Poudre High School Scholars Attend CSTE Conference

Local Science Olympiad Competitors are Honored Guests of Disease Detective
Group

DENVER, June 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six members of the Poudre High
School Science Olympiad team from Fort Collins are special guests at the 2008
Counsel of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) Annual Conference,
currently underway in Denver.

Attending the conference opening day today is senior Deep Chandegara, along
with juniors Katie Ashby and Elizabeth Bloemen, sophomores Peter Pham and Eric
Yang, and freshman Ian Koss. CSTE also extended special invitations to
Denver-area students who participated in the 2008 Youth Epidemiology Scholars
competition.

"We are pleased to make this opportunity available to students with an
interest in science and math to give them exposure to the exciting field of
epidemiology," CSTE Executive Director Pat McConnon said.

This year's conference theme is "Public Health Epidemiology: Adapting to a
Changing World." The theme - and much of the research to be presented during
the conference - reflects the increasing challenges to public health posed by
emerging threats, or by familiar risks that have evolved to become more
pervasive and persistent.

"We're excited and honored by the presence of these young scientists at our
conference," CSTE President-elect Perry Smith, M.D. said. "It's critically
important to recruit a new generation of epidemiologists to help us learn why
some people get sick and others don't. The way these young people apply their
knowledge ultimately will impact all our lives."

CSTE is a professional association of over 1050 public health epidemiologists
working in states, local health agencies, and territories. CSTE works to
establish more effective relationships among state and other health agencies.
It also provides technical advice and assistance to partner organizations,
such as the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), and
to federal public health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). CSTE members have surveillance and epidemiology expertise in
a broad range of areas including occupational health, infectious diseases,
immunization, environmental health, chronic diseases, injury control, and
maternal and child health. CSTE's work is an important step in ensuring a well
prepared and competent public health workforce.

SOURCE Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists

Lakesha Robinson of Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, Cell:
+1-678-656-9052, lrobinson@cste.org