June 27, 2022
Whether you’re local or global, student or alumni, the Abstract’s weekly news digest will help you stay in the loop with our amazing Gillings School community.
Cole receives 2022 Marshall Joffe award
Dr. Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole, PhD, professor of epidemiology, has received the 2022 Marshall Joffe Epidemiologic Methods Research Award from the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER).
The prestigious Marshall Joffe Epidemiologic Methods Research Award is given annually to recognize outstanding accomplishments in developing, adapting, or translating a methodological concept or approach whose usefulness has been demonstrated through fruitful adoption in epidemiology, including applied population health research settings.
“Stephen R. Cole works to build robust, accurate, and impactful knowledge at the intersection of epidemiology and statistics,” SER stated. “He is interested in study designs and analyses that accurately estimate parameters of central interest to population-health scientists. These study designs include randomized experiments and observational studies. In particular, he is interested in infectious diseases, primarily HIV and birth outcomes.”
The award winner will be awarded $5,000 and be invited to give a presentation at the Annual Meeting.
Khakoska receives funding to study new approach to T1D glucose monitoring
Dr. Anna Kahkoska
With $50K in funding from the Diabetics Research Connection, early career researcher and Assistant Professor of Nutrition Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD, will study a new approach to continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) that could be especially helpful for older adults with Type 1 diabetes (T1D).
There is a growing population of older adults (defined as adults who are 65 years of age or older) with T1D. As individuals age, both the risk for and the danger of low blood sugar (i.e. hypoglycemia) increases. Thus, much of diabetes care and management in older adulthood is focused around avoiding these dangerous episodes of hypoglycemia.
CGM is a new, technologic approach to glucose monitoring that transmits real-time or near real-time glucose readings from an on-body sensor to a small device. Compared to self-monitoring with intermittent finger sticks and a glucometer, CGM offers greater insight into current glucose levels and trends, in addition to notifications for out-of-range readings and alarms for low glucose levels. In a study of older adults, in which half of the participants were randomized to use CGM for six months, CGM reduced hypoglycemia. The findings of that study suggested that CGM may offer life-saving benefits for older adults. However, not all older adults use CGM right now.
“My overarching hypothesis is that delivering CGM to older adults with T1D demands new approaches that consider a breadth of different individual-level needs for patient-oriented ‘onboarding’ and use in daily life. I aim to generate scientific evidence to tailor support and resources for effective CGM use in older adults with T1D. Over one year, I will complete three discrete studies to address my research question.”
Ringel-Kulka publishes new study on oral hygiene and periodontal health
Dr. Tamar Ringel-Kulka
The importance of oral hygiene habits to prevent the growth of bacteria implicated in poor dental health is highlighted in a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology. The study authors, including Tamar Ringel-Kulka, PhD, assistant professor of maternal and child health at the Gillings School, show that high bacterial diversity may indicate a deterioration of periodontal health.
According to the study, titled “Association of oral bacteria with oral hygiene habits and self-reported gingival bleeding,” a high frequency of self-reported gingival bleeding was associated with higher bacterial diversity than found in participants reporting no gingival bleeding and with a higher total abundance of known periodontal pathogens such as Porphyromonas spp., Treponema spp., and Bacteroides spp.
