School Notes: School of Public Health
September/October 2012

Professors named YSPH teacher and mentor of the year

For the third time, students selected Robert Dubrow, an associate professor in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, as the School of Public Health’s 2012 Teacher of the Year. “Dr. Dubrow’s commitment to teaching and passion for the subject is evident in each lecture he gives, as he gently guided each of us and carefully considered the input of each student,” one student wrote in support of his nomination. Dubrow’s research in cancer epidemiology focuses on glioma (the main form of brain cancer), as well as on HIV-related malignancies.

Dubrow’s colleague at the School of Public Health, Andrew DeWan, an assistant professor in the same department, received the 2012 Distinguished Student Mentor award, an honor that was established in 2009 to recognize excellence in student mentoring among faculty. The award affirms the recipient as a leader in shaping the next generation of public health professionals, serving as a role model for students while encouraging them to grow and achieve their full potential.

Komen CEO delivers commencement address

When Nancy Brinker’s sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1970s, she promised her that she would do everything to battle a disease that was then largely untalked about, carried an element of stigma, and for which there was little, if any, in the way of resources or support. Today, Brinker remains committed to the pledge that she made to her sister, for whom she created the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Breast cancer turned out to be a much tougher adversary than she originally imagined, Brinker told the YSPH Class of 2012 during her commencement address inside Battell Chapel. The disease remains a scourge, claiming the lives of tens of thousands of women each year in the United States alone. But there has been impressive and encouraging progress, she said, with more women surviving breast cancer and large amounts of money being spent on research, education, screening, and treatment. “The path you are starting down is a noble one. Thank you.”