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Andrea Schneider, M.D., Ph.D.
Lecture Title: Powered by Numbers: Leveraging Epidemiology to Foster Prevention of Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Sequelae
Jessica Perkins, Ph.D., M.S.
Lecture Title: Misperceived Social Norms as Drivers of HIV Prevention: Exploring Opportunities for Individual and Social Change
Benjamin Xu, M.D., Ph.D.
Lecture Title: Early Detection and Prevention of Angle Closure Glaucoma Using OCT and Artificial Intelligence
Andrea Schneider, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Lecture Title
Powered by Numbers: Leveraging Epidemiology to Foster Prevention of Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Sequelae
View the Lecture
May 6, 2024
Resources
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ESIL-2024-SchneiderSlides-FINAL-508.pdf (6.37 MB)
About the Lecture
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, especially among older individuals. Approximately 15.7% of U.S. adults aged 40 years or older have experienced a head injury with loss of consciousness, which amounts to approximately 23 million affected individuals.
In this presentation, the current epidemiology of TBI is presented. In addition, efforts focused on improving the characterization of lifetime history of TBI in ongoing prospective cohort studies in diverse populations is presented. Leveraging data with over 25 years of follow-up, studies presented quantify the population-level burden of TBI and the dose-dependent long-term consequences of TBI (including data on cognitive decline, dementia risk, and mortality, among other outcomes) in a comprehensive manner. Data is also presented showing how epidemiological study design and biostatistical methods can provide insights into mechanisms underlying observed associations. The robust and dose-dependent associations of TBI with adverse outcomes underscore the importance of public health measures aimed at preventing head injuries and targeted clinical interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality after head injury.
About Andrea Schneider
Dr. Andrea Schneider is an Assistant Professor of Neurology in the Division of Neurocritical Care with a secondary appointment in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She received her M.D. in 2014 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2012. Dr. Schneider completed a neurology residency and neurocritical care fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2020. She is a neuroepidemiologist who has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Schneider is the Principal Investigator of a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke K23 grant and two Department of Defense grants. Her research program is centered on TBI epidemiology and the prevention of TBI-related sequelae, with a focus on the prevention of TBI-related mortality, neurodegeneration, and dementia.
Jessica Perkins, Ph.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor
Vanderbilt University Peabody College of Education and Human Development
Lecture Title
Misperceived Social Norms as Drivers of HIV Prevention: Exploring Opportunities for Individual and Social Change
View the Lecture
May 7, 2024
Resources
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ESIL-2024-PerkinsSlides-FINAL-508.pdf (2.27 MB)
About the Lecture
Understanding how perceptions about normative health behaviors drive individual health behaviors has been a focus of substance use prevention efforts for more than three decades in the United States. However, social norms about HIV prevention and treatment behaviors are understudied as drivers of health-promoting behavior and prevention intervention uptake. Stronger HIV prevention is needed, particularly in many parts of Southern and Eastern Africa. In this presentation, Dr. Jessica Perkins describes misperceived HIV-related norms and why these misperceptions matter for multiple levels of HIV prevention. She discusses developing interventions to harness perceptions about existing protective norms to enhance the uptake of HIV-related health behavior interventions.
About Jessica Perkins
Dr. Jessica Perkins is an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development and serves as core faculty at the Vanderbilt Institute of Global Health. In her interdisciplinary work as a social and behavioral scientist, Dr. Perkins explores social norms and social networks as drivers of substance use, violence, and HIV prevention and treatment and co-occurring behaviors and health outcomes. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers, many of which focus on misperceptions about health-promoting norms within local networks as opportunities to implement norms-based strategies to prompt individual and collective change.
Dr. Perkins’ research in rural Uganda focuses on social norms and health outcomes among adults in an ongoing network cohort study. Additionally, she assesses structural and social determinants of stigma and HIV prevention and treatment in Tennessee using community-engaged, mixed methods. She also studies health-promoting social norms among adolescents and young adults across the United States. Her work has been funded by an NIH Career Development Award ( K01MH115811 ) and the Tennessee Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Perkins earned her Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University, her M.S. in population and international health from Harvard School Public Health, and her undergraduate degree in psychology from Davidson College.
Benjamin Xu, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief of the Glaucoma Service
University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute
Lecture Title
Early Detection and Prevention of Angle Closure Glaucoma Using OCT and Artificial Intelligence
View the Lecture
May 8, 2024
Resources
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ESIL-2024-XuSlides-FINAL-508.pdf (8.7 MB)
About the Lecture
Primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG), a common cause of permanent vision loss worldwide, is a visually devastating but mostly preventable form of glaucoma. In his lecture, Dr. Benjamin Xu shares recent advances in early detection and prevention of PACG using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and artificial intelligence (AI). First, he describes recent research using nationwide electronic health care data to identify deficiencies in angle closure care and disparities in PACG outcomes. He also presents a recent landmark study highlighting the limitations of current clinical methods for identifying high-risk individuals. Finally, Dr. Xu discusses recent scientific advances combining OCT imaging and AI to develop novel angle closure detection and risk stratification methods to overcome existing clinical limitations.
About Benjamin Xu
Dr. Benjamin Xu received his B.S. from Yale University and M.D. and Ph.D. in neuroscience from Columbia University. He then completed his ophthalmology residency at the Los Angeles General Medical Center/USC Roski Eye Institute and glaucoma fellowship at the University of California San Diego Shiley Eye Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Robert N. Weinreb. He is now Chief of the Glaucoma Service at the USC Roski Eye Institute.
Dr. Xu's NIH-funded research focuses on developing new diagnostic tools to detect and care for patients with glaucoma using optical coherence tomography imaging and artificial intelligence. He also studies the impact of glaucoma on patient populations and health care systems worldwide using epidemiological and electronic health care data and devises new strategies to deliver more efficient and effective glaucoma care.