The Population Science Research Seminar Series is designed to offer state-of-the-art knowledge on advances in oncological research and care. Including new clinical and laboratory investigations, techniques, and practices, as well as to facilitate new initiatives in translational and clinical research in oncology at Penn Medicine.
The seminars are held monthly at various locations at Penn.
This interdisciplinary seminar series is presented by the Abramson Cancer Center, and provides a venue for basic-science and clinical faculty to hear about cutting-edge work in all areas of cancer. The series features invited speakers on various relevant subjects, and Penn Medicine faculty with expertise in selected topics related to cancer.
Speakers in our series represent the major research programs at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, CHOP and the Perelman School of Medicine.
A joint project of the DBEI and the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Penn.
Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH started off the day with her Featured Faculty Talk, “Food and Nutrition Environments: Is There an Elephant in the Room?” In addition to her informative talk, investigators from the UPenn PRC contributed two projects to the Poster Session. One features the message development and testing from our Skin Cancer Communication Project and the other highlights the methods and results from our core research project, The Healthy Weigh Study.
We also enjoyed the keynote with Peter Embi, MD, MS, FASP, FACMI from Indiana University School of Medicine with his personal journey through diagnosis and treatment and how the whole health system could better serve patients.
UPenn PRC Director Karen Glanz, MPH, PhD and her co-authors received the 2019 High-Impact Award from the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB) for a highly cited paper published in 2016. The publication focuses on synthesizing the evidence about how researchers measure the presence of healthful food and beverage options are in food stores – an issue of growing public interest in efforts to promote healthy eating.
Glanz K., Johnson L., Yaroch A.L., Phillips M., Ayala G.X., Davis E.L. Measures of Retail Food Store Environments and Sales: Review and Implications for Healthy Eating Initiatives J Nutr Educ Behav 2016; 48(3)
UPenn PRC Director, Karen Glanz, MPH, PhD and Holly Fernandez Lynch of Penn’s Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, shine a light on the responsibilities of the research ethics community when it comes to deceptive experiments like the 1960’s study featured in Three Identical Strangers.
The opinion piece was published in Stat News, just in time for the release of the documentary on CNN and a BAFTA nomination for the filmmakers. Penn News Today featured the article in their February 11, 2019 issue here.
As we begin the new year 2019, we’ve compiled some highlights of the past year at the UPenn Prevention Research Center. Enjoy the video, and note some of our key accomplishments.
The University of Pennsylvania made great strides towards promoting the health of students and staff, both mentally and physically. We aim to continue to contribute to these efforts!
The UPenn PRC Director, Karen Glanz, spent 4 months on a sabbatical at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, where she became an expert voice in the debate over banning sunscreens with certain ingredients, thought to cause damage to coral reefs.
In November, we explored the findings of tobacco control science research with experts from Penn and around the country. We saw broad acknowledgement of the epidemic of e-cigarette use, and learned more about the devices and the marketing of these products, and the policy options being considered.
We look forward to a healthy and productive 2019 and hope to help our community continue to advance chronic disease prevention for many healthy new years ahead!
Monday, November 26, 2018, Abramson Cancer Center director, Robert Vonderheide and deputy director, Katherine Nathanson announced the appointment of Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH as Associate Director for Community Engaged Research and Leader for the Cancer Control Program.
“Dr. Glanz is the George A. Weiss University Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Nursing, as one of Penn’s distinguished Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professors. Dr. Glanz is director of the federally funded UPenn Prevention Research Center. Dr. Glanz is a behavioral scientist with public health expertise. Her basic and translational research in community and healthcare settings focuses on obesity, nutrition, and the built environment; reduction of health disparities; and novel health communication technologies. She has made important and sustained contributions to cancer prevention and control. With more than 480 publications and designation as a Most Highly-Cited Author over the past 20 years (top 0.5% of authors in the field), Dr. Glanz’s scholarship has been consistently interdisciplinary and highly influential in advancing the science of understanding, predicting, and changing health-related behavior. Dr. Glanz is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, served on the US Task Force on Community Preventive Services for 10 years, and is a current member of the NHLBI Advisory Council. Dr. Glanz has been a valued member of the Cancer Control Program at the ACC since 2009.”
The Cancer Control Program is a transdisciplinary Program composed of members who focus on the identification of the genetic, behavioral, and health care determinants of cancer susceptibility and the development and implementation of strategies to lower risk and improve outcomes.
A study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, where Penn researchers evaluate the beliefs in sun protection behaviors versus the risk of skin cancer.
It is known that practicing multiple behaviors against harmful UV rays, yet few adults report practicing more than one recommended behavior. This study examines how far a person is willing to go to prevent damage from UV rays, and which prevention measure is used most frequently.
This Evidence Academy will be a one-day conference designed to bring together researchers and health professionals, advocates, and policymakers, to accelerate the process of integrating research findings about tobacco prevention and control, into public health and clinical practice.
Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH and her team recently conducted an evaluation of healthy vending policies and initiatives affecting youth in four cities.
Chicago Parks District in Chicago, Illinois
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Springdale, Arkansas.
Vending machines are a common source for low nutrient, energy-dense snacks and beverages. Consequently, youth can easily access vending machines at many public spaces such as parks, recreation centers, and swimming pools. Increasing the availability of healthier options in vending machines is one way to influence healthier snacking behaviors. Furthermore, it is aligned with the CDC recommendation for communities to make healthier food and beverage options more readily available in public venues.
Many cities are beginning to adopt healthy vending policies in public areas, but more could be done to develop, implement, and evaluate these healthy vending polices is limited.
The Design
This study used a mixed-methods, multiple-case study design and included semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders from each city. The site visits at each city included surveys with adults using the vending machines and observations of the available products in vending machines. In addition to a review of documents, including nutrition standards, policies, requests for proposals (RFPs), vending contracts, sales data, and any existing evaluation tools were collected from each site.
The research findings are summarized in this report. It describes the major similarities and differences across four cites/counties who chose healthy vending practices. The report emphasizes what works and what doesn’t when developing, executing, and evaluating healthy vending policies and initiatives.
This research was supported by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Evaluating Healthy Vending Policies for Youth in Four Cities
Dr. Karlawish a researcher on the Healthy Brain Research Network and the Cognitive Aging Communication Project, both funded supplements to the UPenn Prevention Research Center. He also serves as the director of the Penn Memory Center. Dr. Karlawish writes about what to look for and the risks involved with allowing the disease to progress without intervention.
Read about the signs to look for and his personal experience with an aging parent here. Tweet about your experiences, using the hashtag #DisruptDementia and tag @AARP and @jasonkarlwish.
PRC Investigator, Dr. Jason Karlawish joined S.D. Stites and R. Milne to study how a bio marker-based diagnosis can help a patient during each stage of Alzheimer’s Disease. The stigma or shame that can come with the disease can affect how a patient feels about themselves. Dr. Karlawish and his colleagues explored how changes in the way a patient is diagnosed can help address these stigmas.
Read more about the Healthy Brain Research Network here.
Hawaii proposed and then passed a bill banning sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate in order to “preserve marine ecosystems.” PRC director and Penn professor, Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, co-authored an op-ed for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser titled, “Suncreens save lives, have limited impact on coral reefs.” Dr. Glanz was on a sabbatical for the first part of 2018, and served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Together with Kevin Cassel, president of the Hawaii Skin Cancer Coalition, the piece was published, March 29, 2018.
Acknowledging health factors and disparities
Glanz and Cassel start by acknowledging that sunscreen is a key factor in preventing skin cancer. Furthermore, they call on legislators to fund more research on the ingredients in sunscreen and the effects they have on Hawaii’s natural resources.
Their article caught the attention of the local media and they called on Dr. Glanz to present her views on the impact this decision could have on those at risk for skin cancer. In addition, they bring light to the higher price for sunscreens that don’t contain those ingredients. This could prevent people from purchasing those products. “The cost of these so-called reef-friendly products for sunscreen ranges anywhere from two times to as much as six to eight times as much as what is on the shelves now.” She points out that it isn’t just beachgoers that are affected, there are a number of jobs in Hawaii requiring people to work outside and they could be the most at risk.
Resources
READ the article here. WATCH Karen’s interview with Hawaii News Now ↓ LISTEN to her interview with SiriusXM, Knowledge@Wharton with Dan Loney on May 17, 2018. ↓
Mahealani Richardson of Hawaii News Now interviewed Karen Glanz and Kevin Cassel on this topic and the story aired April 4, 2018. After Hawaii passes the legislation, Ms. Richardson shares an update.
The University of Pennsylvania Prevention Research Center (UPenn PRC) is a community-engaged research center that was founded in 2014. The UPenn PRC’s mission is to improve the health of people in Philadelphia, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and beyond by preventing, reducing, and treating chronic diseases. The center’s primary focus is on implementation of evidence-based strategies to improve patient and provider communication to optimize clinical and community-based management of cancer in diverse older adults.
