region.
The four-day, multi-city tour was a chance for researchers and leadership to engage with local stakeholders and organizations that can boost the college’s collaborative opportunities in research areas that include neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked FIU Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work’s public health program for the first time in the college’s history, under the leadership of Dean Tomás R. Guilarte.

The School of Public Health moved from the honorable mention category in 2015 – the last time the magazine ranked public health schools across the nation – to 78 out of 113, with an additional 60 programs in the honorable mention category.

In addition, Stempel College’s School of Social Work was ranked No. 77 among peer programs – an 11- point improvement.

One of the largest rivers in Latin America, the Atrato River in Colombia has been tainted by decades of illegal mining, leading to mercury contamination and other pollutants.
Stempel College — in collaboration with Universidad de Córdoba and Universidad Tecnologica del Choco Diego Luis Cordoba, both in Colombia — has been awarded a $3 million grant to evaluate the degree of contamination throughout the river basin and how it is impacting the health of local populations.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Florida International University Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work a $1.39 million grant to study how patient-centered HIV care influences patients seeking medical care and how they participate in treatment to suppress the HIV virus.

Going into a stranger’s home is not necessarily an experience most students anticipate being part of their master’s degree. But for public health students who take part in field research, that is a vital component of their education.
“It is important that students have the opportunity to get real field experience as students,” said senior community-based mentor Claudia Pinzon-Iregui. “They are the ones who will continue to move the research forward, and we are here to guide them as they become public health leaders.”