Public Health On Call Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The presence of infectious diseases can be picked up through wastewater surveillance but how can this data be useful in predicting future outbreaks? Dr. Dylan George, director of the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics at the CDC, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the Center’s forecast for the 2023-2024 respiratory virus season performed and the role of wastewater surveillance as part of a multifaceted approach to aggregating data.
Resources from this episode:
https://johnshopkinssph.libsyn.com/699-an-update-on-the-cdcs-new-center-for-forecasting-and-outbreak-analytics
https://magazine.jhsph.edu/2020/cloudy-chance-covid
https://www.theinvisibleshieldseries.com/

There’s a lot of research around Type 2 diabetes that has informed patient care when it comes to diagnosis, treatment, and lifestyle management. But much less is known about Type 1, long mislabeled “childhood diabetes.” Johns Hopkins epidemiologists Elizabeth Selvin and Michael Fang talk with Stephanie Desmon about new research debunking a lot of previously held assumptions about Type 1 diabetes, the prevalence of adult onset and correlation with obesity, and why different approaches to diagnosis and management are necessary. They also discuss the cost of insulin and why more research is needed around medications like Ozempic for Type 1 diabetes.

Cigarette butts are the most littered object in the world. With their plastic filters and toxic substances, they are a significant source of contamination for soil and water. Grazi Grilo, a researcher at the Global Institute for Tobacco Control, talks with Stephanie Desmon about her work quantifying the scope of the problem, and why some of the very things that make cigarettes so environmentally hazardous also provide enormous benefits for the tobacco industry.Read more about her work here: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/institute-for-global-tobacco-control/2024/assessment-of-littered-cigarette-butts-in-brazil-informs-strengthening-of-global-treaty

Dr. Antonia Novella served as the 14th Surgeon General under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 - 1993. She is the first female and first Hispanic Surgeon General in U.S. history. Dr. Novella talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about her life and career, from being born with a rare condition called Hirschsprung’s disease to her childhood in Puerto Rico and her notable career in medicine and public health. She also discusses facing prejudice, staring down Big Tobacco, and even buying support hose for a U.S. Senator. You can read more in her new autobiography: https://www.fulcrumbooks.com/product-page/duty-calls-lessons-learned-from-an-unexpected-life-of-service
Read more about the epic surgeons general event here: https://pages.jh.edu/gazette/aprjun98/apr1398/13surgen.html

Much research has been dedicated to the long-lasting negative impacts of adverse childhood experiences—far less has focused on the powerful effects of positive experiences. Dr. Melissa Walls, co-director of the Center for Indigenous Health and a member of the Bois Forte and Couchiching First Nation bands, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about her research with benevolent childhood experiences among Indigenous communities. They discuss the importance of researching the positive, not only for public health, but in celebrating the inherent strengths of Indigenous individuals, their families, and culture. Read more: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38419503/

On March 26, Baltimore’s iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge was hit by a cargo ship and collapsed, killing six people. Since then, many have found themselves watching endless loops of the video and ongoing coverage, and some are feeling symptoms of anxiety or even intense fear. Dr. George Everly, a Johns Hopkins psychologist, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the phenomenon of “psychological contagion” and how something so rare but so spectacular can suddenly make us question our sense of safety. They also discuss how to talk to kids about events like these and what to do when healthy curiosity becomes problematic. Read Dr. Everly’s Psychology Today piece here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-disaster-strikes-inside-disaster-psychology/202403/the-dangers-of-the-baltimore-bridge