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Centers of Excellence in MCH with
MCH Academic Postdoctoral Enhancement at UC Berkeley
Trainee Liaison: Currently Unfilled
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Contact Information:
Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health
University of California, Berkeley
2121 Berkeley Way
Mail Code #7360,
Berkeley, CA 94720-7360
510-643-4991
Project Director:
Julianna Deardorff, PhD
Staff Contact:
Heidi Kelly-Tauson, MPH
Websites and Social Media:
http://sph.berkeley.edu/areas-study/maternal-child-adolescent-health
Twitter: @UCB_MCH
https://www.facebook.com/UCBMCAH/
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Program Profile:
Overview
The mission of the Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Program at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health is to develop the next generation of leaders equipped to solve the health challenges facing women, children, adolescents, and families of the 21st century. Using life course and social determinants of health perspectives as overarching guides, our trainees acquire skills in applied epidemiology, quantitative analysis, and leadership for the changing public health and health care landscape. Graduates are prepared to advocate for improved health outcomes for women, children and adolescents locally, domestically, and globally.
The UCB MCAH Program was one of the first Schools of Public Health to receive federal funding in 1947 for MCH training. Alumni of the UCB training program have become high-profile strategic decision makers and leaders and work to achieve these goals in the U.S. and abroad. The MCAH Program’s multifaceted and interdisciplinary curriculum and dynamic learning environment are designed to inspire in students and mentors a deep commitment to serving underserved, vulnerable, and disadvantaged MCAH populations. The location and resources of our School of Public Health – in California and the Bay Area and at the University of California in particular – are well situated to offer quality educational opportunities, pursue compelling research, and inspire MCAH trainees and current practitioners to utilize their skills and expertise to achieve health equity for all.
Purpose
As a Center of Excellence in MCH education, science, and practice, our three overall goals are:
• To provide the best education possible to develop graduates who are prepared to lead Title V and other MCH organizations and promote and protect the health status of diverse MCH populations
• To prepare public health and health care professionals to be leaders in the field of MCH with a culturally competent, multidisciplinary, community oriented, ethical, and cost-effective vision of maternal, child and adolescent health, with the skills that can help solve the health challenges of the 21st century
• To work closely with Title V and other MCH programs at the state, local, national, and global levels to mobilize large scale, synergistic efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities and barriers to health that affect MCH populations.
Training
Degrees and Certificates Offered:
Master of Public Health (2 year track)
Master of Public Health (11 month program)
Master of Public Health/Master of Social Welfare Concurrent Degree (3 year)
Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Specialty Area Certificate
Postdoctoral Fellowship in MCH Epidemiology
Non-degree and Continuing Education Opportunities or Programs:
Annual Symposium: The program sponsors an annual symposium dealing with issues of importance to MCH practitioners and investigators. Every other year, the symposium is a showcase of student and faculty research from MCH leadership training programs throughout the Bay Area and Northern California. The most recent symposium (April 2017) focused on Emerging Adulthood & Adolescent Health
Leadership Seminars:
MCAH students and current professionals have access to a variety of leadership activities and programs presented by the MCAH Program and the Center for Public Health Practice at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. For example, MCAH students engage in a Leadership retreat prior to starting their program and are required to take the MCAH Leadership Seminar course.
Research
Best Babies Zones Initiative (Dr. Cheri Pies, PI) BBZ is a place-based multi-sector approach to improving child health outcomes through the transformation of community conditions in small geographic zones. BBZ is designed to improve birth outcomes, reduce infant mortality and address issues of overall community health in four “incubator” communities around the country – Cincinnati OH, New Orleans LA, Oakland CA and Milwaukee WI. Collaborative partners include AMCHP, CityMatCH, and the National Healthy Start Association. www.bestbabieszone.org
Early Adversity Shapes Adolescent Risk Behavior Trajectories in Mexican Americans (Dr. Julie Deardorff, PI) Goal: To longitudinally examine the effects of early adversity on substance use & risky sexual behaviors among Mexican American adolescents, as well as factors that may mediate or moderate these effects.
The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) (Dr. Brenda Eskenazi, Director) is a longitudinal birth cohort study of the children of immigrant farmworkers in the Salinas Valley of California, which investigates the exposure pathways and health effects of pesticide exposure in farmworkers and their children and develops interventions to prevent future exposure. Eskenazi is the PI and Director of an NIH/EPA Center for Excellence in Children’s Environmental Health Research and Dr. Kim Harley serves as the Associate Director for Health Effects. www.cerch.org
Hellen Wallace Center for Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (Dr. Kim Harley, Director): The Wallace Center advances maternal, child, and adolescent health and reduces health disparities using innovation, technology, and community engagement. They train new leaders through fellowships, summer internships, graduate student research positions, and postdoctoral opportunities.. https://wallacecenter.berkeley.edu/
Innovations for Youth (i4Y) (Dr. Coco Auerswald, co-director; Dr. Emily Ozer, co-director; Dr. Ndola Prata, co-director): i4Y catalyzes innovative interventions, practices and policies to improve equity and well-being for youth locally and worldwide. i4Y builds partnerships between faculty from diverse fields, students and trainees at UC Berkeley with adolescents and community collaborators. We develop, evaluate and diffuse innovative interventions, practices, and policies. https://i4y.berkeley.edu/
Bixby Center for Population, Health, & Sustainability (Dr. Ndola Prata, Director): The Bixby Center is a collaboration of students, faculty, researchers, and staff working to improve maternal health and address the impact of population on global public health and the environment. It is dedicated to developing innovations to improve reproductive health in resource-poor settings, including reliable health information systems, local access to essential technologies and guidelines for prioritizing interventions to maximize health impact. The Bixby Center supports the implementation of family planning and maternal health programs and seeks to improve the health outcomes of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable women and their families http://bixby.berkeley.edu/
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