New APCA Scientific Advisory Council

The APCA Scientific Advisory Council is off and running. The Council met for the first time on August 29th. This new council was established to provide advice to our organization on all issues of science. This will include review of written documents such as screening protocols and grant proposals. It will also include consultation on specific scientific or medical issues as they arise. We have put together a world-class group of scientists with expertise in women’s health, mental health, oncology, gastroenterology, medical anthropology, nursing, epidemiology, clinical research and health promotion. Here’s a list of our members and their affiliations:

• James Campbell, MD (chair)
• Heyoung McBride, MD, Arizona Oncology Services
• Linda Larkey, PhD, Arizona State University
• Mark Wong, MD, Banner Samaritan Medical Center
• Tim Flood, MD, Arizona Department of Health Services
• Angela Chen, PhD, Arizona State University
• Jennifer Weil, MD, National Institutes of Health
• Wendy Astudillo, NP, Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System
• Seline Szkupinski-Quiroga, PhD, Arizona State University

Our first meeting was focused on getting to know each other and providing an introduction to APCA and its work. We had a preliminary discussion about diabetes screening and prevention and the need for tracking short-term outcomes to measure impact. Thanks so much to Dr. Jim Campbell for his willingness to chair this group. We plan to meet again in November and have more focused discussions on issues affecting the health of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Maricopa County.

-Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Exceutive Director