Emory Hosts Religion and Public Health Research Symposium

The Religion and Public Health Collaborative at Emory University will host a symposium April 30 showcasing faculty and student research at the intersection of religion and health.

The research symposium will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Emory Conference Center located at 1615 Clifton Road in Atlanta. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. To RSVP, email: slandsk@emory.edu.

The Religion and Public Health Collaborative research symposium includes more than three dozen poster presentations that represent past and present research conducted by interdisciplinary Emory research teams. Emory President James Wagner, PhD, will present opening remarks, and Provost Earl Lewis, PhD, will lead a panel discussion on religion and public health.

The panelists include:

*James Curran, MD, MPH, dean, Rollins School of Public Health:Curran is a renowned HIV/AIDS researcher and was part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research team that responded to initial outbreak of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in the 1980s.

*Laurie Patton, PhD, director, Center for Faculty Development and Excellence, and professor of religion:Patton's teaching and research focuses on interpretation of early Indian ritual and narrative, comparative mythology, and literary theory in the study of religion.

*Claire Sterk, PhD, senior vice provost for academic affairs, and professor of behavioral science and health education, Rollins School of Public Health:Sterk's primary research interests are addiction/mental health and HIV/AIDS, with a focus on women's issues, health disparities, and community-based behavioral interventions.

*Lisa Tedesco, PhD, dean, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and professor, behavioral science and health education, Rollins School of Public Health: Tedesco is working to establish training programs that partner researchers in schools of medicine with those in schools of public health, as well as with a diverse range of other partners.

For more information, visit http://www.rhcemory.org/