TB Notes Newsletter
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Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Outbreak Investigations Branch Updates
SEOIB Welcomes Three Graduate Students
Three graduate students who are pursuing masters degrees from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health have joined the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Outbreak Investigations Branch (SEOIB) to assist the teams with a variety of projects.
Shannon Horn is a second-year student in the Epidemiology department. In the past year and a half she has worked with the Surveillance Team to edit the annual TB Surveillance Report, maintain the National Tuberculosis Surveillance System, and recruit participants for the 2007 TB Awareness Walk. Shannon was drawn to Emory specifically because of the opportunity to work with CDC and develop analytic thinking skills through public health practice. Working with DTBE has been an incredible learning experience and has sparked her interest in surveillance activities and outbreak investigation. She is currently applying to fellowship programs and plans to take the skills she has learned in DTBE to her next endeavor.
Jamie Myers is a second-year student in the Behavioral Science and Health Education Department. She has assisted the Outbreak Investigations Team with various projects including editing and compiling training booklets for the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) conference in South Africa, creating a database to assist the organization of the spring 2007 EIS conference, and designing and implementing an employee satisfaction survey for the branch. When Jaime began working at CDC, her hope was to gain more insight into public health at the governmental level. What she loves about working at DTBE is the level of activity, from nationally highlighted outbreaks to research fundamentals in the office and in the field. Working in this division has strengthened her desire to become a researcher herself, and her immediate plans include pursuing a PhD in Public Health.
Laura McAllister is a first-year student in the Epidemiology department who has been working with the Surveillance team since September 2007. She updated the database of severe adverse events related to treatment of TB infection, proofread data in various SEOIB reports including DTBE’s annual report to the World Health Organization, updated the state TB surveillance coordinator list, and encouraged community participation in the 2008 TB Awareness Walk. Laura thoroughly enjoys her job at CDC and seeks to get as much as possible out of the experience. This job has sparked her interest in how surveillance can help prevent and control disease. She is also very interested in the epidemiology of TB, specifically among minority populations. Her career goals include working for a public health–related nonprofit organization.
The SEOIB teams have enjoyed working with these dedicated students and appreciate all of their assistance.
—Submitted by Laura McAllister, Shannon Horn,
Jamie Myers, and Lauren Lambert
Div of TB Elimination
12th Semiannual Meeting of the Tuberculosis Epidemiologic Studies Consortium
The 12th Semiannual Meeting of the Tuberculosis Epidemiologic Studies Consortium (TBESC) convened on January 16–17, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia. The primary purpose of the TBESC is to conduct epidemiologic, behavioral, economic, laboratory, and operational research in tuberculosis prevention and control.
Over 70 persons participated in the meeting. Attendees included TBESC principal investigators, project coordinators, project-specific personnel, and CDC staff. TBESC members and CDC staff presented results and updates on the status of TBESC research projects and activities.
Many discussions were held around the recommendations of an external peer review committee, which was held on September 18, 2007, in Atlanta. The panel submitted recommendations and TBESC members discussed ways to improve consortium processes, focus on specific research topics for consortium-wide studies, and quickly disseminate study findings. They also discussed the future direction of the TBESC.
Presentations from CDC, TBESC members, and invited guests included the following:
- Preliminary results from TBESC Task order (TO) #2: Prospective evaluation of immunogenetic and immunologic markers for susceptibility to M. tuberculosis infection and progression from M. tuberculosis infection to TB disease
- Preliminary results from TBESC TO #12: Assessing the TB knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices among private providers serving foreign-born populations at risk for TB
- Update on TB in the foreign-born
- Ideas for new consortium-wide research
- Administrative updates on consortium-related activities
- Update on the Semiannual Tuberculosis Advisory Review (STAR) process
- Updates from the Publication and Presentations and External Relations Committees
- Update from the Translating Research into Practice (TRiP) Workgroup
- CDC and TBESC responses to the external peer review
For more information visit the TBESC website.
—Reported by Indhira Gnanasekaran, MPA
TBESC Project Manager
Last Updated: 7/8/2008
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