SERpresents brings together SER online events and resources to one place! Registration for webinars is free of charge to members and non-members. In most cases, webinars are recorded and available in the SERlibrary for SER Members.
Upcoming Events
WEBINAR
Quasi-experimental approaches in Epidemiology
November 13, 2024
10:00AM – 11:00AM (MST)
Join us for an insightful webinar on discussing the quasi-experimental approaches in Epidemiology, where we delve into innovative research methods that evaluate the effects of health interventions and exposures when randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are not possible. These approaches are essential for drawing reliable conclusions in situations where ethical, practical, or logistical constraints prevent the use of traditional experimental designs.
Arijit Nandi
Associate Professor, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy and the Department of Epidemiology, McGill University School of Population and Global Health
Rita Hamad
Associate Professor, Harvard School of Public Health; Director, Social Policies for Health Equity Research (SPHERE) Center
SERjournal Club
Longitudinal Associations Between Optimism and Objective Measures of Physical Functioning in Women
December 4, 2024
10:00AM – 11:00AM (MST)
Public health and epidemiology are products of the society in which we live, but they also help to shape societal norms, for better and for worse. It is our professional responsibility to recognize where our fields have failed and caused harm, and to pursue better methods to prevent such harms in the future. Anti-fat bias and weight stigma represent one area in which our fields can and should do better. This webinar will provide an epidemiology-focused overview of the harms caused by the weight stigma status quo in our field and highlight some key practical changes epidemiologists can adopt to move towards weight inclusivity in their research and their classrooms.
Jennifer Webster, MA, MPH, Epidemiologist for Community Partnerships, Lane County Public Health, Oregon
Molly Rosenberg, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington
SERjournal Club
Longitudinal Associations Between Optimism and Objective Measures of Physical Functioning in Women
January 8, 2025
10:00AM – 11:00AM (MST)
Join us for the January Journal Club of the Student and Postdoc Committee (SPC) in which we will discuss the article “Longitudinal Associations Between Optimism and Objective Measures of Physical Functioning in Women” with the lead author, Dr. Hayami Koga.
Hayami Koga
Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Hayami Koga is a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Her research focuses on whether psychological well-being, at a population level, is an important asset that contributes to a longer and healthier functioning lifespan. She is also interested in workplace well-being and how that may be associated with health. She holds a PhD in Population Health Sciences from the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and an MD from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan.
Past Events
SPC WEBINAR
Career Development Event: NIH/NIA Predoctoral (F) and Postdoctoral (K) Grant Application
October 9, 2024 10:00AM – 11:00AM (MST)
Join us for the October Career Development Event of the Student and Postdoc Committee (SPC) in which we will discuss NIH Predoctoral (F) and Postdoctoral (K) grant application with Drs. Maria Glymour, Katrina Kezios, and Sirena Gutierrez.
Presenter
Maria Glymour Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health
Presenter
Katrina Kezios Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Presenter
Sirena Gutierrez Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco
SERjournal Club
State-Level Indicators of Childhood Educational Quality and Incident Dementia in Older Black and White Adults
September 11, 2024
10:00AM – 11:00AM (MST)
Join us for the September Journal Club of the Student and Postdoc Committee (SPC) in which we will discuss the article, “State-Level Indicators of Childhood Educational Quality and Incident Dementia in Older Black and White Adults” with the lead author, Dr. Yenee Soh.
Yenee Soh
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Yenee Soh, ScD, SM is a social epidemiologist and research associate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests are focused on the social determinants of population health and health disparities across the life course. Specifically, her work has examined the role of social and psychosocial factors on cardiovascular morbidities, dementia and cognitive decline among middle-aged and older adults. She also has extensive experience working with prospective observational cohorts across multiple countries. At present, Dr. Soh’s research expands into understanding the intergenerational transmission of disease risk within families. X: @YeneeSoh
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Skills for an Epidemiologist in different work settings
July 10, 2024
10:00AM – 11:00AM (MST)
Are you enchanted by the idea of unraveling health mysteries through research, or perhaps you’re drawn to the public health practice? Maybe the ivory towers of academia beckon, or the innovative landscape of industry calls your name. Whatever your aspiration, our expert panel stands ready to illuminate the path, offering invaluable insights into the key skills, tantalizing career prospects, and sage advice for aspiring epidemiologists. Join us on this odyssey of discovery and chart your course to a captivating career where every setting holds the promise of adventure and impact!
WEBINAR
Building and Maintaining Epidemiologist-Clinician Teams
May 29, 2024
10:00AM – 11:30AM (MST)
In this session, an epidemiologist (Dr. Sutcliffe) and clinician (Dr. Lowder) with an established research partnership will discuss how to identify good collaborators and will provide advice on best practices for working with an epidemiologist (or clinician).
WEBINAR
Social determinants of health in the EHR: Are we there yet?
May 22, 2024
10:00AM – 11:30 AM (MST)
This webinar will provide an up-to-date description of the availability of social determinants of health (SDoH) data in electronic health records (EHRs) and the utility of these data for epidemiologic research. The webinar will describe structured and unstructured sources of SDoH data in EHR systems and the opportunities and challenges of using these data for research. The session will provide examples of EHR-based epidemiologic studies of SDoH and describe the future outlook for EHR-based SDoH data.
Annemarie Hirsch
Department of Population Health, Center for Community Environment and Health, Geisinger
WEBINAR
Short talks, long talks, job talks. Let’s talk about giving talks!
May 22, 2024
12:00PM – 1:30 PM (MST)
Do you have an oral presentation to give? A short one for a conference (SER!)? Or a long one for a research seminar? Or maybe you need to give a job talk. Giving a great talk is an important skill for any epidemiologist. In this webinar, we’ll review strategies to improve the quality and impact of your talks. We’ll describe some pro tips and pitfalls (generated by crowdsourcing from some SER members). And we’ll discuss how to manage public speaking when…well…you don’t love being in front of a lot of people.
Everyone with an interest in giving better presentations is welcome and encouraged to come. We especially encourage early career folks with an oral presentation at SER to come.
William C. Miller
Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
SERjournal Cub
“Testing lifecourse theories characterising associations between maternal depression and offspring depression in emerging adulthood: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children”
May 15, 2024
10:00AM – 11:30AM (MST)
Join us for the May Journal Club of the Student and Postdoc Committee (SPC) in which we will discuss the article, “Testing lifecourse theories characterising associations between maternal depression and offspring depression in emerging adulthood: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children” with the lead author, Dr. Dawid Gondek.
Dawid Gondek
Senior Researcher, FORS - Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences
WEBINAR
Bridging data to decisions: The Who, What, When, and Why of Public Health Choices
May 8, 2024
10:00AM – 11:30AM (MST)
What does it mean to make evidence-based decisions? Precision medicine promises to solve decision-making algorithmically. Foundational work in causal inference has made headway towards fulfilling this promise. However, behind a sometimes opaque technical literature lies an underlying normative proposition about how humans should make decisions: each individual is a member of a group defined by discrete features, and they should choose the treatment with the best average outcome among their group. Read more
Aaron L. Sarvet
Department of Mathematics, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Kerollos N. Wanis
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Kara E. Rudolph
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Mats J. Stensrud
Department of Mathematics, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland
WEBINAR
Omics Studies and Insights Into The Complexity Of Interactions Underpinning The Epidemiologic Triangle
May 1, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (MST)
This SER webinar session will explore how Omics-based data can inform the complexities of the epidemiologic triangle. Highlighted insights will include information on diversity of populations, environments, and pathogens, as well as cutting edge insights to understand their interactions. Dr. Anne Justice, Associate Professor at Geisinger Health System, Danville PA, will provide an overarching description of Omics, as a hypothesis free approach to studying diversity within and between human populations, and hypothesis driven approaches such as by studying candidate gene studies. Dr. Dana Pasquale, Assistant Professor at Duke University, will give a talk on how omics-based methods can be applied to study agent (pathogenic) diversity and host-pathogen interactions. Finally, Dr. Davenport, Assistant Professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University, will explore the varied ways in which Omics methods can be used to investigate environmental diversity, as well as the vertices from host to the environment. In each of these parts we will ask speakers to highlight the limitations and strengths of Omics, as an agnostic approach to screen for associations between host-environment-agent interactions. Speaker talks will be followed by Q&A sessions.
Presenter
Anne E. Justice
Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, Geisinger Health System, Danville PA
Presenter
Emily R. Davenport
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Eberly College of Science, Joint appointment with Huck Life Sciences Institute, Penn State University, University Park PA
Presenter
Dana K. Pasquale
Assistant Professor in Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC
WEBINAR
Novel Approaches to Cancer Epidemiology: Molecular Epidemiology that Integrates Tumor Heterogeneity Strengthens Causal Inference
April 24, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (MST)
Cancer is a heterogeneous complex health outcome that is driven by an individual’s germline genetics, ancestry, lifestyle, diet, somatic mutations, immunity, microbiota, environment, health care, and society. To address this complexity, molecular epidemiology, along with immunology and microbiology, has been integrated into cancer epidemiology. A key challenge is that analytical approaches in cancer research must keep up with this torrent of molecular data. Fortunately, novel approaches in molecular epidemiology allow for the inference of etiology, carcinogenesis, and prevention potentials by more profound integration of tumor characteristics into epidemiologic research. In parallel, advances in analytical frameworks, including inverse probability weighting for missing biomarker data, instrumental variable methods, and target trial emulations, help infer causality. Epidemiologists are also critical for interpreting molecular differences in tumor features related to race and ancestry. Integrative approaches promise to decipher and resolve some of the seemingly paradoxical findings debated in the literature.
The objective of this webinar is to present the latest approaches and real-world challenges in molecular epidemiological studies of cancer by early-career investigators representing diverse expertise. This webinar seeks to promote a better understanding of both biomarkers and analytical approaches and foster future collaborations.
Schedule
Read more
SERjournal Cub
Nonparametric Causal Effects Based on Longitudinal Modified Treatment Policies
April 10, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (MST)
Join us for the April Journal Club of the Student and Postdoc Committee in which we will discuss the article, “Nonparametric Causal Effects Based on Longitudinal Modified Treatment Policies” with the lead author, Dr. Iván Díaz.
Iván Díaz
Associate Professor, Division of Biostatistics Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
WEBINAR
Counting contacts? : The case for public health surveillance of social behaviors that transmit common infections
April 3, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (MST)
Surveillance for health-related risk behaviors is commonplace for chronic diseases, but not for common infections like influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and norovirus which are transmitted from person-to-person. As the COVID-19 pandemic made clear, these behaviors can change dramatically in response to an individual’s perceived or actual risk of illness, as well as the availability of interventions like social distancing measures or vaccination. In the absence of a pandemic, routine annual events (i.e., holidays) as well as changing social and cultural mores (i.e., the rise of remote work and school) rearrange the number and type of routine, daily social interactions among members in a community. Surveillance focused on social contact can monitor behaviors that change infection risk through time, illuminating differences in disease burden by group and informing strategies to target and monitor the impact of interventions. However, methods to collect this data which minimize bias and ensure population representativeness remain elusive.
WEBINAR
The application of novel epidemiological methods/concepts to study human health: using liver cancer as an example
March 6, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (MST)
In this symposium, we will use liver cancer as an example to show how these novel methodology/concepts are utilized to inform disease etiology, risk stratification, and early detection. Liver cancer incidence is on the rise worldwide and has significant global health disparities with much higher incidence in low-to-middle income countries such as Africa. However, liver cancer incidence has also been tripled since the 1980s with unclear underlying causes in developed countries such as US. Additionally, liver cancer is often fatal due to a delay in cancer diagnosis and no effective early screening. This symposium will highlight how novel methodology/concepts can be used to improve knowledge on liver cancer etiology, in particular non-viral risk factors such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and biomarkers of liver cancer progression and early detection. Symposium attendees will learn how to use innovative methods/concepts and further advance these concepts when applying them to their studies. Discussion with the speakers and attendees will center on opportunities for research, including methodological advances that can strengthen future studies to close gaps in disease etiology and early biomarkers.
Session Chair:
- Xuehong Zhang, MBBS, ScD
Presenters:
- Yikyung Park, ScD, Circadian rhythm disrupting lifestyle: Emerging risk factors for cancer
- Yinan Zhang, PhD, Locus-specific repetitive element DNA methylation in viral-associated liver cancer
- Towia Libermann, PhD, Applications of proteomics to epidemiological studies to inform disease etiology, biology, and early detection
SER Mid-Year Meeting
SPC Virtual Oral Abstract Presentations
March 6, 2024
12:00PM – 1:30PM (MST)
Jeffrey Alexander Chan
Department of Social Medicine at Maastricht University in the Netherlands
Angela D’Adamo
Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Mitra Mosslemi
University of Pittsburg
Terry Zhou
Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health
Lucila Vilela
Brazil and an Epidemiology/Biostatistics MPH student at Cuny
SER Mid-Year Meeting
Addressing Antifatness in Epidemiologic Research
March 7, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (MST)
In epidemiologic studies, body weight or obesity is often considered as a risk factor or health behavior for many diseases and health conditions. Public Health’s focus on “obesity epidemic” and “weight loss” has increased exponentially within the last few decades. However, the stigma and discrimination toward overweight or obese individuals that came with it were often overlooked and not accounted for in research. Weight stigma can lead to adverse outcomes on psychological and physical health, and decreased quality of health care and quality of life.
A common misassumption is that weight is a behavior that results from individual’s control and choices. It reinforces negative attitudes or stereotypes toward people live with overweight or obesity such as lack of self-discipline, weak-willed, or laziness. It was estimated that the prevalence of weight discrimination increased by 66% in early 2000 in the US. The continuation of weigh stigma (also known as “antifatness” or “fatphobia”) has damaging the societal values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. To reduce its impact, weight stigma must be recognized and addressed by the public health community. The goal of this symposium is to bring awareness and understanding to this issue, while giving ample time to generate discussion on the potential implications and identification of strategies or policies for remediation.
This session will provide an overview and introduction to the subject of weight-related bias and discrimination. It will emphasize the needs of a weight-inclusive approach and engage students, researchers, and policy makers in critical thought about how to best measure health without using weight or BMI as a marker, how to focus on behaviors that impact health (i.e. nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and smoking cessation), and how given access to stigma-free health care and opportunities.
SERdigital
A Call for Descriptive Epidemiology
February 14, 2024
10:00AM (MST)
Despite the importance of focusing on person, place, and time in public health research, the field invests little time in training on descriptive epidemiology. This branch of epidemiology is often viewed as less “sexy”, harder to publish, and less likely to be funded, yet it is the cornerstone of much of what we do in epidemiology. Furthermore, and arguably more troubling, potentially because it is ubiquitous, we often do not reflect on biases present in descriptive epidemiology. The COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent coronavirus disease have highlighted the importance of descriptive epidemiology in responding to serious public health crises and have raised discussions about the potential impact of descriptive epidemiology. This session will provide an understanding of the concept of descriptive epidemiology and some key components of conducting valuable descriptive epidemiologic studies.
Matthew Fox, DSc, MPH
Professor of Epidemiology and of Global health, Boston University School of Public Health
Catherine Lesko, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
PANEL DISCUSSION
Mentoring Through Transitions: A Panel Discussion
January 24, 2024
10:00AM (MST)
Across career paths in epidemiology, we have to navigate transitions through different stages of our career. Please join the SER Mentoring Committee as we host a webinar featuring panelists who have experience both as mentees and mentors in navigating through career transitions. Our goal is to answer questions relating to mentoring across various careers stages and how to optimize the mentee-mentor relationship throughout each stage. Through registration for this event you will have the opportunity to submit anonymous questions for the panelists.
Moderator
Sonia Grandi
The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto
Moderator
Stephanie Shiau
Rutgers School of Public Health
Panelist
Leslie McClure
Saint Louis University
SERjournal Club
Quantification of selection bias in studies of risk factors for birth defects among livebirths.
January 10, 2024
10:00AM (MST)
Dominique Heinke, ScD, Senior Research Scientist, University of Washington
Article: Quantification of selection bias in studies of risk factors for birth defects among livebirths.
WEBINAR
SER in Austin: Ongoing Efforts in Reproductive Health; LGBTQ+ Health; and Latino, Black, and Immigrant health
November 15, 2023
12:00PM (EST)
Four presenters who are based in Texas will present their work related to reproductive health, LGBTQ+ health, and Latino/Black/immigrant health. They will also discuss the challenges they face and the environment for this work in Texas. After the presentations, the panel will answer questions from attendees.
Dr. Lauren D. Thaxton
University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
Dr. Anitra Beasley
Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Stephen Russell
University of Texas
Dr. Ethan Hunt
UT Health Houston School of Public Health
SERdigital
Unlocking Insights through Real-World Data in Epidemiologic Research
November 8, 2023
12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
According to the U.S., Food and Drug Administration, Real-world evidence refers to the is the clinical evidence about the usage and potential benefits or risks of a medical products derived from analysis of real-world data, while real world data is data relating to patient health status and/or the delivery of health care routinely collected from a variety of sources such as electronic health records, medical claims data and data from product or disease registries. The use of real-world data is a growing area in epidemiologic research, providing an unprecedented opportunity to analyze health outcomes, disease patterns, and interventions based on real-life experiences. This session will provide a comprehensive understanding of how real-world data is collected, analyzed, and leveraged to derive valuable insights for improving population health.
Milena Gianfrancesco, PhD, MPH
Director, Global Medical Epidemiology, Pfizer, Inc. & Assistant Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Alexander Breskin, Associate Director of Pharmacoepidemiology, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Will that paper write itself? Nope, it won’t. Getting your writing done in a distracting world.
October 25th, 2023
12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
Have you ever struggled to get that paper written? Do you procrastinate when you’re supposed to be writing? If writing is (sometimes) difficult for you, please join the SER Mentoring Committee as we host a webinar by Bill Miller, President of SER, where he will provide tips and strategies about what you can do to improve your writing productivity. The event will include a presentation followed by a Q&A period.
William Miller, PHD, MPH
Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Britton Trabert, PHD, MS, MSPH
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Developing and Sustaining Your Research and Professional Agenda
October 11th
12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
Epidemiologists are well-trained in the knowledge and skills of the profession yet have few formal opportunities to learn the strategic planning and time management skills that will most influence their career advancement. Identifying professional goals at all stages of your career and developing concrete plans on how to achieve them can be daunting.Dr. Lauren McCullough will provide us with an abbreviated version of the session of the same name she and Dr. Holly Harris led at the 2023 SER Conference. Those who were fortunate enough to attend the conference session will surely benefit from a second listening. Dr. McCullough will provide tools to develop a personal strategy for successfully navigating scientific, professional, and personal goals.
Lauren E McCullough, PhD, MSPH (she/her)
Associate Professor Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University Visiting Scientific Director, Population Science, American Cancer Society
JOURNAL CLUB
“An integrative framework and recommendations for the study of DNA methylation in the context of race and ethnicity”
September 13th
12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
Join us in the Discussion of “An integrative framework and recommendations for the study of DNA methylation in the context of race and ethnicity” with Dr. Meingold Chan.
Meingold Chan, Dr. (she/her)
University of British Columbia & British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute (Kobor Lab)
Why SERpresents?
In 2013, SER rolled out branding of several initiatives within SER in anticipation of their 50th anniversary. SERcollaborations, SERdigital, SERexperts, SERplaylists, SERjournal Club, SERnews, and SERtalks were formed. These programs generated a wide variety of content and increased opportunities to be engaged in Society events throughout the year. In 2023, the program SERpresents was rolled out which brings together many of these programs. The same variety of content and opportunities are provided through SERpresents, but come together for a convenient display of all the content being offered at SER throughout the year. Recordings from all programming under the previous structure to the new SERpresents structure, will remain in the SERlibrary. To view archived pages of SERcollaborations, SERdigital, SERexperts, SERjournal Club, and SERtalks, click on their embedded link.