HIV an Infectious Diseases Among Incarcerated Populations

Hey SJM,

Below is some preliminary info about a FGHHR event (Forum on Global Health and Human Rights) that one of our fellow postbacs, Danielle Beiling, has been coordinating along with a student from the Mailman School of Public Health. More details will follow if you are interested in attending!

April 28^th 3:00 – 5:00pm

Hammer Library at the Columbia Medical Center

The event will consist of a panel of experts who will speak about HIV risks in presently and formerly incarcerated populations. It is not surprising that those within correctional facilities are faced with unique risks in this aspect, but there are special considerations even post-release. The panelists will address these risks associated with these different phases of the individuals' institutionalized trajectory.

Panelists:

Dr. Robert E. Fullilove, EdD is the Associate Dean for Community and Minority Affairs and Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. He currently co-directs the Community Research Group at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University. He is also the co-director (along with Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD) of the MPH degree program, Urbanism and the Built Environment in the department of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health. Dr Fullilove has published numerous articles on minority health with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases

Dr. Miguel Muñoz-Laboy, Dr.P.H. is an Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University and the Director of the DrPH program for Sociomedical Sciences. His research has focused on the cultural and structural dimensions of HIV and sexual health-related risks among a number of different ethnic and sexual minority urban populations, including formerly incarcerated Latino men.

Pamela Valera, Ph.D., M.S.W., is a postdoctoral research fellow of the Division of Community Collaboration and Implementation Science, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Valera is a trained community social worker and HIV prevention researcher. Her work has focused on social health inequalities, particularly along the lines of class, gender and culture among non-identified Black men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) and incarcerated populations

Saving Mothers Fundraiser, Thursday, March 11

Dear Columbia Postbacs,

Please join us for a benefit organized by Drops Fill Buckets on behalf of Saving Mothers. The event will take place on Thursday, March 11 from 8 to 10 p.m. at The Gates in New York City. During this time, we will have an open bar with specialty cocktails plus appetizers and entertainment. (The Gates, an elegant lounge, will be closed to the public during this time; you are welcome to stay afterward.). The event will include an auction with items such as a swim date with Michael Phelps, trips to Napa/the Grammys, etc.

For post-bacs, this would be a great way to network with physicians in New York City.

Tickets cost $40 per person in advance and $50 per person at the door. For tickets, please go to: http://www.thegatesnyc.com/charity.asp?eveid=178&proid=100 . We have already sold 140+ tickets but are working hard to reach our goal of 250 tickets sold.

Saving Mothers members who attend this fundraiser will also receive a special gift. To find out how you can become an official Saving Mothers member, please go to: http://www.savingmothers.org/members.php

Drops Fill Buckets is a non-profit organization that fundraises for specific, tangible needs. 100 percent of proceeds from this event will support Saving Mothers and our programs, including procuring much-needed surgical headlamps for obstetric fistula repair and other obstetric and gynecological surgeries.

You can RSVP for the benefit on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=saivng+mothers&init=quick#!/event.php?eid=345334066116&ref=ts) . Please share this with your friends via your social networks and Twitter (our handle is @savingmothers).

If you are unable to attend this event but would still like to donate, please go to: http://www.savingmothers.org/donate.html

We hope to see you at our event!
The Saving Mothers Team

Saving Mothers Research Team at Columbia (SMRT) General Body Meeting this Friday, January 29th, at 7:30 pm EAST RAMP LOUNGE in LERNER

CURRENTLY RECRUITING COMMITTEE BOARD MEMBERS

According to the World Health Organization, a woman dies every minute from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. Ninety-nine percent of maternal and infant deaths occur in the developing world; because the formal health care system is not an option due to money and lack of transport, eighty percent of births are performed at home without the aid of health care professionals. Saving Mothers was founded in 2005 by Columbia University post- baccalaureate student, Nichole Young-Lin. In 2006, it won the UC Berkeley Chancellor's Big Ideas Competition, and received nonprofit 510(c)(3) status in January 2009. A group of Columbia University undergraduate students recently formed the Columbia University Chapter of Saving Mothers. This new SGB student organization aims to increase awareness of issues such as maternal and infant mortality through a number of student-run projects. Through the birthing kit initiative, students will be able to assemble and distribute birthing kits to promote safe, hygienic deliveries. Through the research network, students will have the opportunity to conduct research on women's health and the status of women worldwide. Saving Mothers hopes to spread awareness in the Columbia University community and take action to prevent maternal deaths worldwide.

For more information on Saving Mothers, please visit our website, *www.savingmothers.org*. If you have any questions or are interested in joining our chapter, please email Co-Presidents Christine Yeh and Jennifer Hou at *smrtcolumbia@gmail.com*.

Over $1400 Raised!! Thank you everyone! :)

Hey all,

Just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out last night. Thanks to your support, we were able to raise over $1400--all of which will be donated to Doctors Without Borders and Haiti Earthquake Relief this upcoming week.

In return for Crocodile Lounge's amazing hospitality--really, they were so accommodating and generous to help us host this fundraiser--if you had a good time, please leave a kind review for them on Yelp!

Thanks again!

Forum on Global Health and Human Rights presents: One Water movie screening + Director Q&A

6:30pm, Hammer Health Sciences Building Room 401 ***Dinner will be provided. Please RSVP (so we have enough food) to: fwc2109@columbia.edu***

Please join us to watch the documentary One Water and meet with the director for a Q&A. Directed by Professor Sanjeev Chatterjee, One Water has received numerous awards and was screened at the 2004 and 2005 U.N. conferences. Onewaterthemovie.org

Film Description:

Water is essential to existence. Our bodies require it, as do our souls. It is the stuff of life and death, of sweat and tears, of need and wonder. Water bubbles through our imaginations, splashes through our forms of play and winds through the tributaries of human spirituality. Yet, as precious as we know water is, we have treated it as if it were infinite and cheap, which has led to an international crisis of epic proportions.

Filmed in 15 countries in both hemispheres, One Water highlights a world where water is exquisitely abundant in some places and dangerously lacking in others. It celebrates all the myriad ways water has touched human lives around the globe and leaves audiences with a fundamental question: is water a human right or a commodity? Through a starkly emotional journey, spectators are invited to bear witness and encouraged to recognize this major global crisis as their very own, watching scenes from all over the world reveal how water is inspiring innovation, compassion and hope.

An earlier short version of the film won two awards at the Broadcast Education Association and has been screened at a special United Nations conferences in 2004 and 2005 as well as a special jury award at the World Water Forum in Mexico City in 2006. One Water is the recipient of the Best Environmental Feature award from the Artivist Film Festival, 2008, Best Documentary Cinambiente 2008, Turin, Italy and Best Documentary at the Foyle Film Festival 2008, Derry, Ireland. An international television version of the film was completed in 2009 for which Chatterjee wrote a new script narrated by actor Martin Sheen.

Biography:

Professor Sanjeev Chatterjee is producer, co-director and writer of One Water. He has taught classes in studio and field production, media and society, writing and documentary production at the University of Miami. In 2007, Chatterjee was honored with the Images and Voices of Hope World Summit Award of Appreciation for his documentary work. He has been on the faculty of the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change, 2008 and 2009.

Prof. Chatterjee's earlier documentary work explores issues of identity among people in the Indian diaspora. In 1999-2000, Professor Chatterjee was commissioned by the National Geographic Channel to produce television reports about environment and culture in India. Professor Chatterjee has also served on the advisory board for the Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy since its inception in 2003. Professor Chatterjee is also serves on the advisory boards of CINE, School of Convergence (New Delhi) and the Coral Gables Cinematheque.

Professor Chatterjee earned his M.A, in English Literature from Delhi University and his M.F.A. in Television Production from Brooklyn College. He lives in Miami with his wife Sumita, who is a historian, and their children Abhivav and Uma.