2016 Women’s Health Research Day discusses human trafficking, violence against women
The third annual Women’s Health Research Day, which took place April 28, 2016, at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, brought together more than 75 faculty members, students and trainees from the College of Medicine, College of Health and Human Development, College of Liberal Arts and Penn State Harrisburg.
The keynote address, “Developing a Research Agenda in Human Trafficking: A Women’s Health Priority,” was presented by Hanni Stoklosa, MD, MPH, Executive Director of HEAL Trafficking and an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard School of Medicine.
Dr. Stoklosa’s focus is on the advancement of research and policy that improves the prevention of human trafficking and care for trafficking survivors, both globally and locally. Through HEAL Trafficking (Health, Education, Advocacy, Linkages), she works as part of an international network of professionals combating human trafficking from a public health perspective. She has worked in many diverse settings, including South Sudan, Liberia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, China, Taiwan, Australia, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Nepal and Guatemala.
The event also included oral research presentations, a poster session and a panel discussion of “Innovative Approaches to Prevent Violence Against Women.”
The award for Best Oral Research Presentation by a Faculty Member went to Jaimey Pauli, MD, at the time an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, for her talk on “Exercise Intervention for the Reduction of Blood Pressure in Obese Gravidas.” The award for Best Oral Research Presentation by a Student or Trainee went to Katherine M. McNitt, BS, RD, a Nutritionist in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, for her talk on “Programming Effect of the Intrauterine Environment on Fetal Growth: Study Methods and Protocol.”
The conference was co-chaired and organized by Jennifer McCall–Hosenfeld, MD, MSc, and Danielle Symons Downs, PhD, with a cross–campus Abstracts Review Committee.
Funding for the conference was provided by the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine; the Network on Child Protection and Well-Being; and the Center for Women’s Health Research.
The Center for Women’s Health Research, which spearheads the conference each year, promotes research on women’s health and sex/gender differences related to health by supporting a network of Penn State faculty members in multiple disciplines who are interested in research collaborations and mentoring opportunities. Its goal is to advance the science of women’s health and contribute to the development of health promotion, disease prevention, health services delivery and health policy approaches to improving women’s health and well-being across the life span.
E. Scott Halstead, MD, PhD, right, associate professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, presents his poster at Women’s Health Research Day 2016.
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