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$Kindergarten Summer Math Calendar - The Park School$

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T :LORA FLEMING ’71Lora’s memories of Park are from the Kennard Roadcampus, where she spent Grades I–VI. After Park, Loragraduated from Milton Academy and was a member ofthe last “official” class at Radcliffe. In college, shemajored in Hispanic studies, but was an “undercover”premed student. She earned a master of science degreeat Imperial College London University, and thenreturned to Boston for a joint MD-MPH degree fromHarvard Medical School and the Harvard School of PublicHealth. She completed her residency in social familymedicine at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y., anddid a postdoc in occupational/environmental healthwhile working on her PhD in epidemiology from theYale Schools of Medicine and Public Health. For thepast 21 years, Lora has been the only occupational andenvironmental medicine physician and epidemiologistin South Florida. When she’s not teaching at the Universityof Miami’s Medical or Marine Schools, she’s in thefield researching the health effects of harmful algalblooms (red tides), microbial pollution of marine waters(from feces in the water), or health risks and behaviorsof workers in the U.S. Her daughter, Aleja, who graduatedfrom Wellesley College in May, confessed to hermother that she “hates people but loves rocks,” andhas begun her own PhD in geosciences at MIT/WoodsHole Oceanographic Institute. In January, Lora plansto say goodbye to Miami to direct the newly createdEuropean Centre for Environment and Human Healthin Cornwall, England.Iam so lucky —there’s not a daywhen I don’t learn somethingnew. Environmental and occupationalmedicine are fascinating.I can’t wait to learn more —especially from my colleagues.If you want to experience lifelonglearning, just assemble an interdisciplinaryteam of diverse and enthusiasticstudents and researchers!As the only board-certified occupationaland environmental medicinephysician and epidemiologist inMiami, I get involved with many projectsand serve on many teams. As theco-director of the University of MiamiOceans and Human Health Center(rsmas.miami.edu/groups/ohh/), andthe associate director of the FloridaInternational University/University ofMiami Advanced Research Cooperationin Environmental Health Program(http://arch.fiu.edu/), I work in theareas of marine and freshwater toxins,microbial pollution of recreationalmarine waters, environmental humanhealth, and epidemiologic issues.Sometimes I’m reminded of how,when I was in third grade, I couldn’tread. I was having a very hard time inschool, but my teachers and parentscame together with strategies to helpme. To coax me through third gradescience and my first project studyingmeal worms, my father wrote a poemfor me: A meal worm is not a realworm, but a bug…ugh! My teachers atPark correctly diagnosed and helpedwith the treatment of my dyslexia,which was far-sighted for the times.My family supported that fortuitousintervention with teams of teachers,tutors, and phonics instruction, whichhelped me become a good student andan avid reader. At Park, we got toknow our teachers in many differentroles as well. I loved studying Latinwith Mr. Bourne, but I also knew himas a terrific shop teacher, mountainclimber, and environmentalist. Parktook a “liberal arts” approach to education,which has served me well. Butit may be the social skills (shakinghands, being truthful, and playing wellwith others) that have carried me thefurthest!I love putting multidisciplinaryresearch teams together, thenapproaching a single problem frommany points of view. For example, as aphysician and epidemiologist studyingmicrobial pollution (“poop”) of recreationalmarine waters, I have had theprivilege of working with and learningfrom researchers and students who areenvironmental engineers, biostatisticians,microbiologists, physical andbiological oceanographers, marinebiologists, and environmental publichealth professionals. It can take a fullyear (or more) to go from an idea topublishing our research—especially ifthere are 15 people writing the papertogether. But we learn so much! Collaboratingin a team with multiplepoints of view helps uncover newquestions and, ultimately, newanswers. The more diverse perspectives,the better.To make this kind of team work,you have to be able to admit when youdon’t know something, and be willingto ask very, very basic questions.Often, I’ve seen my fellow scientistspretend to know the answer to a question,but in an interdisciplinary team,that doesn’t fly. One time, I was presentingour findings from a study ofoceans and human health at a nationalconference. I kept mistakenly saying“cephalopods,” but my colleague, theoceanographer and marine biologist,26 The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010
would shout out the real name, “copepods.”It was humbling, but an effective(and amusing) demonstration ofhow we all worked well together.Working with various colleagues,I have created educational materialsconcerning the human health effects ofmarine and freshwater natural toxins,and performed research in ciguaterafish poisoning, red tides in Floridalooking at brevetoxins, and cyanobacterialtoxins. Currently, I am involvedin a federally funded study of thehuman health effects of aerosolizedred tide toxins (mote.org/niehsredtidestudy/) and in a study of the possiblehuman health effects of microbial pollutionin recreational beach waters. Inanother interdisciplinary group, I amexploring the health disparities, morbidity,and mortality of U.S. workers(rsmas.miami.edu/groups/niehs/niosh/),as well as issues involving the effectsand prevention of tobacco-relateddiseases. As the medical director ofthe Florida Cancer Data System(fcds.miami.edu/), Florida’s incidentcancer registry, I work with researchersand students to promote work in cancerepidemiology and prevention, andin health disparities in Florida. I alsoact as a consultant in occupational andenvironmental medicine and epidemiology,both locally and internationally,and I serve on a number of university,state, and national task forces andcommittees.This fall, I will begin to wrap upsome of these projects as I prepare tomove across the Atlantic for a newchallenge: directing the new EuropeanCentre for Environment and HumanHealth (ECEHH). Cornwall lies in thesouthwest corner of England and is aneconomically depressed, but fantasticallybeautiful, area. In addition tolooking at the environment and humanhealth, the ECEHH is designed to stimulatethe region’s economy by fosteringstrategic partnerships with local businessesand organizations, and todecrease health expenses by encouraginglocal people to become more physicallyactive by getting outside. TheCentre is an initiative of the PeninsulaCollege of Medicine and Dentistry,which is itself a joint entity of the Universitiesof Exeter and Plymouth, theBritish National Health Service, and issupported by the European Union. TheECEHH will focus on three key themeswithin the environment and humanhealth field: chemicals—includingpharmaceuticals and nanomaterials—in the environment; climate, oceans,and human health; and clinical photo-biology, which studies the affects ofUV light on the skin. I’m excited bysome of the novel approaches that wewill be taking. For example, ECEHHwill be an active partner of theNational Health Services’ new BlueGym Program (bluegym.org.uk/). Theprogram encourages people with costlychronic health conditions (such asdepression, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovasculardisease) to interact safelyand healthfully with the marine environment,improving not only theirown physical and mental health, buthelping the environment as well. Ultimately,in these times of great environmentalchange and uncertainty, wehope that the Centre will help makeCornwall a model of sustainable andbeneficial environmental health thatcan be exported to other countries andpopulations around the world!The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010 27
Page 3: The Park SchoolFall Bulletin 20102
Page 6 and 7: EW T R U S T E E SCity for Time War
Page 8 and 9: — Class of 2010 —GRADUATION 201
Page 10 and 11: What the Ninth Grade willTake and L
Page 12 and 13: Emily HoytI am taking with me Lilyb
Page 14 and 15: Charlotte RossI am taking the sport
Page 16 and 17: Michela ThomsenI am taking the know
Page 18 and 19: LEARNING SCI16 The Park Bulletin |
Page 20 and 21: Preparing for a Yearlong Reviewof P
Page 22 and 23: What science is worth understanding
Page 24: A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T :SUSA
Page 27: the local culture. At Tulane Medica
Page 31 and 32: Although Nina Frusztajer attended P
Page 33 and 34: I love the scientific process.And i
Page 35 and 36: Russell challenged us to build thes
Page 37 and 38: Alumni from the classes ending in
Page 39 and 40: 5.Former Headmaster Bob Hurlbut hel
Page 41 and 42: The Park School Class of 1985Twenty
Page 43 and 44: P A R K S C H O O L C L A S S O F 1
Page 45 and 46: Alumni Notes1933Ruth Crocker Young
Page 47 and 48: e on!) We take Emma back for hersec
Page 49 and 50: ing in Freetown, Sierra Leone, sinc
Page 51 and 52: N O M I N A T I O N S S O U G H T F
Page 53 and 54: working this summer with FINCAEcuad
Page 55 and 56: Next Schools forDeparting Members o
Page 57 and 58: In July, Sadia Shephard ’90 marri
Page 59 and 60: In April, the School hired photogra

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