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Recent Advances In Biocuration: Meeting Report From The Fifth International Biocuration Conference, Pascale Gaudet, Cecilia Arighi, Frederic Bastian, Alex Bateman, Judith A. Blake, Raja Mazumder, +17 Additional Authors

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

The 5th International Biocuration Conference brought together over 300 scientists to exchange on their work, as well as discuss issues relevant to the International Society for Biocuration’s (ISB) mission. Recurring themes this year included the creation and promotion of gold standards, the need for more ontologies, and more formal interactions with journals. The conference is an essential part of the ISB's goal to support exchanges among members of the biocuration community. Next year's conference will be held in Cambridge, UK, from 7 to 10 April 2013. In the meanwhile, the ISB website provides information about the society's activities (http://biocurator.org …

A Genomic Island In Salmonella Enterica Ssp. Salamae Provides New Insights On The Genealogy Of The Locus Of Enterocyte Effacement., P Scott Chandry, Simon Gladman, Sean C Moore, Torsten Seemann, Keith A Crandall, Narelle Fegan

Computational Biology Institute

The genomic island encoding the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) is an important virulence factor of the human pathogenic Escherichia coli. LEE typically encodes a type III secretion system (T3SS) and secreted effectors capable of forming attaching and effacing lesions. Although prominent in the pathogenic E. coli such as serotype O157:H7, LEE has also been detected in Citrobacter rodentium, E. albertii, and although not confirmed, it is likely to also be in Shigella boydii. Previous phylogenetic analysis of LEE indicated the genomic island was evolving through stepwise acquisition of various components. This study describes a new LEE region from two …

Urban Governance Of Disease, Rebecca Katz, Sangeeta Mookherji, Morgan Kaminski, Vibhuti Haté, Julie E. Fischer

Global Health Faculty Publications

Rapid population growth, urbanization, and the growing challenges faced by the urban poor require redefining the paradigm for public health interventions in the 21st century, creating new approaches that take urban determinants of health into consideration. The widening disparity between the urban poor and the urban rich further exacerbates health inequities. Existing tools for global governance of urban health risks fall short, particularly in the lack of formal mechanisms to strengthen collaboration and communication among national and municipal agencies and between their local and international non-governmental partners. There is also a clear disconnect between governance strategies crafted at the international …

Comparative Immunogenicity Of Na-Gst-1 Human Hookworm Vaccine With Synthetic Glucopyranosyl Lipid Adjuvant (Gla) In Balb/C Mice, Amar R. Jariwala, Brian Keegan, Jordan L. Plieskatt, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J. Hotez, Jeffrey M. Bethony

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Posters and Presentations

More than 740 million people worldwide are infected with Hookworm. Hookworm infection is most prevalent in the poorest of the poor populations of the world, and has serious health effects. Hookworm infection causes blood loss leading to iron deficiency anemia and protein energy malnutrition, which results in a compromised immune response. Consequently, the target human population suffers from an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases including hookworm infection. We have developed recombinant adult hookworm vaccines against hookworm infection to break this vicious cycle. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 agonist are known to boost immune response in healthy and immunocompromised individuals. We believe …

Medicine + Health, Fall 2011, George Washington University, School Of Medicine And Health Sciences, Office Of Communications And Marketing

Medicine + Health Magazine

No abstract provided.

Transgenic C. Elegans Dauer Larvae Expressing Hookworm Phospho Null Daf-16/Foxo Exit Dauer, Verena Gelmedin, Thomas Brodigan, Xin Gao, Michael Krause, Zhu Wang, John M. Hawdon

Research Center for Neglected Diseases of Poverty

Parasitic hookworms and the free-living model nematode Caenorhabtidis elegans share a developmental arrested stage, called the dauer stage in C. elegans and the infective third-stage larva (L3) in hookworms. One of the key transcription factors that regulate entrance to and exit from developmental arrest is the forkhead transcription factor DAF-16/FoxO. During the dauer stage, DAF-16 is activated and localized in the nucleus. DAF-16 is negatively regulated by phosphorylation by the upstream kinase AKT, which causes DAF-16 to localize out of the nucleus and the worm to exit from dauer. DAF-16 is conserved in hookworms, and hypothesized to control recovery from …

Influenza Vaccination Of The Health Care Workforce, Alexandra M. Stewart

Health Policy and Management Faculty Posters and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Influenza Vaccination Of The Healthcare Workforce: Developing A Model State Law, Alexandra M. Stewart, Marisa A Cox

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Addressing The Challenges Of Reporting On Childhood Asthma In A Changing Health Care System: Building Better Evidence For High Performance, Meagan Lyon, Anne Rossier Markus, Maya Tuchman Gerstein, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative

Childhood asthma is a serious and costly chronic disease that burdens children and families as well as the health care systems that serve them. A key element to improving asthma outcomes is access to timely and useful data that can improve the quality of care and inform programs and policies to best serve those communities most burdened by asthma. This Policy Brief examines the nation’s data collection framework for childhood asthma and considers steps that might be taken to strengthen it, including the development, collection and refinement of community-level data to inform local health care systems. Through a review of …

Potency Testing For Ntd Vaccines: Determining Relative Potency For The Na-Gst-1 Human Hookworm Vaccine, Amar R. Jariwala, Brian Keegan, Pavithra Raghavendra, Jordan L. Plieskatt, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J. Hotez, Jeffrey M. Bethony

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Posters and Presentations

Over the next decade, a new generation of vaccines will target the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) . The goal of most NTD vaccines will be to reduce the morbidity and decrease the chronic debilitating nature of these often-forgotten infections - outcomes that are hard to measure in the traditional potency-testing paradigm . The absence of measurable correlates of protection, a lack of permissive animal models for lethal infection, and a lack of clinical indications that do not include the induction of sterilizing immunity required us to reconsider the traditional bioassay methods for determining vaccine potency . Owing to these limitations, …

Influenza Vaccination Of The Health Care Workforce: A Literature Review, Alexandra M. Stewart, Marisa A. Cox, Mallory O'Connor

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Since 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all health care workers (HCWs) receive an annual influenza vaccination. The Healthy People objectives aimed for 60% coverage of HCW influenza vaccination by 2010 and 90% coverage by 2020. Although influenza vaccine uptake among HCWs has trended upward over the past several years, the percentage of immunized HCWs has remained approximately 40% between 2004 and 2008.

In order to complete the literature review, researchers identified and analyzed peer reviewed literature, news articles, professional organization position statements, and institutional policies published between 1991 and 2011. In the absence …

Himmelfarb Headlines - February/March 2011, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Headlines (2009 - present)

News and information about Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library of interest to users. Includes articles on large LCD monitors, GWUMC Research Commons, and profiles of Karen McDonnell, PhD, and Catherine Harris.

Medicine + Health, Winter 2011, George Washington University, School Of Medicine And Health Sciences, Office Of Communications And Marketing

Medicine + Health Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Affordable Care Act: U.S. Vaccine Policy And Practice, Alexandra M. Stewart, Orriel L. Richardson, Marisa A. Cox, Katherine J. Hayes, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

When fully implemented, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, amended by the Health and Education Reconciliation Act will extend health insurance coverage to 94 percent of Americans while establishing a comprehensive set of strategies to improve care and contain costs. The central provisions of the Act – guaranteed affordable and accessible coverage – take effect January 1, 2014. Important insurance reforms aimed at improving coverage become effective before that date, as do a series of investments aimed at improving the accessibility and quality of health care.

This report has several aims: 1) to examine how the laws address vaccine …

High Hopes: Public Health Approaches To Reducing The Need For Health Care, Michele J. Orza

National Health Policy Forum

Driven in part by a desire to contain health care costs, policymakers are looking beyond medical care for opportunities to reduce the need for expensive services. This paper briefly reviews current public health concepts and strategies for improving health that emphasize nonmedical factors such as behavior, socioeconomic status, and environment. It also provides examples of how these concepts and strategies undergird many of the public health provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, other legislation, and several programs and initiatives. These concepts include prevention, health in all policies, global health, the One Health Initiative, and climate change and …

Governmental Public Health: An Overview Of State And Local Public Health Agencies, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act significantly expands federal support for community prevention and public health. This paper describes the governmental public health infrastructure at both the state and local level in terms of organizational structure, activities, financing, workforce, partnerships, and performance improvement efforts.

International Health Regulations, Andrew Weber, Nicole Lurie, Scott Dowell, Julie E. Fischer, Jennifer Kates, Stephen Morrison

Health Policy and Management Faculty Posters and Presentations

On Tuesday, April 6, 2010, the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (GW SPHHS) hosted the annual Southby Distinguished Lectureship in Comparative Health Policy on the "International Health Regulations." This lectureship gave an overview of the U.S. Government's approach to addressing the challenges, policies, and opportunities related to both domestic and international implementation of the IHR (2005).

Introductory remarks were given by GW School of Public Health faculty, including Josef Reum, Interim Dean; Professor Sara Rosenbaum, Chair of the Department of Health Policy & Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy; Richard Southby, Executive Dean Emeritus; …

Information And Incentives: Improving The Health Of New York City's Low-Income Population, Kathryn Linehan, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

The National Health Policy Forum sponsored a site visit to New York City (NYC) in April 2010 to explore health care delivery for Medicaid beneficiaries and the uninsured in New York City’s hospital-dominated market. New York offers real-time examples of government policy and provider initiatives in health information technology (IT) and quality improvement being played out on a large, complex, and dynamic stage with multiple stakeholders. Site visit participants heard from providers and others who discussed efforts to improve the quality of care for low-income New Yorkers through a variety of methods, such as the adoption and use of electronic …

Medicine + Health, Spring 2010, George Washington University, School Of Medicine And Health Sciences, Office Of Communications And Marketing

Medicine + Health Magazine

No abstract provided.

Changing Po2licy: The Elements For Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes, Anne Rossier Markus, Meagan Lyon, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative

Childhood asthma is a serious and chronic health issue that affects one in seven U.S. children and their families, compromising their health and quality of life and placing a heavy financial burden on families as well as an enormous strain on the health care system. Treating, managing, and ultimately preventing and reducing the burden of asthma represents a critical test of the ability of the U.S. health system – health insurers, clinical care providers, and public health agencies – to work together. Our investigation found that, as a country, we already know enough to act and improve life for the …

Changing Policy: The Elements For Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes, Anne R. Markus, Meagan Lyon, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This report lays out the facts and offers specific policy recommendations for success that could change the face of childhood asthma in America. These recommendations aim to make better use of programs and policies already in place, such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as private sector insurance coverage and existing public health programs. The recommendations also underscore the importance of careful research -- scientific, practical, and community-based -- in order to continue to learn what works best and strengthen knowledge for future action. In a reformed health system, these initial efforts are not wasted …

The Medical Education Of Physicians, Jonathan Saxton

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper provides a descriptive overview of the process of education, licensing, certification, and continuing education involved in becoming and continuing to practice as a physician.

Fusion, 2010, George Washington University, William H. Beaumont Medical Research Honor Society

Fusion

No abstract provided.

The Health Information Technology Provisions In The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009, Taylor Burke

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This installment of Law and the Public’s Health explores the comprehensive reforms contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, whose implementation is expected to transform the use of health information technology as part of Medicare, Medicaid, and public health practice.

Use Of Revised International Health Regulations During Influenza A (H1n1) Epidemic, 2009, Rebecca L. Katz

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Strong international health agreements and good planning created a structure and common procedure for nations involved in detection and evaluation of the emergence of influenza A (H1N1). This report describes a timeline of events that led to the determination of the epidemic as a public health emergency of international concern, following the agreed-upon procedures of the International Health Regulations. These events illustrate the need for sound international health agreements and should be a call to action for all nations to implement these agreements to the best of their abilities.

An Overview Of Major Health Information Technology, Public Health, Medicaid, And Cobra Provisions Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009, Sara J. Rosenbaum, Melissa M. Goldstein, Taylor Burke, Phyllis Borzi, Lara Cartwright-Smith

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

A detailed side-by-side analysis of the individual components of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed into law on February 17, 2009. One of the most sweeping pieces of economic legislation ever enacted, ARRA not only provides hundreds of billions of dollars in new health and health care spending but also makes comprehensive reforms in health law and policy, particularly in the area of health information law, including health information technology (HIT) adoption and health information privacy.

Health Care-Associated Infections: Is There An End In Sight?, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

Health care–associated infections (HAIs) have emerged as a significant concern in policy as well as clinical circles. An HAI is an infection acquired during treatment for another condition. Some of the HAI-causing bacteria have become drug-resistant; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a familiar example. Tied to perhaps 100,000 deaths and $20 billion in health care costs each year, HAIs have given rise to state laws, legislative proposals at the federal level, public-private initiatives, and work at the hospital system and individual hospital level. However, much remains to be done. This issue brief reviews the prevalence of HAIs and the …

Vaccines And Autism: The Evidence And The Law, Alexandra M. Stewart

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

A potential link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism was dismissed by a federal vaccine court in February 2009. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the findings demonstrate a lack of medical evidence for any association, while Autism Speaks, a patient advocacy group, said questions remain about potential risks for certain subgroups.

Other legal actions are pending as the scientific and patient advocacy communities debate the need to conduct further research on the vaccine-autism link. Meanwhile, public health advocates worry that continuing concerns about the safety of vaccines may depress the population immunization rate. A small rise …

Ready Or Not? Protecting The Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, And Bioterrorism, Jeffrey Levi, Serena Vinter, Rebecca St. Laurent, Laura M. Segal

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

While significant progress has been made to better protect the country from health emergencies, funding for essential programs has been cut, putting these improvements in jeopardy. Additionally, a number of critical areas of preparedness still have significant gaps, including surge capacity and biosurveillance systems, and these problems are less likely to be addressed as funding decreases.

Strong As The Weakest Link: Medical Response To A Catastrophic Event, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

Natural disasters and acts of terrorism have placed a spotlight on the ability of health care providers to surge in response to catastrophic conditions. This paper reviews the status of efforts to develop the capacity and capabilities of the health care system to respond to disasters and other mass casualty events. Strategies for adapting routine medical practices and protocols to the demands posed by extraordinary circumstances and scarce resources are summarized. Existing federal roles, responsibilities, and assets relative to the contributions of state and local government and the private sector are described, including specific programmatic activities such as the Strategic …