In the Know Quick Links – Week of March 15, 2021

Timely information to help build community within SMPH:

Resources for everyone

    • Update on carried-over vacation hours: Faculty, Academic Staff, and Limited Appointees with 12-month appointments will now have until Oct. 9, 2021 to use carried-over vacation hours. Read more
    • The next Wisconsin Medicine Livestream on March 24 will examine how SMPH and UW Health are advancing research and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Read more
    • The next Crossroads of Ideas webinar on “Getting Wisconsin Vaccinated” will feature two SMPH experts — Nasia Safdar, MD, PhD, and Jonathan Temte, MD, PhD — to discuss some of the science behind the state’s success with rolling out the COVID-19 vaccines. The event occurs on March 24 at 5:00 p.m. Register here
    • HIPAA training reminder: All SMPH employees must complete the 2020-21 HIPAA Privacy & Security Training by March 31. Access the training module
    • Vaccination updates from UW–Madison and UW Health: Check these sites for current information.
        • Enforcement of Badger Badge restrictions related to university building access is in effect. Your Badger Badge must be green (access granted) to be in compliance to enter a campus facility. 
        • Individuals vaccinated by University Health Services will not need to submit proof of vaccination for this exemption. Your badge will turn green automatically and you should receive a message telling you this is due to your vaccination status.
        • If you have been vaccinated elsewhere, you must submit proof of vaccination.  Follow these instructions for uploading vaccination records – however, UHS is aware that some people are experiencing difficulty retrieving records from the Wisconsin Immunization Registry, and is working with state and local public health agencies to troubleshoot. It can take up to five business days for the record to be reflected in your MyUHS account.
        • Please review this week’s message to employees, graduate and professional students, and undergraduate students. A wealth of FAQs can also be found here.
        • Vaccinated individuals must continue to wear face coverings in public and in working and learning environments. This aligns with guidance from the CDC and public health and safety requirements of UW–Madison, the state, and Public Health Madison & Dane County. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.
        • UW–Madison workplace safety training for spring semester: All employees are expected to complete the COVID-19 Spring Semester Training, available at hr.wisc.edu/covid19/workplace-training.
        • Changes to PPE ordering: SMPH is longer handling orders of personal protective equipment (PPE). Instead, submit PPE orders to central campus Materials Distribution Services (MDS). There is no cost to units for PPE needed for on-site work. Read more
      • Changes to UW–Madison events policy: Effective March 8, the new campus events policy allows up to 50 people to gather indoors and up to 150 people outdoors. Read more
        • Read a message from Dean Golden about how SMPH will approach events this spring.
        • Note that this policy applies to the UW–Madison campus and differs from the order issued recently by Public Health Madison & Dane County pertaining to other locations in the city and county. Read more
      • Applications are now being accepted for the Spring 2021 Academic Staff Professional Development Grant program. Proposals must be submitted electronically to department chair/unit head by March 19. See the program’s website for eligibility requirements.
      • Payroll schedule and benefits deductions changes coming in 2021: Beginning in April, employees who are currently paid biweekly will have most deductions for benefits split evenly over the first two biweekly paychecks each month. Beginning in July, employees who are paid monthly will be moved to a biweekly pay schedule. See more information here, including about informational forums on May 4, May 13, and May 17. Read more
      • Visits for three leadership searches are currently underway: Chair of the Department of Neuroscience, Chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, and Chair of the Department of Medical Physics. Visit the leadership search candidate visit page for details. Recordings will be available on that page for those who cannot attend. Passwords to access video recordings are “Neuroscience2021,” “MedMicroImm2021,” and “MedicalPhysics2021” for each respective search.
      • The SMPH All Staff Forum will occur on April 8 from 10-11:30 a.m. This event is co-hosted by the SMPH University Staff Issues Committee (USIC), SMPH Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI), and Hope Broadus, JD, Associate Dean for Human Resources. The session will be livestreamed and recorded for later viewing. Submit questions here by Monday, March 15.
      • The Office of Strategic Consulting will host the 22nd annual Showcase event on April 8. Showcase provides an opportunity for colleagues from across the UW–Madison campus to share best practices, learn from each other’s successes, and connect. The all-day event is free and open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Interested in presenting? Fill out this form by March 17 and submit your digital poster by March 29. Register to attend the event here.
      • The Global Health Symposium on April 14 is titled “Fostering Resilience Through Indigenous Wisdom & Scientific Knowledge.” The event, which is co-sponsored by the Native American Center for Health Professions, will bring together a diverse set of speakers, and they hope the UW and community faculty, staff, clinicians and students will submit virtual poster presentations. New this year: A student poster contest with $500 scholarship prizes. Read more
      • The Spring Faculty/Staff meeting will occur on Monday, April 26 at 4:30 p.m. Ring in spring by hearing the latest updates from school leaders and submitting your questions for discussion.
      • Big changes coming soon to MDS/Shop@UW system and other payment processes: In mid-April, MDS/Shop@UW will transition to ShopUW+. The new platform will allow users to see the status of orders and payment request, work more efficiently with electronic approvals, easily access supporting documentation, and submit traditional requisitions, direct payments (DPs) and payments to individuals (PIRs) electronically. Read more

      Resources for researchers

      • The 23rd Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Research Symposium will take place virtually on Thursday, March 25 starting at 3 p.m. Join to learn from MD/PhD students as they present a research Data Blitz, and give short talks. A keynote talk will be presented by Dr. Anna Greka, MD, PhD, from Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Register here and see the flyer for more information.
      • Principal Investigators: The SMPH Office of Research is your information source for funding opportunities. Bookmark these links:
      • A 10-episode podcast series on mentoring has been released, based on a National Academies report chaired by Angela Byars-Winston, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine. Tune in.
      • NOTE – CANCELED: The next Health Equity & Diversity Lunch & Learn Series session originally scheduled for occur on March 18 on the topic “Decolonizing Care in Population Health” has been cancelled due to a schedule conflict for the speaker. The next session in the series, “Decolonizing Care in Health Equity,” is planned for noon to 1:00 p.m. on April 22. Register
      • Research Funding Opportunity — American Family Funding Initiative: The American Family Funding Initiative offers grants of $75-150K to stimulate and support cutting-edge, highly innovative, and groundbreaking research in the rapidly growing field of data science. American Family Insurance has partnered with UW–Madison through the American Family Insurance Data Science Institute (AFIDSI) to provide this research funding opportunity. All UW–Madison faculty and staff with PI status are eligible to apply. Additional details are available here. Deadline: March 17.
      • Postdoctoral researchers and graduate students are invited to submit posters for the 15th Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium poster session and contest. Poster deadline: March 31. The event will be on April 14. Read more and register
      • Drug development funding opportunity — Submit a project proposal to WARF Therapeutics by April 5. The program collaborates with researchers working on translational research with a validated target and therapeutic disease hypothesis to advance their project closer to clinical testing — a “bench to bedside” approach. Learn more and submit

      Resources for medical educators and clinicians

      • Faculty physicians: take action now to fulfill maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements by the end of the year. Earn MOC Part 4 credit for quality improvement work you’ve completed related to COVID-19 or other topics. Get started today by responding to this intake form, and direct questions to Cathy Means. The following courses are approved for MOC part 2 credit:
      • Faculty physicians: this year’s U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals and Specialties” annual survey will be conducted soon through Doximity. Watch for your survey invitation from Doximity in late February through March 2021, and cast your vote for UW Health clinical specialty programs. A high reputational score can make a difference in rankings. Our academic medical center is usually a high performer in the data-driven categories, so if we turn out our vote, we can make a difference in the outcome.
      • Save the Date: SMPH Medical Education Day will occur on May 27, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. as a virtual event featuring keynote speaker Cynthia Nebel, PhD, of Vanderbilt University. The event is open to all SMPH faculty and staff and will feature professional development opportunities, engaging workshops and oral presentation sessions that highlight education initiatives and innovation. Registration and agenda will be announced in mid-April. Read more

      Upcoming Events: Anti-Racism and/or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

      • SMPH Spring 2021 Initiative: Advance Health by Acting Against Racism. A new webpage for this initiative serves as the one-stop-shop for our anti-racism events this spring, as well as others on campus and resources for further learning.
      • Save the date for the SMPH Diversity Summit on April 20 from 4-6:30 p.m. The virtual event will feature keynote speaker Elena V. Rios, MD, MSPH, FACP, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association and President of the National Hispanic Health Foundation. Registration is now open and all are encouraged to submit a question for the Q&A discussion. The event is co-sponsored by SMPH and UW Health and part of the SMPH Spring 2021 Initiative: Advance Health by Acting Against Racism.
      • NOTE – CANCELED: The next Health Equity & Diversity Lunch & Learn Series session originally scheduled for occur on March 18 on the topic “Decolonizing Care in Population Health” has been cancelled due to a schedule conflict for the speaker. The next session in the series, “Decolonizing Care in Health Equity,” is planned for noon to 1:00 p.m. on April 22. Register
      • The Building Community/Ebling Library Book & Film Discussion Club has scheduled discussions on two books: Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code on Wednesday, March 24 and Money, Marriage, and Madness: The Life of Anna Ott on Wednesday, April 21, both at noon. To register for these discussions and to get access to an electronic version of the either book, please visit the Book & Film Discussion Club website. Participants need not read the entire book to join in on the discussions.
      • SMPH presented a Martin Luther King, Jr. event on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. featuring a talk and Q&A with Tito Izard, MD, President and CEO of Milwaukee Health Services Inc., an independent not-for-profit Federally Qualified Health Center. Watch the recording