At the Interface of Epidemiology and Health Decision Science: Jointly Shaping Cancer Screening Strategies
Join us on Wednesday, October 15th for the Epidemiology Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Uwe Siebert discussing “At the Interface of Epidemiology and Health Decision Science: Jointly Shaping Cancer Screening Strategies“.
Abstract: Epidemiologic analyses provide essential evidence for decision-analytic models guiding cancer screening policy. This presentation highlights how such data are generated, transformed, and linked to inform clinical guidelines, health technology assessments, and citizen information, with case examples from colorectal cancer screening in the U.S. and Europe. Decision-analytic models rely on epidemiologic inputs –-such as disease prevalence, test performance, prognosis, and treatment effectiveness – to compare strategies that differ in age limits, intervals, test modalities, and risk-based algorithms. These models quantify trade-offs between benefits (reduced morbidity/mortality) and harms (false positives, complications, overdiagnosis). To ensure reliable guidance, cross-disciplinary understanding is critical: epidemiologists must recognize how their estimates influence model outputs, while decision scientists must understand the assumptions, limitations, and causal interpretations of those estimates. By fostering collaboration across biostatistics, epidemiology, global health and decision science, we can strengthen the evidence base for cancer screening and ensure strategies appropriately balance benefits and harms.
Bio: Uwe Siebert, MPH, MSc, ScD, is a physician by training and Professor of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Chair of the Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and HTA at UMIT TIROL – University for Health Sciences and Technology in Austria, and Director of the International Continuing Education Program in HTA and Decision Science (htads.org). He is also Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and Health Policy & Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Uwe is the current President- of ISPOR – The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research and former President of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM).
His research interests include applying evidence-based quantitative and translational methods in the framework of health care policy advice and HTA as well as in the clinical context of routine health care, public health policies and patient guidance. He has worked with several HTA Agencies in Europe, Brazil, US and Canada and he advises public and government agencies, academic institutions and industry regarding the conduction of HTAs and their impact on policy and reimbursement decisions. He has authored more than 500 publications and is an Editor of the European Journal of Epidemiology and editorial board member of several scientific journals.
Speaker Information
Uwe Siebert, MD, MPH, MSc, ScD
Organizers
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What on Earth is “Pluralism” for American Life Today?
You are invited to the What on Earth is “Pluralism” for American Life Today? Co-sponsored by the Center for Bioethics (HMS), the Office for Community and Belonging (HSPH), and Office of Dental Education (HSDM).
Diana L. Eck is a Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies Emerita at Harvard University and Frederic Wertham Research Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society. She is also founder and Director of the Pluralism Project, which for nearly 30 years has studied the changing religious landscape of America and its significance for American society. As a scholar of India, she has published Banaras, City of Light, Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India, and India: A Sacred Geography. With the Pluralism Project, she turned her attention to the U.S. and has produced an extensive web-based resource for understanding multi-religious and multi-cultural America. On the subject of pluralism she has written Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras and A New Religious America: How A ‘Christian’ Country Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation. In 1998, she received the National Humanities Medal from President Clinton for her work on religious pluralism in America and in 2011 she delivered the Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh on “The Age of Pluralism.”
Speaker Information
Diana Eck
Organizers
Fall Freecyle!
Join us at the Kresge atrium for an Earth-friendly community swap. Bring extra office or school supplies, books, small household items, or clothes — and take home something new-to-you for free. Please do not bring used lab equipment or consumables. For more information please reach out to mailto: susan_bottino@harvard.edu.
Organizers
On Thin Ice: stories of trust (and mistrust) in Arctic research and policy
The Office of Field Education and Practice is pleased to host the first Community Engaged Learning Seminar with colleagues from the Harvard Arctic Initiative.
Moderated by Sappho Gilbert, postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Chan School and research fellow at the Arctic Initiative, this panel will explore the role of trust in research and policy with Arctic communities, focusing on how it is built, sustained, and at times lost and rebuilt. Drawing on examples from knowledge co-production and community engagement, governance, health care, food systems, and infrastructure, panelists will detail the risks of broken trust and the potential of lockstep, community-centered partnerships. Panelists include Harvard Chan student and Rose Service Learning Fellow, Kenzo Kimura and Fulbright Scholars at the Arctic Initiative, Alexandra Middleton, Hans Peder Kirkegaard and Juho Kähkönen.
Register for the in-person event here.
Attend via Zoom
Organizers
Blood Drive – Harvard Chan Community Day of Service
Sign up by searching sponsor code HARVARDCHAN
As part of the Harvard Chan Community Day of Service, sign up to donate blood with the American Red Cross on Tuesday, September 30th from 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. Event is located on the second floor of Kresge in the student lounge.
First, Do No Harm: A Symposium in Memory of Lucian Leape
Join us for a symposium and reception in honor and memory of Lucian Leape, who passed away this past summer at the age of 94. The Department of Health Policy and Management will celebrate Lucian’s impact and look ahead to the challenges and opportunities for the patient safety movement he did so much to advance. Read his New York Times obituary here.
Symposium: 2:00PM – 5:15PM, Kresge G1 & Online (Livestream)
Reception: 5:15PM-6:30PM, Kresge Atrium
This event is open to the public. Registration is required for all in-person attendees. All in-person attendees who do not already have Harvard University ID access to the Kresge Building will be required to bring a photo ID and check in at the Kresge security desk. Registration ensures that you will be on the guest list when you check in.
This event will be in-person and livestreamed online. The livestream link will become active as the date nears. You will also receive the link to the livestream in your email after registering for this event, if you choose to register in advance (not required for those joining via livestream).
Keynote Speakers
Don Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, KBE
This event will also feature two panels:
Panel 1: “Lucian Leape – Navigating the Ship of Patient Safety”
Panelists: David Bates, Tejal Gandhi, David Blumenthal
Moderator: Joel Weissman
Panel 2: “Achieving Zero Harm: Paths Forward”
Panelists: Michelle Anderson, Patricia Dykes, Michaela Kerrissey
Moderator: Eric Schneider
Panelists & Moderators
Michelle Anderson, BSN, RN
David Bates, MD, MSc
U.S. Life Table Program: Data Challenges, Methodological Solutions, and Moving into the Future
Join us on Wednesday, November 19th for the Epidemiology Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Elizabeth Arias discussing U.S. Life Table Program: Data Challenges, Methodological Solutions, and Moving into the Future.
Abstract: The presentation will provide a historical overview of the U.S. Life Table Program and a summary of the data challenges and methodological solutions employed over the years. The talk will include a description of the US National Vital Statistics System with its inherent challenges and limitations. Specific topics covered will include old age data quality, racial and ethnic misclassification, and small geographic area estimates. The goals for the future of the program will be discussed.
Bio: Dr. Elizabeth Arias is the Director of the US Life Table Program and the Mortality Statistics and Research Team Lead in the Division of Vital Statistics, at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Dr. Arias received her Ph.D. in Sociology (Demography) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At NCHS, Dr. Arias has worked to expand the US Life Table Program’s racial, ethnic, and geographic coverage, developing methods to address data quality limitations. Under her leadership, the program has expanded from two race groups to five race and Hispanic origin populations, annual state life tables, and life tables by census tracts. Dr. Arias also conducts research on racial and ethnic mortality disparities with a special focus on the Hispanic population.
Speaker Information
Elizabeth Arias, PhD
Organizers
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Pressure Points is a webinar series co-hosted by The Studio and Executive and Continuing Education at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health bringing you inside the business of health care.
With its transformative power, AI already has changed the business of health care — but not without challenges and concerns. Join leaders in technology, health care, and academia for a transparent conversation about where AI is delivering real impact, where it’s falling short, and what the future may hold.
Register for free to submit your questions.
An on-demand video will be posted after the event.
Designed for professionals navigating today’s evolving health care landscape, Pressure Points explores the industry’s most urgent challenges—from workforce shifts and financial pressures to leadership, technology, and innovation. Join leading experts for timely conversations on what’s shaping the business of health care now—and what lies ahead.
Speakers
Moderator
Trishan Panch
About the Organizers
The Harvard Chan Studio is the hub for the School’s premier in-person and live-streamed events. We convene global leaders in health policy, advocacy, industry, and research for insightful conversations about public health’s most pressing challenges and most promising solutions.
Executive and Continuing Education
Strengthen your expertise and build new capabilities to address pressing healthcare and public health challenges. Learn from industry experts and esteemed Harvard faculty and join a global community of peers driven to creating a healthier world.
Harvard Pop Center Social Demography Seminar: A demographic perspective on energy transitions: Linkages between population, land use, and economic dynamics in Malawi
Kate Beach, PhD, David E. Bell Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, presents “A demographic perspective on energy transitions: Linkages between population, land use, and economic dynamics in Malawi.”
The Social Demography Seminar (SDS) series at the Center for Population and Development Studies provides a lively forum for scholars from across the university to discuss in-progress social scientific and population research. Social demography includes work that uses demographic methods to describe and explain the distribution of social goods across populations. The hybrid series offers presentations on a wide variety of topics such as family, gender, race/ethnicity, population health—including mortality, morbidity, and functional health—inequality, immigration, fertility, and the institutional arrangements that shape and respond to population processes.
With the aim of disseminating scholarly research, The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies hosts a diverse array of speakers. They do not represent or speak for the Center, the School or the University, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.
Speaker Information
Kate Beach, PhD
Organizers
Climate change: Seeking bipartisan solutions in turbulent times
Climate change poses an enormous threat to people worldwide. How can we most effectively address it? This program brings together Gina McCarthy, who led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama, and former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis for a dynamic conversation. They will discuss the merits of regulatory and free market solutions and explore opportunities to work across political divides. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to discover hopeful, pragmatic approaches to today’s most pressing environmental issues.
Register for free to submit your questions.
An on-demand video will be posted after the event.
Speakers
Bob Inglis
Gina McCarthy
