Bixby Center In the News - Archive

Congratulations to Dr. Claire Brindis for receiving the 2009 UCSF Chancellor's Award for the Advancement of Women. See Dr. Brindis's remarks and the complete list of award recipients. 

Dr. Sara Newmann receives the 2009-2010 UCSF Hellman Family Award for Early-Career Faculty.

The New Generation Health Center and its collaborative project, Glass to Diamonds, are featured on UCSF Today, "UCSF Partners with Community to Inform Teens About Reproductive Health" (12/12/08). The Glass to Diamonds project seeks to highlight issues of access to reporductive health care for young women.

Dr. Claire Brindis discusses California Proposition 4 on Capital Public Radio. Transcript and radio clip available here: "Prop. 4: Parental Notification for Teenage Abortion" (CPR, 10/6/08).
  

Dr. Justin Diedrich, Family Planning Research Coordinator, selected to receive the Preserving Core Values in Science Award at Reproductive Health 2008.
 

Dr. Maternowska's book, Reproducing Inequities: Poverty and the Politics of Population in Haiti, reviewed in "The Strange History of Birth Control" (The New York Review of Books, 8/14/08).  

Dr. Darney participates on a panel addressing teen pregnancy and birthrates in California and the nation. Radio program achrived here: "Teen Birthrate" (KQED Forum, 5/22/08).
 

A CDC study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health concluded that sex education increased the likelihood that teens would delay sex. Dr. Claire Brindis explains that sex education is needed to counter the "mythology" around sex; teach anatomy, physiology and contraception; and give teens ways of dealing wisely with sexually risky situations.

The UCSF News Office reports that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given UCSF researchers nearly $1.4 million to expand African research trials on the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment (NASG).  The director of Safe Motherhood Programs, Dr. Suellen Miller, hopes the NASG will help to reduce maternal mortality worldwide.

Dr. Claire Brindis discusses the factors that lead to the 19 million sexually transmitted disease infections diagnosed each year in the U.S. in "Breaking the silence" (CNN Blog, Paging Dr. Gupta, 12/5/07).

In "Groveling for Choice: What Good Doctors Will Do" (Reproductive Health Reality Check, 11/8/07), Carole Joffe, PhD, tells the stories, which took place more than 40 years apart, of two female doctors imploring male colleagues and the establishment on behalf of patients who needed abortions.

Claire Brindis, DrPH, and Douglas Kirby, PhD, of ETR Associates, describe California's family planning program for low income men and women, Family PACT, which also provides contraceptives to low income teens. California teaches comprehensive sex eduation in schools in contrast to Texas, which promotes an abstinence-only curriculum. Dr. Brindis' research shows that, from 1991-2004, California's teen birth rate fell by 47 percent, while the United States' teen birth rate fell by one third. During the same period Texas' teen birth rate fell by 19 percent.

Related links:

Decline in Unintended Pregnancies in California: California Congressional Districts
Decline in Unintended Pregnancies in California: California State Senate and Assembly Districts
Family PACT Fact Sheet on Adolescent Services 

This October, UCSF faculty members associated with the Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy participated in both an evidence-based medicine and problem-based learning training course and a high-level policy seminar with medical educators in Vietnam. The group, led by Principal Investigator Uta Landy, PhD, included Drs. Eugene Washington, Lee Learman, Philip Darney, Rebecca Jackson, and George Sawaya. The training course was a follow up to an earlier course held in June by faculty members Drs. Sawaya and Jody Steinauer. The final course in this series is scheduled for spring 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City. Dr. Landy hopes this program will serve as a model program for improving medical education in other countries.

Nancy Padian, PhD, director of the Women's Global Health Imperative (WGHI), congratulated the Women's Global Health Scholars for concluding the program's first year with the determination and know-how to carve out leadership positions in health care around the world -- and for exceeding the goals they had set at the start of the year. The first class of Women's Global Health Scholars hailed from Africa (Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Botswana), Asia (China, India, Vietnam), Eastern Europe (Turkey, Georgia), and Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Peru). The program consists of two one-week courses at UCSF, monthly virtual meetings and ongoing mentorship.

Suellen Miller, PhD, RN, CNM, MHA, speaks about using the low-tech NASG to reduce maternal mortality and save women's lives on the The World report, "Maternal health focus of MacArthur grant."  See additional coverage of this radio event on UCSF Today.  For more information about the grant, see "MacArthur Grant Funds Innovative UCSF Project to Reduce Maternal Mortaility" (Synapse, 11/8/07) and "Providing Nigerian Hospitals with Equipment and Supplies to Save Mothers' Lives" (UNFPA News, 10/11/07).

San Francisco General Hospital does not use digoxin or potassium chloride injections to ensure fetal demise in late-term abortions because, "We do not believe that our patients should take a risk for which the only clear benefit is a legal one to the physician," wrote Dr. Philip Darney, San Francisco General Hospital’s Chief of Obstetrics, in e-mailed response to the reporter's inquiry. "Shots assist in aborting fetuses" (The Boston Globe, 8/10/07) focused on doctors' reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court's April decision to uphold the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The Act imposes the possibility of a two-year prison sentence for abortions in which the fetus is partially delivered while alive.

Dr. Darney weighs in on the re-released contraceptive, the Today Sponge, in "Good News, Elaine: The Sponge Is Back, With a More Modern Approach" (The New York Times, 7/30/07).

Dr. Nancy Padian reviewed methods for preventing transmission of HIV in the context of her recent study of diaphragms as a barrier method of HIV prevention and made recommendations for future research during a plenary session of the 4th International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Padian's speech, "Synthesizing Our Options: Biomedical Prevention Technologies in the Context of Behavioural Interventions," was covered by Inter Press Service, "Scoop" World, and Trinidad & Tobago Express. A video of the plenary, as well as Dr. Padian's slides, can be accessed on Kaisernetwork.org.

Dr. Claire Brindis speaks about the importance of comprehensive sex education on the WBUR morning news program On Point.  See additional coverage of this radio event at UCSF Today.

Dr. Nancy Padian announced that a clinical trial involving 5,045 women in South Africa and Zimbabwe found no statistical difference in the rate of new HIV infections in the two study arms: those who received a diaphragm plus lubricant along with male condoms for their partners and those who only received male condoms. The study, "Diaphragm and lubricant gel for prevention of HIV acquisition in southern African women: a randomised controlled trial" (The Lancet, available online 13 July 2007), was widely covered by the media including The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, Science Magazine, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, WebMD, and Reuters. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine interviewed Dr. Padian about what comes next for HIV prevention trials (podcast). The BBC included results of the trial in a review of news about HIV prevention. The UCSF News Release can be found here.

Dr. Claire Brindis discusses the importance of comprehensive sex education in "Abstinence-only sex ed finds few scientific fans" (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/11/07). Even in California — which has seen the second largest decline in teen pregancy rates in the nation from 1991-2004 (and has not accepted federal aid that would require abstinence-only education programs) — it is important to keep educating our diverse population.

Claire Brindis, DrPH, and Tina Raine-Bennett, MD, MPH, speak about the issues that today's teens face regarding sexuality in "THE MODERN AGE: Generation Confused" (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/11/07). With new technologies, such as Plan B

Dr. George Sawaya speaks about Pap and HPV testing in "Pap Test, A Mainstay Against Cervical Cancer, May Be Fading" (The New York Times, 1/16/07).

The Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA) awarded the 2006 Steven Polgar Prize to Vincanne Adams and co-authors Suellen Miller, Sienna Craig, Nyima, Sonam, Droyoung, Lhakpen, and Michael Varner for "The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Clinical Trials Research: Case Report from the Tibetan Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China" (Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 19(3): 267-289). The Polgar Prize is awarded annually for the best paper published in SMA’s journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly.

Please see the link below for an article and Video On Demand featuring Dr. Nancy Padian and the UCSF AIDS conference.

Cynthia Harper, PhD, and Carole Joffe, PhD, discuss the potential impact of Plan B emergency contraception going over-the-counter in "Wider access to pill changes everything" (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/25/06).

Tina Raine, MD, discusses emergency contraception and unintended pregnancy in "F.D.A. Approved Broader Access to Next-Day Pill" (The New York Times, 8/25/06).  The FDA announced its decision today to approve Plan B emergency contraception for over-the-counter access to women aged 18 and over.  Please see Emergency Contracpetion Over-The-Counter for more information about Plan B.

Dr. Suellen Miller discusses preventing maternal death during childbirth with the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment (NASG) on Mother Jones Radio.

Philip Darney, MD, MSc, was quoted in "Period: Full Stop?" (The Washington Post, 6/6/06) about continuous use of hormonal contraception (e.g., birth control pills, the patch, or the vaginal ring).

Dean Jamison, PhD, and Nancy Padian, PhD, published "Where AIDS Funding Should Go" in The Washington Post on May 20, 2006.  The column discusses the publication Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (2nd Edition), specifically detailing the "five conclusings that are either opposed by the U.S. government or that recommend strategies that the United States is not using."

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah is hosting the Global Women's Action Network for Children Conference June 11-13, 2006.  The conference will be jointly launched by the Jordanian National Council for Family Affairs and the US-based Children's Defense Fund.  The conference participants will include prominent political and academic figures, including the Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Wangari Maathai.  Dr. Suellen Miller has been asked to speak on maternal mortality and the Non-pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG).

Cynthia Harper, PhD, Monica Cheong, MD, Corinne Rocca, MPH, Philip Darney, MD, MSc, and Tina Raine, MD, MPH, were awarded the 2005 Roy M. Pitkin Award from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for their article "The Effect of Increased Access to Emergency Contraception Among Young Adolescents" (Obstetrics & Gynecology 2005; 106:483-491).  The award was established in 1998 to honor obstetrics and gynecology departments that "promote and demonstrate excellence in research."

Tori Sutherland, a Women's Global Health Imperative (WGHI) Safe Motherhood Program intern, co-authors essay with Dr. Suellen Miller, which is featured in "On The Ground," the blog of Nicholas Kristof, columnist for The New York Times. The essay details an eye-opening trip to Egypt, Yemen, and Nigeria to observe conditions in maternal health hospitals, where needs are great and the means to help women are stretched thin.

"First aid for obstetric haemorrhage: the pilot study of the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment in Egypt," published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, finds that the NASG--a reusable neoprene suit--shows promise for management of obstetric haemorrhage, particulary in lower resource settings.  Haemorrhaging is a leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide.  Please see news coverage by Rueters, the Los Angeles Times, and the CBC.

"A new tool in keeping women HIV free" highlights the importance of microbicide research for HIV prevention, especially in contexts where women lack control over sexual decision-making.

Science's News Focus article "Plan B: A Collision of Science and Politics" highlights the emergency contraception research of Dr. Harper and Dr. Raine. Please see the Current Events webpage "Emergency Contraception Over-the-Counter" for more information about this issue.

Dr. Claire Brindis was quoted in several news articles discussing the National Center for Health Statistics's September 15, 2005 report "Sexual Behavior and Selected Health Measures: Men and Women 15-44 Years of Age, United States, 2002." Please see coverage in The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and TIME Magazine.

"Fetal Pain: A Systematic Multidisciplinary Review of the Evidence," which appeared in the August issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, examines whether a fetus feels pain and whether safe and effective techniques exist for providing direct fetal anesthesia. The review finds that fetal perception of pain is unlikely before 29 or 30 weeks. The article also finds that there is little data addressing the effectiveness of direct fetal anesthesia or the safety of such techniques on pregnant women. See news coverage of the study in The New York Times, The Washingon Post (AP), the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Dr. Darney interviewed in the Los Angeles Times's article "Abortion Pill Investigated in Four California Deaths."

Dr. Padian discusses her study examining the diaphragm as a means to prevent HIV in Science's News Focus "HIV/AIDS: Prevention Cocktails: Combining Tools to Stop HIV's Spread" by Jon Cohen.

"Haiti Eyes" By M. CATHERINE MATERNOWSKA
Published: July 24, 2005, The New York Times Magazine
This powerful piece by Dr. Maternowska describes her recent life-threatening experience in Haiti, where she has done public health work for 22 years.

Dr. Krishnan, director of HIV prevention programs in India for the Women’s Global Health Imperative, was named a recipient of the 2004 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the nation's highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. Dr. Krishnan, is an epidemiologist who works in Southern India. She is conducting two studies that examine the relationship between economic opportunity and HIV prevention among girls and investigate gender-based power dynamics and susceptibility to HIV among married women. She also explores the barriers to treatment adherence and AIDS-related stigma.

Dr. Felicia H. Stewart, Co-Director of the CRHRP and Director of Advancing New Standards In Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) has been named winner of the 2005 Olivia Schieffelin Nordberg Award for excellence in writing and editing in the population sciences.  The Award will be presented at a reception at the Population Council in New York in June. Dr. Stewart writes about both the science and the values of the population field. Without sacrificing rigor, she makes scientific material accessible to nonprofessionals. And as an activist she is uniquely sensitive to the social responsibility of scientists and the need for moral clarity in a field often driven by political factions.

CRHRP researchers publish a much anticipated study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Direct Access to Emergency Contraception Through Pharmacies and Effect on Unintended Pregnancy and STIs" reveals that increased access to EC does not lead to increased levels of unprotected sex or sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Please see coverage of this article in USA Today, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News.

CRHRP Co-Director Dr. Brindis discusses why the U.S. is seeing a drop in teen birth rates. Dr. Brindis addresses the importance of parental eduction about the risks present during the "tranisitonal years" as children enter adolescence and the need for effective pregnancy-prevention programs, citing concern about the effects of "abstinence only" education.

CRHRP Co-Founders Phil Darney, MD, MSc, and Nancy Padian, PhD, were elected to the Institute of Medicine. The IOM elected 65 new members, raising the Institute's total active membership to 1,416. Election is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health.

Dr. Eleanor Drey, Medical Director at the San Francisco General Hospital's Women's Options Center, was deemed a Local Hero in the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay 2004. As the article so aptly puts it, we are "blessed to have Drey, who's a calm yet impassioned advocate for family planning and the clinic's disadvantaged patients, defending an essential medical service that's perpetually under political attack."

CRHRP diaphragm studies and Dr. Michael Chirenje in the San Francisco Chronicle.

We are pleased to announce that Carole Joffe, PhD, has been selected as the 2005 recipient of the SWS Feminist Activist Award. SWS (Sociologists for Women in Society) is honoring Carole for her dedication and commitment to the issue of reproductive rights for women. The award includes a personal honorarium and a travel budget for a lecture, workshop or training session on activism at two selected campuses in 2005. Carole will be formally presented with the Feminist Activist Award at the American Sociological Association summer meetings this August in San Francisco.

Dr. Claire Brindis featured in "California reduces teen birth rate through sex education" (AP, 5/9/04).

Dr. Eleanor Drey interviewed in "Abortion law hits poor hardest, S.F. expert says" (San Francisco Chronicle, 3/31/04).

Dr. Suneeta Krishnan and WGHI featured in "Inequality called key in AIDS gender gap" (San Francisco Chronicle, 3/10/04).

CRHRP Co-Founder, Nancy Padian, PhD, and the Shaping the Health of Adolescents in Zimbabwe (SHAZ) program featured in "Saying No to 'Sugar Daddies'" (The Wall Street Journal, 2/25/04).