Whether developing a new test for malaria, exposing health risks associated with climate change, or highlighting the impact of stigma on LGBTQ+ population well-being, Yale School of Public Health faculty advanced science in a variety of impactful ways over the past year.
Their efforts were recognized on April 7 with the annual faculty research awards.
Here is a list of this year’s winners:
Early Career Investigator
Leying Guan – Annals of Statistics
A conformal test of linear models via permutation-augmented regressions
Dr. Guan proposed Permutation-Augmented Linear Model Regression Test (PALMRT) to perform robust permutation testing in linear regression models with multiple covariates. Although parametric statistical tests, such as t-tests, are commonly used in regression analysis, these tests may be subject to inflated false positives if the parametric assumptions are not met, which is often the case in public health and biomedical research. In this context, permutation tests are well-established as robust alternatives to parametric tests for simple comparisons without covariates. However, as the nominator notes, “surprisingly, there was no practical and equally theoretically justified permutation method for regression analysis adjusting for covariates. Permutation-Augmented Linear Model Regression Test represents a breakthrough solution to this century-old statistical challenge.”
Investigator
Xi Chen – JAMA Internal Medicine
Early-Life Circumstances and Racial Disparities in Cognition Among Older Adults in the US
This study examined disparities in dementia rates between Black and White Americans, using a large representative sample of the U.S. population to provide the first evidence on how adverse early life circumstances may contribute to racial disparities in cognition in old age. The study assessed the quality of education provided and individuals’ personal experiences during schooling, including attending racially segregated schools, and showed that promoting education equity can reduce racial disparities in dementia later in life. An accompanying editorial in JAMA Internal Medicine highlighted the study’s importance given the high level of de facto racial segregation in schools that continues to exist today — driven primarily by economic differences within communities.
Sunil Parikh – Nature Communications
Noninvasive in vivo photoacoustic detection of malaria with Cytophone in Cameroon
The paper is likely to have an enormous impact on the diagnosis, treatment, and control of malaria. Sunil’s group developed Cytophone, an innovative photoacoustic flow cytometer platform that detects malaria infected red blood cells by placing the Cytophone transducer on the top of a hand with a readout available as soon as three minutes. The study group compared Cytophone to blood smears and malaria rapid tests in study subjects in Cameroon and found it had similar sensitivity and specificity without the need for blood draws. Rapid, non-invasive detection of malaria will hasten diagnosis and therapy. Earlier therapy will clear infection more rapidly, decrease transmission, and thereby decrease malaria incidence.
Team Science
Xiaomei Ma, Nicole Deziel, Rong Wang, Josh Warren, Kai Chen, Tormod Rogne – CDE, EHS, BIS - Lancet Planetary Health
This exceptionally rigorous paper examined the links between exposure to extreme heat in pregnancy and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Using a large-detailed dataset, they applied innovative methods to identify the critical exposure window during pregnancy and to address different sources of bias. Their finding of an increased risk of childhood leukemia from heat stress in pregnancy sheds light on a previously overlooked potential consequence of climate change on human health; namely that extreme heat during pregnancy may affect the burden of chronic diseases in the offspring. The interdisciplinary team includes faculty from multiple YSPH departments.
Impact Prize
Caroline Johnson, Abhishek Jain, Domenica Berardi, Lingeng Lu – Molecular Cancer
Colorectal cancer has long been classified as a single disease or broadly divided into right- and left-sided cancers. However, this study fundamentally challenges that notion by revealing that each subsite of the colorectum has a distinct metabolic profile, effectively making them biologically different cancers. This study generated a colorectal cancer metabolome map, unveiling subsite-specific diagnostic and survival markers and revealing metabolic heterogeneity across different tumor subsites. A major public health impact of this work is the development of a publicly accessible colorectal cancer metabolome database, which enables targeted exploration of metabolic pathways, paving the way for more personalized, evidence-based interventions that can improve early detection and treatment outcomes.
John Pachankis – Lancet Public Health
Structural stigma and LGBTQ+ health: a narrative review of quantitative studies
This paper is an extremely important step in understanding how to work towards improving the health of LGBTQ+ populations via a public health approach. The nominator of this paper notes that “this article provides evidence that there is tremendous value in intervening in society and on a broad scale in ways that will benefit the health of LGBTQ+ populations. The paper highlights the role of structural stigma—including societal-level conditions, cultural norms, and institutional policies that constrain opportunities, resources, and wellbeing—in contributing to health burdens among LGBTQ+ individuals. This is how we need to be thinking about changing the world for the better.”