YaleYale PublicPublic HealthHealth FALLFALL 20112011 2009 Brain tumors, genomics and the quest for answers The vector wars— Are victories within reach? A world of disease | Babesiosis emerges | Eye for the fly | Building a better bug trap | An epidemic turns 30 YaleYale school school of of public public health health YaleYale PublicPublic HealthHealth FALLFALL 2011 2009 22 Dean’sDean’s Message Message 33 LettersEditor’s to Note the Editor 44 AdvancesAdvances 7 Perspective 7 Perspective 8 The tumor connection 8 AOngoing world research of disease seeks to find the cause of the most common, though poorly understood, form of brain tumor. 10 VictoryTracking over 100,000 the vector children 13 YaleYale researchers is participating are pursuingin one of the widely largest different epidemiological approaches studies to everstem attempted. or stop insect-borne diseases that plague different areas of the world. A conversation with Josephine Hoh 16 Battling an emerging disease 18 In the lab Largely unknown and only partially understood, a tick- 20 transmittedPromoting disease global known ashealth babesiosis poses a growing publicAn international health threat. conference to promote global health will be held at Yale this spring. 21 20 An eye for the tsetse fly A Whereresearch scientist’s the ticks passion are for photography results in an award-winningAn online map imagewill provide and reveals detailed fascinating, information often on the unnoticed detailslocation of and insect density life. of ticks that carry Lyme disease. 22 24 AStudents conversation with Durland Fish Alumni 26 Building a better bug trap 24 YSPH Notes 2827 PanelIn Memoriam discusses Lyme disease documentary 2934 TrackingYesterday HPV 38 Today 30 An epidemic turns 30 40 3241 Students 34 Alumni 41 YSPH Notes 52 Yesterday 53 Today Well-fed and rounded to capacity, a female blacklegged tick is now ready for the next stage of life: reproduction. After she lays her eggs, which can number more than 1,000, she will die. This tick and thousands of others are used in ongoing research at the School of Public Health. Geoffrey Attardo Yale school of public health Dean’s Message A roadmap for the future If you think you’re too small to make opment in all divisions can affect mosquito populations and a difference, try sleeping in a room • Cross-university collaborations their capacity to transmit disease. with a mosquito. • Junior and research faculty mentor- Vectors such as mosquitoes, tsetse ing programs flies and ticks, though small in size, -African proverb • Professional development, increas- cause devastating illnesses around the In the demanding field of public ing diversity and inclusion among world. health, it is important to remind faculty, staff and students In this issue, you will read about ourselves of the positive differences we Maximizing student experiences by: how our researchers are finding can make in the world. I see the excit- • Continuously assessing our cur- creative solutions to historic challenges ing potential to improve health every ricula, implementing improvements such as African trypanosomiasis, Lyme day as I work with our faculty, staff, and enhancing the sense of commu- disease, babesiosis and leishmaniasis. students and alumni. The inspiration nity between students and faculty Their work brings us closer each day and optimism I have derived from the to understanding the genetic, biologi- Focusing and coordinating practice ambitions and achievements of the cal, ecological and epidemiological and service activities by: YSPH community made it an easy factors of vector-borne diseases—and • Promoting healthy communities decision for me to accept a second therefore closer to mitigating human through student internships, col- five-year term as dean of public health suffering around the globe. laborative translational community- at Yale. Furthermore, I believe that I am enthusiastic about my next based research and volunteer outreach the changes we have made together term as dean, as I am for the future of efforts in our research, academic and practice the school and the potential for sus- programs have positioned the school Improving management and infra- tained, novel public health research. to thrive and to be a leader in public structure by: In our own ways, we each will tackle health innovations in the coming • Developing a long-term plan for unique tasks, continue to make small century. better contiguous space differences and identify transformative My vision is that YSPH will un- • Focusing administrative staff sup- solutions for the challenges that lie questionably be one of the world’s port and reorganizing administrative before us. top five public health schools, recog- functions nized for its consistent excellence in • Creating a new IT support model Paul D. Cleary, Ph.D. scholarship, education and service. Improving the financial foundation of Dean, Yale School of Public Health The momentum we have gained in school activities by: our scientific advances, academic • Vigorous development of resources programs and practice efforts in our for research and education communities, all based on sound man- • Celebrating YSPH’s centennial in agement, fiscal and communications 2015 and planning for a sustainable strategies, is a credit to each member future of the YSPH community—each mak- Among the priorities for research ing a small difference, but collectively excellence at YSPH are global infec- propelling us toward a brighter future. tious diseases and environmental The roadmap that I have proposed health, which are particularly salient for the school’s continued success in the focus of this issue: vector-borne over the next five years and beyond is diseases. briefly summarized as follows: The relationship between human Enhancing research excellence for populations and the environment knowledge and impact by: always involves a delicate balance. • Strategic planning for focused devel- For example, a slight climate change 2 yale public health Letters to the Editor Remembering Adrian M. Ostfeld Yale Public Health In the Spring 2011 edition of but never limited. His kindness to The Journal of the Yale School of Public Health Yale I read with deep sad- his students and his colleagues was Fall 2011, Vol. 3, No. 2 Public Health, ness of the passing of my mentor legendary, and we loved him in Dean and friend, Dr. Adrian M. Ostfeld. return. His pedagogical principles Paul D. Cleary, Ph.D. For those of us who trained in the were elegantly simple and akin to The Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health Epidemiology Department from the those of a virtuoso musician in a Managing Editor late 1960s through the early 1990s, master class: first get the basics of Michael A. Greenwood this remarkable gentleman scholar the craft right, and the performance Web Coordinator exemplified the very best of Yale. with its interpretive contributions Denise L. Meyer Giants walked the land in those will follow. Without the founda- days—engaged, socially conscious tional understanding of research Copy Editor Anne Sommer pioneers of the developing subspe- methods and medicine being secure, cialty of chronic disease epidemiol- no interpretation of evidence built Design ogy—and Adrian strode among upon it can stand. This was the les- AH Design, Angie Hurlbut them, inspiring his department and son that we could take with us and NYM Design, Nilou Moochhala his students by his sterling example. profit from no matter where, how or Address correspondence to He never hesitated to tread where to what we applied our field. Managing Editor, Yale Public Health so many others feared to go, as he I close by recounting something 60 College Street P.O. Box 208034 embraced the big issues that really that Adrian said to me when I was New Haven, CT 06520-8034 mattered to patients and their fami- trying to decide whether to remain Phone: 203-737-5151 lies but that had previously defied at Yale for my doctoral work after Fax: 203-785-7296 E-mail: study because of their seemingly having just completed my M.P.H. As [email protected] Web: insurmountable method challenges. we pondered together the pros and publichealth.yale.edu These were problems such as the cons of the several excellent places is published twice a year and is Yale Public Health impact of poverty and discrimina- under consideration for my contin- distributed to alumni, faculty, students and friends of the Yale School of Public Health. tion on the health of inner-city mi- ued training, he said: “Yale may not nority groups; the adverse effects of be perfect, but somehow really great Acronyms used in include YSPH Yale Public Health social isolation on the health of the work manages to get done here. for Yale School of Public Health and LEPH for Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health elderly; and the health consequences And, if you choose to remain, I want (the school’s main building). of bereavement. He reveled in you to know that I don’t intend to clarifying and alleviating these and go anywhere; I’ll be with you every Cover art by Hadley Hooper similar serious threats to the very step of the way.” I stayed; he kept his Printer fabric of our society and our public word to me then; and he stays with Pyne-Davidson Co. health. Adrian opened our eyes to me now, always. new approaches and solutions in these “difficult” and sometimes Edward A. Bortnichak, M.P.H. ’77, previously neglected areas, and he Ph.D. ’81; Lecturer, Yale School of did so in his trademark dignified yet Public Health; Global Head, Pharma- Printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks unassuming way. coepidemiology and Database Research Even while heading the most Unit, Merck Research Laboratories Follow the Yale School of Public Health on complex, multidisciplinary research Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. teams, he was always in control but never controlling, open to new and creative ideas but never toler- ant of senseless distractions, his A digital archive of Yale Public Health is available at .