Newswise — WASHINGTON, DC (November 26, 2014)— Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (Milken Institute SPH) in collaboration with the Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy today launched a new seminar series on pressing topics in the arena of health policy. The dialogue series will include nationally-recognized speakers along with reaction and commentary by other leaders in the field as well as audience participation.

“This policy dialogue series allows us to showcase the views of some prominent health policy researchers on topics that are trending today, including health system reform, patient-centered medical homes, health communications and other subjects,” says Paula Lantz, PhD, chair of the Department of Health Policy at Milken Institute SPH. “We believe these speakers, all prominent policy researchers, will spark a lively discussion on the questions at hand and perhaps lead to more sustained dialogue.”

The lecture series, which will include a total of five seminars, was funded by the Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy. “A key priority for our Foundation is fostering candid discussion around topics key to improving health care but often far from having consensus,” says Theodore Giovanis, president of the Foundation. “This series takes an important step in starting needed dialogue about potential solutions for health issues that affect us all.”

The first lecture of the series will be held on December 9 and will feature Brendan Nyhan, PhD, an assistant professor of government at Dartmouth College. Professor Nyhan will give a lecture on the challenge of health care misperceptions, including the vaccine autism myth and the mistaken idea that the Affordable Care Act would create “death panels.” Professor Nyhan will present research regarding the challenges of correcting these and other misperceptions that often crop up in debates about health care reform.

The series will also include a February 19, 2015 seminar featuring Kelly Devers, PhD, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute; a March 4, 2015 talk by Katherine Baicker, PhD, a professor of health economics and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health; a March 17, 2015 lecture by Peter Ubel, MD, professor of business, public policy and medicine at Duke University; and finally an April 22, 2015 talk by Vish Viswanath, PhD, a professor of health communication at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The December 9 Lecture by Professor Nyhan, “From Death Panels to the Vaccine-Autism Myth: The Challenge of Healthcare Misconceptions,” will be held from 11 am until 1:30 pm at Milken Institute School of Public Health, 950 New Hampshire Avenue, Washington, DC. All lectures are free and open to the public. Find out more about the lectures series online or contact Clarence Greene at [email protected] or 202-994-4796.

Members of the media who wish to attend a lecture or find out more about the series must contact Kathy Fackelmann at [email protected].

About Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University:Established in July 1997 as the School of Public Health and Health Services, Milken Institute School of Public Health is the only school of public health in the nation’s capital. Today, nearly 1,534 students from almost every U.S. state and more than 45 countries pursue undergraduate, graduate and doctoral-level degrees in public health. The school also offers an online Master of Public Health, MPH@GW, and an online Executive Master of Health Administration, MHA@GW, which allow students to pursue their degree from anywhere in the world.

About JKTG FoundationThe Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy fosters public discussion around health care policy to benefit the public good. Through research, white papers and other projects, the Foundation serves as an honest, independent broker of ideas and actions designed to achieve the competing goals of cost reduction, expanding access and improving quality. For more information visit www.JKTGFoundation.org or follow @JKTGFoundation on Twitter.