Dear Colleagues-

I’m writing this update from our annual spring meeting where we’re

finalizing the agenda for our 50th celebration. Having attended SER

regularly since the mid 1980’s, this meeting is shaping up to be one of the

more memorable given the breadth of workshops, symposia and

contributed paper sessions that cover cutting edge as well as historical

topics. In short, this meeting is not to be missed! And, I highly encourage

you to try to stay for the entire meeting because the sessions are

absolutely outstanding from start to finish! Early registration ends on May

15th so be sure to take advantage of the discount and the best hotel

options available. Also, keep an eye out for the new and improved SER

App coming soon!

We are thrilled to have had a record number of abstract submissions and will be displaying over 800 original research projects by our membership with a particularly large contribution by our student members. This year, we will also have an online link to many posters that were of high quality but were duplicated by researchers already presenting at the meeting.

As I mentioned in our last update, SER wants to celebrate your mentorship

lineage by photographing mentor/mentee generations during our 50th

annual meeting. We want to recognize the decades of mentorship by

photographing as few as 2 generations to as many as 5 or more, if

possible!

SERnews – April Edition In This Issue

President’s Message

2017 Award Winners

SPC President’s Message

Annual Meeting Details

Abstract Reviewers

Celebrating Generations of Mentorship

2017 Fun Run

Scholarship Winners

Elections – Cast your vote!

SER50 Initiative Updates

Member Insights – Rajeev Ramchand!

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO SER Polly Marchbanks CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENT Kenneth Rothman EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION Jay Kaufman BRIAN MACMAHON EARLY CAREER Laura Rosella LILIENFELD POSTDOCTORAL PRIZE PAPER Neal Goldstein TYROLER STUDENT PRIZE PAPER Ellicot Matthay Click here to learn more about the award winners.

2017 SER AWARD WINNERS

President’s Message Bernard Harlow Boston University School of Public Health

A special location will be set up for taking pictures and each will be posted during and after the annual meeting. Encourage your

mentors and mentees to attend for this special celebration of fostering generations of outstanding epidemiologists!

Since my last note, several members have expressed interest and joined in a recent telephone conversation to help generate ideas

on how SER can promote diversity and inclusion within our Society and across our discipline. My thanks to several past Presidents

who brought this to my attention and to Jennifer Weuve, our member at large, who will serve as the conduit between the executive

board and our membership as we guide the implementation of this newly articulated mission. I am pleased that we have built into

the annual meeting agenda a slot for continuing this discussion.

Lastly, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the participants in our recent SERdigital, SERtalks, and SERexperts sessions over

the past several months. They were excellent and have generated continued discussion and enthusiasm for our discipline.

Spring is upon us and our meeting is just around the corner. So excited to see everyone in Seattle! Cheers!

Dear Colleagues,

Clear your schedules and book your travel arrangements to SER50 in Seattle, WA, from June 20-23, 2017!

We have planned an extraordinary event to celebrate our 50th anniversary meeting. Your SER-Student & Post-Doc Committee (SER-SPC)

worked hard over these past several months to provide for you the best offerings at SER50 for all our SPC and early career members.

And what better way to kick things off than by welcoming SPC members to early morning breakfast with the experts on Wednesday, June

21st. Just take a moment to review the list of experts who have volunteered for this event: Alfredo Morabia (Editor-in-Chief of AJPH), Sandro

Galea (Dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health and past president of SER- 2013), Diane Lauderdale (Department Chair of

epidemiology at University of Chicago and past president of SER- 2016), Louise Brinton (Recent awardee of SER’s Career Accomplishment

Award past president of SER- 1991), and Ichiro Kawachi (co-Editor-in-Chief of Social Science and Medicine and co-editor of Social

Epidemiology). This list is amazing! We have 3 past SER presidents (Briton-1991, Galea-2013, and Lauderdale-2016), 2 Editor-in-Chiefs from

top journals, and 5 epidemiologists whom combined have authored of over 1500 manuscripts.

But that’s just the beginning of our SPC programming, as there are a number of returning favorites and new offerings scattered throughout

the conference.

We are very excited for the return of our SPC career panel, featuring epidemiologists from academia, government, and private sector, and,

this year we have added a representative from the international workforce.

In addition to these SPC favorites, we have added two new events too. First, we are very excited to experience Ian Shrier’s game show

“Who wants to be an Epidemiologist?” This event, scheduled for lunchtime on Wednesday, June 21, 12:00-1:00p, is an educational

epidemiology show-down based on the game show Who wants to be a Millionaire. This programming, tailored to trainees and applied

epidemiologists looking to brush up on their methodology, pits audience members, contestants, and judges against each other to address

and discuss some current methodological issues confronting epidemiologists. Second, we have added a speed mentor networking on

Thursday morning, June 22. This event will provide an opportunity for students to meet and network with several senior and mi-career

epidemiologists in small groups.

SPC President’s Message

David Fink Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

SER50 – SPC Events

Poster Chats Breakfast With the Experts

“Who wants to be an Epidemiologist?” SPC Business Meeting

SPC Happy Hour Speed Mentor Networking

SPC Career Panel

Click here for full details.

And most importantly, the SPC business meeting and attendant happy hour is scheduled for Wednesday, June 21 at 6:30p and 7:00p,

respectively. Attendees of this event will be able to meet other SPC members and hear about SPC activities. To note, we have conducted a

book drive this year, putting together an impressive list of recent epidemiology textbooks to raffle off during the business meeting,

including, several donations made possible by Sandro Galea, Kerry Keyes, and Abdul El-Sayed, for example, Epidemiology Matters,

Population Health Science, and Systems Science and Population Health.

It is important to note that we have limited the number of attendees for the two morning events, Breakfast with the Experts and Speed

Mentor Networking. As such, you will need to register for these events. Registration will become available on May 8th on a first come first

serve basis, so set a reminder to register early. Information about the events and registration can be found at:

https://epiresearch.org/annual-meeting/50th-anniversary/student-and-postdoc-meeting-events/

Finally, I want to thank all of our SPC officers for their hard work throughout this year, whether it was by organizing our social media

campaigns (Deirdre Green, Media chair), SERdigital events (Sylvia Badon, Education chair), or SER50’s SPC programming (Jennifer Richards

and Chenan Zhang, Program co-chairs), or by keeping us on track and on budget (Seth Kuranz, Internal Affairs chair) and ready for next

year (Lindsay Pool, President-Elect, and Jennifer Stuart, Past-President), this was all a team effort that arose from the concerted effort of

some amazing people. Please take a moment to become familiar with your SPC officers and introduce yourselves during the annual

meeting (https://epiresearch.org/students-and-postdocs-2/spc-officers/). We would love to meet you and hear about how we can better

serve you.

And of course, a special thank you to Sue Bevan and Courtney Long for all their hard work behind the scenes throughout this year and

every year.

I look forward to seeing everyone at SER50 in June!!!

Warmly,

David Fink

SER-SPC President

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The conference hotel is sold out. The city of Seattle is predicting they will be completely sold out mid-May. Don’t wait to book your reservation. We have great back up options on the website. Click here

We are consistently adding new information to the meeting webpage, click here for all the details.

Registration Program Pre-Conference Workshops Social Event SPC Events

50Th ANNIVERSARY MEETING

We received a record number of abstracts for presentation at SER50! Special thanks to our 2017 Abstract Reviewers. Click here for a full listing of reviewers.

SER50 ABSTRACT REVIEWERS – THANK YOU!

CELEBRATING GENERATIONS OF MENTORSHIP AND TRAINING

SER wants to celebrate your mentorship lineage by photographing mentor/mentee

generations during our 50TH annual meeting. We want to recognize the decades of

mentorship by photographing as few as 2 generations to as many as 5 or more, if

possible! A special location will be set up for taking pictures and each will be posted during

and after the annual meeting. Encourage your mentors and mentees to attend for this

special celebration of fostering generations of outstanding epidemiologists!

Join us for the SER/SPER Fun Run in Seattle! This 5k run or 1 mile walk will be held on Wednesday, June 21st in Seattle. You can add this on to your registration form or click here to register separately.

We are accepting t-shirt designs ideas! The individual’s whose design is selected will receive complimentary meeting registration to SER’s 50th Annual Meeting. Submissions will be accepted through April 21st. Click here for more details.

Congratulations to the 2017 SER Travel Scholarship Winners!

Click here for a full listing.

Congratulations and WELCOME to the American Statistical Association – Statistics in Epidemiology

Section Travel Scholarship Winners! We are excited to see you in Seattle!

Click here for a full listing.

SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

EPIDEMIOLOGISTS RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

Voting is now open for the 2017 SER Executive Committee Elections

Candidates:

President – Elect Dale Sandler Enrique Schisterman

Member at Large (electing 2 individuals) Thomas Ahern Magdalena Cerda Kiarri Kershaw Daniel Westreich

Click here for candidate details and cast your vote!

2017 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

Voting is now open for the 2017 Student and PostDoc Committee Elections

Candidates:

President – Elect Media Chair Marissa Seamans Usama Bilal Yeyi Zhu Tamala Gondwe

Program Chair Internal Affairs Chair John Pamplin Ryan Andrews Nichole Austin Seth Kuranz Hailey Banack

Education Chair Sylvia Badon Spruha Joshi

Click here for candidate details and cast your vote!

2017 STUDENT AND POSTDOC COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

50TH ANNIVERSARY SOCIAL

Don’t miss out on seeing Jay Kaufman on the Trumpet and Jordan Cates on the Fiddle! The 50th Anniversary Social is something you won't want to miss! Music will be provided by Toasted Oak (including Tim Lash) with your colleagues as musical guests! Click here for a fulling listing and additional information. You can register to attend with your meeting registration or directly on the webpage link. Register early!

We have two great events coming up!

SERtalks – Pittsburgh with Dr. Timothy Lash! April 18th, 3:30 – 4:30pm EST *This event will be made available for live web viewing.

SERtalks – NIH with Drs. Dustin Duncan and Samson Gebreab May 11th, 10:00am – 1:00pm

Click here to learn more.

Reminder: SER members have access to past recorded events. Click here for more information.

Special thanks to our SERdigital presenters!

SERdigital – Spring 2017

Sandra Decker, Miguel Hernan, and Jay Kaufman

SERdigital – Fall 2016

Charles Poole, Donna Spiegelman, and Timothy Lash

Event recordings are available by clicking here. Recordings are

reserved for current SER members. Renew your membership for

2017 for full access!

Are you taking advantage of the recording available through SERexperts?

- Instrumental Variables Analysis – Maria Glymour - Beyond Internal Validity – Steve Cole, Daniel Westreich - Age, Period, Cohort Effects – Kerry Keyes - Dealing with cranky editors and clueless reviewers: Tips on

getting your papers published – Allen Wilcox

Click here to view all SERexpert recordings

New SERplaylist Uploaded!

“Selection Bias”

- Jay Kaufman, McGill University

Did you know there are over 20 playlists now available? Click here to view a full listing of playlists.

MEMBER INSIGHTS – Rajeev Ramchand

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist?

In Grade 9 I worked as a Teen AIDS educator at Planned Parenthood in

Niagara Falls, NY and fell in love with public health. I went to the University

of Chicago to study economics and health policy. After taking Diane

Lauderdale’s graduate level epidemiology class as an elective my Senior year,

I felt more drawn to the field than I did to Economics. I appreciated the

discipline’s underlying logic, statistical underpinnings, and public health

relevance. After graduating in 1999, I worked for three years at the Urban

Institute and then at Avalere Health but kept coming back to epidemiology

and in 2002 entered my doctoral program at Johns Hopkins.

What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the

next five years?

Generalizability! I think we’ve grown accustomed to efficient survey

methods, like telephone sampling, that are becoming more and more

obsolete. We need to go back to where Epidemiology originally started –

pounding the pavement – to get good data. We also need to be more critical

about biases in the samples we get and think about ways to measure these

biases to more adequately articulate the generalizability of our findings to

the target population.

Do you have any pets?

Yes – I have the most beautiful (and spoiled) dog in all of Washington, DC! Her name is Bindi – she’s an 8-year old Tibetan

Terrier. See the attached pic of her and me!

Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back?

During my training, I was often directed to professional organizations and conferences related to my topical interests: drug

abuse, military and veteran health, and suicide. After years of attending these conferences, I grew concerned that my

epidemiological skills were waning. At my first SER conference, I was reminded of why I became an epidemiologist! The

workshops and symposia were invigorating, and the conversations I had in the halls with my fellow epidemiologists, regardless

of the topical areas in which they conducted their research, were engaging. I think it’s so important for epidemiologists to stay

engaged in the discipline in addition to the research topics to which they apply their methodological skills. It’s through this

engagement that we can strengthen the discipline and continue to promote our public health goals through cross-disciplinary

interactions.

What advice do you give students who want to become epidemiologists?

I always tell them three things: (1) You are needed! Improving global public health is a critically important goal and you are

needed to help. (2) Get dirty! Don’t live your life behind computer screens and books. Get out into the community and learn

from them. And get on-the-ground experience collecting data – it’s importance can’t be overstated. (3) That said, don’t forget

about your studies! Build a solid foundation in epidemiologic methods and in the disease areas you plan to study. This will

require going beyond schools of public health into medicine, sociology, and many other disciplines. Develop networks and ask

questions. And remember that learning is never complete – you’ll need to keep that learning cap on for your entire career.

Outside of epidemiology what do you enjoy doing?

Is it redundant to say I enjoy spoiling my dog?!?! In addition to that, I love running, have a regular and avid yoga practice, and

after graduate school made it a priority to learn how to cook and bake. I love hosting dinner parties, as well, and am becoming a

bit of a cocktail connoisseur!!!

What is something that not many people know about you?

I’m a playwright! Well, more appropriate is that I used to be a playwright and one of my one-act plays, A Hat and A Rook, was

performed at my college. I am trying to force myself to take a break from writing grant proposals and papers and go back to it –

I’ve got lots of ideas….

Contact Us!

Society for Epidemiologic Research

PO Box 990

Clearfield, Utah 84089

www.epiresearch.org