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Name : |
Ali Ardalan |
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From : |
Saturday, September 01, 2012 |
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To : |
Saturday, June 15, 2013 |
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Title : |
Associate Professor |
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School/Department : |
Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health |
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Research Center : |
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative |
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E-mail : |
mvanrooyen@partners.org |
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subject : |
International Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Health Management |
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Venue : |
Cambridge, MA |
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Country : |
United States |
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Sabbatical Leave Period : |
9 months |
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I. Brief summary of Leave : |
Position:
• Visiting scientist, Department of Global Health & Population, Harvard School of Public Health
• Fellow, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
Website:
• https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ali-ardalan/
• http://hhi.harvard.edu/ali_ardalan
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITES:
• Follow up with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) to sign a Letter of Agreement (LoA) for joint research and training activities. The LoA has been signed by Dr. Ali Kheradmand, TUMS Vice Chancellor for International Affairs and Professor Michael VanRooyen, Director of HHI. According to the LoA, Dr. Ali Ardalan and Dr. Hani Mowafi are the focal points for coordination of joint programs on behalf of TUMS and HHI, respectively.
• Development of the Middle East and North Africa Crisis Management Program. This program aims to establish a HHI Virtual Collaborative Center in the region coordinating research and training activities with partners in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. By end of the program, each hub in this network will have enhanced capacity for research, training & program implementation with full support of the trusted network.
• Development of a concept note for the Public Health Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction (PHLDRR) program. Targeting the low income countries, this program will focus on countries where there is an existing close relationship between an School of Public Health and the national MOH to create integration of training. The PHLDRR program will target schools of public health to develop training programs for public health professionals in disaster risk reduction (DRR), as well as work with ministries to incorporate DRR into national health surveillance systems and public health information campaigns.
• Contribution in World Disaster Report, 2013, with an article entitled “Using satellite imagery by national authorities in response to natural disasters: Opportunities and challenges”. The report is under development.
• Organizing a panel discussion on “Proactive approach of public health to disaster risk reduction” in collaboration with HHI, Frontier lecture series at Department of Global Health and Population at HSPH and Harvard Humanitarian Academy. The panelist were invited from the US CDC and WHO/EMRO. |
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II.Acheivements(Publications,research,et.al.) : |
PRESENTATIONS:
• “Proactive public health approach to disaster risk reduction: Iran’s experience from field to strategic level” presented at Harvard School of Public Health. 1 April 2013.
• “The challenges of engagement: Disaster risk reduction and civil society in MENA region” presented at the webinar organized by Harvard Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) and Advanced Training Program on Humanitarian Action (ATHA). 14 February 2013.
• “Disaster health research and education in Tehran University of Medical Sciences” presented at the Disaster Medicine Fellowship Program of Harvard Medical School. 13 October 2012.
ARTICLES:
• Ardalan A, Mowafi H, Burkle FM. Iran’s disaster risk: Now is the time for community-based public health preparedness. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. [Accepted]
• Ardalan A, Babai J, Moradian MJ, Shariati M, Yousefi H. Incorporating the lessons learned from 2012 east Azerbaijan earthquakes in Iran’s national health emergency plan. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 2013. 8:1.
• Ardalan A, Mowafi H, Malekafzali H, Abolhasanai F, Zanganeh AM, Safizadeh H, Salari S, Zonoobi V. Effectiveness of a primary health care program on urban and rural community disaster preparedness, I.R.Iran: A community intervention trial [Submitted to Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness - Under review]
• Ardalan A, Mowafi H, Shariati M, Yusefi H. Impacts of natural hazards on primary health care facilities of Iran: A 10-year retrospective survey [Submitted to PLoS Currents Disasters - Under review]
• Ardalan A, Sepehrvand N, Pourmalek F, Masoumi GR, Sarvar M, Mahmoudabadi A, Rezaie A. Deadly rural road traffic injury: A rising public health concern in I.R.Iran [Submitted to International Journal of Preventive Medicine - Under review]
• Ardalan A, Mesdaghinia AR, Masoomi GR, Holakouie Naieni K, Ahmadnezhad E. Iran’s initiatives for disaster and emergency health higher education [Submitted to Iranian Journal of Public Health - Under review]
• Ardalan A, Aboulshams B, Moslehi B, Masoumi GR. Analysis of Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education’s contribution in International humanitarian assistance [Submitted to Hakim Journal – Under review]
• Ostadtaghizadeh A, Soleimani SV, Ardalan A. Lessons from a flash flood in Tehran subway, Iran. PLoS Currents: Disasters. 2013. May 2.
• Ostadtaghizadeh A, Mowafi H, Ardalan A. School fire in Iran: Simple actions save lives. Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters [Accepted]
• Zafarghandi MR, Soroush MR, Mahmoodi M, Naieni KH, Ardalan A, et al. Incidence of cancer in Iranian sulfur mustard exposed veterans: a long-term follow-up cohort study. Cancer Causes Control. 2013. 24:99-105.
• Ahmadnezhad E, Holakouie Naieni K, Ardalan A, et al. Excess mortality during heat waves, Tehran Iran: An ecological time-series study. Journal of Research in Health Sciences. 2013. 13(1).
SUBMITTED ABSTRATCS TO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES:
• Hazard vulnerability assessment of Iran’s primary health care facilities for natural disasters, 2012 [Accepted for oral presentation in World Conference on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, 2013]
• SWOT analysis of international humanitarian assistance by Iran’s health system: Application for disaster health diplomacy [Accepted for oral presentation in World Conference on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, 2013] |
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Assessment of Value of Sabbatical leave(benefits,faculty development,future professional activities,...) : |
Thanks to TUMS and Harvard University, I found the sabbatical opportunity very useful and productive in terms of scientific collaboration, meeting the well know international scholars, exchange of knowledge and expertise. This period helped me to brush my knowledge up in the arena of disaster and emergency health. I have planned to use this knowledge and expertise for revision of teaching curriculum and research designs in TUMS.
Ali Ardalan |
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Department/Unit Head's Comments : |
Dr. Ardalan is currently appointed as a
Visiting Scientist in the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard School of Public Health where I am appointed as Professor and Fellow of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative where I am the director.
Dr. Ardalan has been instrumental in helping us to develop Middle East programs for HHI. In that capacity he has worked closely with Dr. HaniMowafi to develop proposals for funding and research in the Middle East and North Africa region. Together they have submitted for publication 4 articles with several more in the pipeline – in addition to the 7 articles that Dr. Ardalan concurrently published separately.
Dr Ardalan’s work was well underway and very productive right up until the time his original sabbatical was schedule to finish. However, there was more work to be done to advance the original project as well as develop an additional proposal around Public Health Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction. This cutting-edge area of public health research is rapidly developing and Dr Ardalan has been working to distinguish himself in the field.
Along those lines, he and Dr Mowafi have developed a work proposal for advancing DRR training for public health professionals in low-income countries. This work was based on Dr Ardalan’s research in Iran in community-based training for disaster risk reduction (some of the work sent for publication this year) and was highlighted as part of the distinguished lecture series, Harvard Frontiers in Global Health Seminars. The seminar titled “Protecting Communities from Disasters A Proactive Public Health Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction: the case of Iran and the MENA region” was held jointly by the Department of Global Health and Population and the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard. Dr Ardalan was joined by our colleague Dr Mowafi as well as a senior DRR expert from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Mark Keim, and Dr. Qudsia Huda, Regional Advisor for WHO-EMRO.
Further, Dr. Ardalan was the featured speaker in a global web seminar produced by our affiliate, the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. His webinar, “The Challenges of Engagement: DRR and Civil Society”, was broadcast worldwide to hundreds of participants live and has been downloaded dozens of times since by experts and researchers in the field of disasters.
In addition, Dr Ardalan has worked with our senior colleague, Dr Patrick Vinck, to contribute to the World Disaster Report 2013. Dr. Ardalan’s chapter on the digital divide between national and international actors in disaster response highlights a key focus area for all interested in preventing and responding to disasters in low- and middle-income countries.
There are more details of the excellent work carried out by Dr Ardalan this academic year attached in the subsequent pages attached. Perhaps, most importantly he helped shepherd through a letter of agreement (LoA) between Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) in order to continue this productive collaboration in the future.
Prof. Michael VanRooyen
Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative |
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Met conditions of sabbatical : |
Yes |
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School Dean's/vice President's Comments : |
Dr. Ardalan is currently appointed as a
Visiting Scientist in the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard School of Public Health where I am appointed as Professor and Fellow of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative where I am the director.
Dr. Ardalan has been instrumental in helping us to develop Middle East programs for HHI. In that capacity he has worked closely with Dr. HaniMowafi to develop proposals for funding and research in the Middle East and North Africa region. Together they have submitted for publication 4 articles with several more in the pipeline – in addition to the 7 articles that Dr. Ardalan concurrently published separately.
Dr Ardalan’s work was well underway and very productive right up until the time his original sabbatical was schedule to finish. However, there was more work to be done to advance the original project as well as develop an additional proposal around Public Health Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction. This cutting-edge area of public health research is rapidly developing and Dr Ardalan has been working to distinguish himself in the field.
Along those lines, he and Dr Mowafi have developed a work proposal for advancing DRR training for public health professionals in low-income countries. This work was based on Dr Ardalan’s research in Iran in community-based training for disaster risk reduction (some of the work sent for publication this year) and was highlighted as part of the distinguished lecture series, Harvard Frontiers in Global Health Seminars. The seminar titled “Protecting Communities from Disasters A Proactive Public Health Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction: the case of Iran and the MENA region” was held jointly by the Department of Global Health and Population and the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard. Dr Ardalan was joined by our colleague Dr Mowafi as well as a senior DRR expert from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Mark Keim, and Dr. Qudsia Huda, Regional Advisor for WHO-EMRO.
Further, Dr. Ardalan was the featured speaker in a global web seminar produced by our affiliate, the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. His webinar, “The Challenges of Engagement: DRR and Civil Society”, was broadcast worldwide to hundreds of participants live and has been downloaded dozens of times since by experts and researchers in the field of disasters.
In addition, Dr Ardalan has worked with our senior colleague, Dr Patrick Vinck, to contribute to the World Disaster Report 2013. Dr. Ardalan’s chapter on the digital divide between national and international actors in disaster response highlights a key focus area for all interested in preventing and responding to disasters in low- and middle-income countries.
There are more details of the excellent work carried out by Dr Ardalan this academic year attached in the subsequent pages attached. Perhaps, most importantly he helped shepherd through a letter of agreement (LoA) between Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) in order to continue this productive collaboration in the future.
Prof. Michael VanRooyen
Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative |