Post-doctoral fellowship in Life Course Epidemiology

Opportunity for a post-doctoral fellowship in Life Course Epidemiology that is being jointly sponsored by the National Institute on Aging at the NIH and the Medical Research Council Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing (LHA) in the U.K.

This fellowship provides the trainee the opportunity to utilize one of the leading life course epidemiologic research studies in the world and to train with mentors who have extensive experience doing this kind of research.

Suitable candidates for this fellowship should have a PhD or an MD with an MPH or MS with training in epidemiology, demography or a related field. To qualify, their most recent degree should have been conferred in the past five years.

Interested candidates should send a letter of interest and a CV to Jack.Guralnik@nih.gov or write to Dr. Jack Guralnik at the address listed above.

Deadline for applications: March 31, 2009.

More information here

Comments on this post?

PhD opportunities in a leading department - University of Bristol

Four studentships will be available in October 2009, to outstanding and highly motivated science graduates, with good honours or Masters degrees in relevant disciplines, wishing to pursue a career in molecular, genetic or lifecourse epidemiology.

More information available here

MRC funded Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Research (CAiTE)

4 year PhD studentships with a specific focus on causal analyses and translational epidemiology are available through the MRC funded Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Research (CAiTE), which is also based in the Department of Social Medicine.
The programmes provide broadly based research training in molecular and clinical epidemiology, molecular and statistical genetics, bioinformatics and genetic laboratory skills. The initial year of training in each Programme involves seminars, taught modules and short projects with researchers attached to each of the Programmes’ themes. Students can then make an informed choice of their main PhD project and supervisor.
Tuition fees at the rate applicable to Home (EU) students are provided by the Wellcome Trust and MRC in support of the 4-year PhD Programmes. Overseas applicants (for Wellcome only) must be in confirmed receipt of an Overseas Research Scholarship award to cover the shortfall in funding.
The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 6th March 2009.
For further details about the Wellcome Trust or the MRC CAiTE studentships, potential topics and supervisors, and for application forms, contact: Susie Potts, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, 39 Whatley Road, Bristol BS8 2PS (0117 928 7274). Email susie.potts@bristol.ac.uk

>Comments on this post?

"The World is Fat" - New book by Barry Popkin

Interesting reading on dietary evolution, the obesity epidemic, role of food industry, and the role of government.

More information available here

>Comments on this post?

Obesity and the Economy : From Crisis to Opportunity

Interesting article/ comentary published in the Journal of the American (JAMA. 2009;301(5):533-535), abstract pasted below

David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD; Harold A. Pollack, PhD

"The onset of a major recession places the economic correlates of obesity into sharp relief. Even in good economic times, obesity imposes great financial burden on society in the form of higher medical costs and lower worker productivity. The economic downturn can be expected to reduce nutrition quality and physical activity, worsening obesity prevalence when society is least able to bear the escalating financial burden. Yet this crisis also offers unprecedented opportunity. The economic stimulus under consideration in Washington could help launch a comprehensive national obesity initiative with immediate public health benefits, while laying the foundations for economic well-being into the 21st century."

Vacancy - Action Against hunger

Closing date: 31 Jan 2009
Location: Spain - Madrid

Action against Hunger is looking for a NUTRITION AND HEALTH TECHNICAL ADVISER , who, under the supervision of the Technical Director will be:

• Responsible for ACF-E Nutrition technical strategy concerning quality, appropriateness, design, justification and finance.
• Responsible for implementation of the Nutritional technical strategy in each ACF-E mission.
• The focal point representing the organisation externally on ACF-E Nutrition technical strategy (ACFIN and international institutions)

Requirements

• Obligatory: Health background (nurse, doctor), strong competence in health and nutrition with a minimum of 3 years in humanitarian work.
• Some knowledge in the area of food security
• Capacity of analyse and synthesis. Adaptation and creativity.
• Strong capacity for training,
• Interested for team work and integration with other technical expertise.
• Rigor and autonomy in the work,
• Capacity for representation.
• Ability to launch research and pilot projects
• Experience in the capitalisation process
• Good written and spoken English, French and Spanish
• Important: strong affiliation with HIV/AIDS and nutrition and food security subjects
• The candidate must have availability for frequent trip to the missions

How to apply

Conditions

Interested persons should send their CV, details of 2 persons who can provide references of the last two posts occupied or 2 letters of recommendation written by the same two people, letter (necessary) to clear reference before. Ref: INTER NUT/09 on 31/01/09Estimated date; Because of the urgency to cover certain position the selection process can be completed before the date specified)
Address: achsede-candidaturas@achesp.org

The department RRHH respond only to those pre-selected for an interview. Thank you very much.
For more information on updating posts to be covered, thank you visit our website www.accioncontraelhambre.org.
If the position is no longer present, it means that the trial selection is closed.
Reference Code: RW_7NHMPN-

UN/WHO e-discussion on global public health

Participants are invited to join an e-discussion on global public health which will be held 29 January-26 February 2009.

The discussion is organized by UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (www.un.org/ecosoc/newfunct/amr2009.shtml).

The e-discussion is open to all stakeholders. To subscribe, send a blank message (without any attachments, signatures and/or logos) to join-mdg-amr-2009@groups.dev-nets.org by 28 January 2009.

The purpose of the moderated online forum is to bring together experts, practitioners, and policymakers from within and outside the UN system to discuss strengthening health systems and emerging and future health challenges.

The discussion will be hosted on MDGNet (www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=99).

Expert Guest Moderators will guide participants through these questions:

Part I Strengthening health systems (29 January - 11 February) How can we overcome inequities in access to health services and achieve universal primary health care (PHC)? What specific initiatives can the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) launch in July 2009?

Part II Emerging and future health challenges (12 - 26 February) What are the essential elements of national strategies to address the growing magnitude of noncommunicable diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes) and their modifiable risk factors (tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol) and social determinants? What sectors besides the health sector must be involved in designing and implementing the strategies? In the wake of the financial crisis, how can we maintain and enhance the favourable policy and resource trends for global health of the recent past?

The outcome of the forum will contribute towards the 2009 Annual Ministerial Review (www.un.org/ecosoc/newfunct/amr.shtml) on the same theme, to be held in Geneva in July 2009 during the Substantive Session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The 2009 Annual Ministerial Review (AMR), held during the high-level segment of the annual session of the Economic and Social Council (6-9 July 2009) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, will focus on "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to global public health". It provides an opportunity to:

* Assess the state of implementation of the United Nations Development Agenda;
* Explore key challenges in achieving the international goals and commitments in the area of global public health;
* Consider recommendations and proposals for action, including new initiatives.

Comments on this post?

Conference on sustainable diet

Thursday May 14th and Friday May 15th 2009, Akershus University College in Norway will celebrate the 100th anniversary of their home economic teacher education with a conference on sustainable diet - challenges for the consumer.

Here you can find more detailes.

INTERNATIONAL WINTER SCHOOL "PREGNANCY AND PROGRAMMING" - 2009

The Early Nutrition Academy is organizing the INTERNATIONAL COURSE WINTER SCHOOL 2009 "PREGNANCY AND PROGRAMMING" next 9th-13rd February 2009 in Granada, Spain.

The Nutrition Winter School is designed to:

• Offer a comprehensive Curriculum on mother-infant nutritional programming research, literature, and clinical trials.
• Provide well-founded advice on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of early nutrition programming of adult diseases.
• Offer unique opportunities to learn from and interact with expert faculty from various European centres, as well as from participants from around the world interested in early nutrition programming.
• Serve as an introduction to the new opportunities in Early Nutrition Programming research.

More information in www.project-earnest.org and www.nutrimenthe.eu

>Comments on this post?

Seminar on Organic food, health and sustainabilty in schools

The current concerns about negative health impacts of distorted food habits and the future of sustainable food system emphasise the role and possibilities of schools in orientating youth toward sustainable food habits and more broadly responsible consumer behaviour. At an open seminar in Helsinki, Finland, 21st and 22nd of January 2009, research results and current practices related to young people's learning about sustainability, organic food and health will be presented.

See the iPOPY project homepage for more information.

Belgian Nutrition Society

Belgium, as other countries, faces a number of important public health problems rooted in nutrition. An effective public health policy can only be in place if it can be structurally underpinned by consolidated action based on scientific evidence. In order to achieve this, an efficient mobilization of the existing nutrition expertise is an absolute necessity.
Therefore it was deemed opportune to create a Belgium structure that offers a forum for the multidisciplinary group of scientists in the field of human nutrition and related domains.

Since September 2007, a small group, comprising members of various key scientific institutions in Belgium has met regularly to prepare a blueprint of the structure and statutes of a nutrition society and to determine its main objectives.

The official inauguration of the Belgian Nutrition Society will take place on the 18th of December in Brussels (Palace of Academies).

Registration and participation is free. If you like to attend this meeting, confirm your attendance to info@belgiannutritionsociety.be.

More information is available on: www.belgiannutritionsociety.be

Comment on this post?

ENLP Young Investigator Award

The ENLP Young Investigator Award that is now open for applications as part of the activities that the ENLP-Network is organizing within the frame of the 19th International Nutrition Conference.
This award, organized for the first time and supported by the International Union of Nutrition Science, aims to recognize the potential of young scientists to become International Leaders in Nutrition and is open for final year PhD students or postdoctoral fellows under 35 years old from any country .

Full details on the application process can be found on:

http://www.enlp.eu.com/en/basic100008.html

http://www.iuns.org/conferences.htm

Comment on this post?

Vacancy - Scientific Officer, Nutrition (FSA)

Scientific Officer, Nutrition
The post forms part of a small team, within the Nutrition policy and advice branch, which has a major role in the provision of information and advice on healthy eating and nutrition to consumers and other stakeholders.
Ref: SO/515
Salary: £21,608 + benefits
Location: Central London
Closing date for applications: 9am, 8 December 2008

Click here for a detailed job description

Click here for additional information

Comments on this post?

Vacancy - Scientific Officer, Food Policy (FSA)

Scientific Officer, Food Policy

Gain insights into how scientific data is translated into policy. The job holder will provide regulatory and technical advice to Government, industry and the general public on a range of food commodities including bottled water, alcoholic drinks and vinegar.
Ref: SO/517
Salary: £21,608 + benefits
Location: Central London
Closing date for applications: 9am, 8 December 2008

Click here for a detailed job description

Click here for additional information

Comments on this post?

Dietary Implications of Supermarket Development: A Global Perspective

Interesting article by Corinna Hawkes has been pulished on the Development Policy Review(2008, 26 (6): 657-692).

The abstract of the article is provided below.

"Five decisions by supermarket operators have important dietary implications:
- the location of their outlets;
- the foods they sell;
- the prices they charge;
- the promotional strategies they use; and
- the nutrition-related activities they implement.

These decisions influence food accessibility, availability, prices and desirability, which in turn influence the decisions consumers make about food.

Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article finds that the dietary implications are both positive – supermarkets can make a more diverse diet available and accessible to more people – and negative – supermarkets can reduce the ability of marginalised populations to purchase a high-quality diet, and encourage the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor highly-processed foods.

Overall, the most universally applicable dietary implication is that supermarkets encourage consumers to eat more, whatever the food."

Comments on this post?

Vacancy - Scientific Officer in Nutrition

The following vacancy has recently been published by the Food Standards Agency

Scientific Officer in Nutrition (6 months fixed term contract)

Working to protect the health of the public and providing independent advice to consumers on food-related issues, the Food Standards Agency Scotland impacts on everyone in the country. You can play a vital part within our busy and fast-growing operation.

Location: Aberdeen
Closing date: 14 November 2008

Click here for more information

>Comments on this post?