Elizabeth Selvin

{{short description|American diabetes epidemiologist}}

{{Infobox academic

| name =Elizabeth Selvin

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| image_size = 230px

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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1977}}

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| education =BA., 1999, Northwestern University
M.P.H., 2001, University of Michigan School of Public Health
PhD, 2004, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

| thesis_title =Coronary heart disease and glycemic control

| thesis_year =2004

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| spouse =

| children =

| relatives = Nancy Selvin (mother)
Steve Selvin (father)

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| workplaces = Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

}}

Elizabeth Selvin (born 1977){{cite web |title=Charles Village 5k - 6/4/2017 1:56:04 PM |url=http://charlesvillagefestival.net/media/attachments/2017/06/06/2017resultscharlesvillageresults.pdf |website=charlesvillagefestival.net |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704100559/http://charlesvillagefestival.net/media/attachments/2017/06/06/2017resultscharlesvillageresults.pdf |url-status=dead }} is an American diabetes epidemiologist. She is a full professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Early life and education

Selvin was born to parents Nancy Selvin and Steve Selvin.{{cite tweet|user=LizSelvin|number=1278716460219711489|date=July 2, 2020|title=Letter Monty Hall wrote to my father, Steve Selvin, following his publication of the 'Monty Hall Problem' in the American Statistician}}Peterson, Susan H. "Dynamic Still Lifes of Form and Beauty," Airbrush Digest, September/October 1984, p. 24–32. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 1999 before enrolling at the University of Michigan School of Public Health for her M.P.H. and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for her PhD.{{cite web |title=Elizabeth Selvin, PhD|url=https://www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/profile/1882/elizabeth-selvin|website=jhsph.edu |accessdate=July 2, 2020}} While studying at Northwestern, Selvin collaborated with professor Burton Weisbrod to propose amendments to public policy surrounding non-profit health care providers.{{cite news |title=Maximize for-profit conversions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54602782/elizabeth-selvin/ |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |publisher=The Miami Herald |date=April 9, 1998 |location=Miami, Florida |page=344|via=newspapers.com}}

Career

Upon earning her PhD, Selvin joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a post-doctoral fellow where she began to research diabetes and heart risks. She led a research project in her first year as a faculty member which found that lowering glucose levels in patients with diabetes could greatly reduce their risk to heart disease.{{cite news |last1=Bor |first1=Jonathan |title=Rising blood sugar increases risk of cardiac disease, death |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54602830/elizabeth-selvin/ |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=September 21, 2004 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |page=A3|via=newspapers.com}} She continued to research risks associated with diabetes and concluded in 2006 that the age of which a patient is diagnosed with diabetes drastically affected their treatment plans. As the lead author, she analyzed data from 1999-2002 of 2,809 elderly people to create a national sample size of the prevalence of diabetes among elderly persons in the general American population.{{cite web |title=Diabetes Not the Same for All Seniors |url=https://www.jhsph.edu/news/stories/2006/selvin-diabetes.html |website=jhsph.edu |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |date=October 25, 2006}} In 2013, she received the Harry Keen Memorial Award from the International Diabetes Epidemiology Group.{{cite web |title=IDEG AWARDS |url=https://www.ideg-diabetes.org/ideg-symposia-history |website=ideg-diabetes.org |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704100600/https://www.ideg-diabetes.org/ideg-symposia-history |url-status=dead }}

As an associate professor, Selvin led a research project which found that diabetes had increased in the United States since 1988. Due to these findings, Selvin and her research team proposed wide range screenings and treatments for blacks, Hispanics, and the elderly, who were more dramatically affected.{{cite web |title=Pre-diabetes, diabetes nearly double over the past two decades |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140415153737.htm |website=sciencedaily.com |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |date=April 15, 2014}} In the same year, she also led the world's longest diabetes study focusing on a cross-section of adults as they age. The result of the study found that diabetes aged people's minds five years faster than average.{{cite web |title=Diabetes in Midlife Linked to Significant Cognitive Decline 20 Years Later |url=https://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2014/diabetes-in-midlife-linked-to-significant-cognitive-decline-20-years-later.html |website=jhsph.edu |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |date=December 1, 2014}} In order to assist in diagnosing people with the disease, she co-developed a method to use A1C as a diagnostic tool for diabetes.{{cite web |last1=Selvin |first1=Elizabeth |title=Can Diabetes Be Diagnosed With a Single Blood Sample? |url=https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/901846 |website=medscape.com |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |date=September 20, 2018}} When asked about the process, she said "the current evidence supports similar interpretation of A1C test results in black and white populations for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. Pragmatically, we can use a combination of fasting glucose and A1C to diagnose diabetes while paying attention to any discordance."{{cite web |title=A1C is a 'critically important biomarker,' Kelly West Award lecturer says |url=https://www.adameetingnews.org/live-updates/session-coverage/a1c-is-a-critically-important-biomarker-kelly-west-award-lecturer-says/ |website=adameetingnews.org |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |date=2020}}

In 2018, Selvin published a paper in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine titled "Prognostic Implications of Single-Sample Confirmatory Testing for Undiagnosed Diabetes: A Prospective Cohort Study," which led to revised clinical guidelines by the American Diabetes Association. Her study found that type 1 and type 2 diabetes could be diagnosed using a single blood sample, instead of two separate ones.{{cite web |title=Johns Hopkins Faculty Paper Prompts Changes in American Diabetes Association Guidelines for How Diabetes Is Diagnosed |url=https://www.aspph.org/johns-hopkins-faculty-paper-prompts-changes-in-american-diabetes-association-guidelines-for-how-diabetes-is-diagnosed/ |website=aspph.org |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |date=January 10, 2019}} In 2020, Selvin was the recipient of the Kelly West Award from the American Diabetes Association in recognition of her "significant contributions to the field of diabetes epidemiology."{{cite web |title=Selvin Selected as Recipient of 2020 Kelly West Award |url=https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/welch-center-for-prevention-epidemiology-and-clinical-research/news/article/200320_selvin |website=jhsph.edu |accessdate=July 2, 2020 |date=March 20, 2020}}

References

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