HealthLeader Editorial Board

Richard D. Bebermeyer, D.D.S., M.B.A.
Dr. Richard Bebermeyer teaches clinical general dentistry to advanced students at the UT Dental Branch at Houston. As professor and vice-chair of the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials at the Dental Branch, Dr. Bebermeyer's teaching and research interests include prevention and health promotion, evidence-based dentistry and practice management.

Dr. Bebermeyer earned his dental degree at Washington University in St. Louis. He also earned his Master's in Business Administration, specializing in health care administration, from Southern Illinois University. While Dr. Bebermeyer has participated in a number of national and international dental organizations, his most recent interest is teaching evidence-based dentistry to colleagues in developing nations.

Evelyn C.Y. Chan, M.D., M.S.
Dr. Evelyn Chan is a practicing internist and biomedical ethicist. As an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and as director of bioethics for the Department of Medicine at the UT-Houston Medical School, Dr. Chan balances a clinical practice with teaching and research concerning primary care and ethical issues.

Her research interests include physician-patient communication, informed consent, new media and preventive health care. Dr. Chan helps patients and health-care providers sort through the choices available to them through her service on the Hermann Hospital Ethics Committee, the UT-Committee for the Protection for Human Subjects and the Texas State Prostate Cancer Advisory Committee.

On the national level, Dr. Chan serves as a member of Project JOLT (Joining Organizations with Leading Technologies), an initiative led by the National Cancer Institute to link grass-roots patient organizations and leading technology companies with federal efforts using the new media to improve health-care promotion and communication.

Carlos A. Moreno, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Family medicine is Dr. Carlos A. Moreno's passion. As professor and chairman of the Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine at UT-Houston Medical School, Dr. Moreno cares for patients while sharing his knowledge with medical students and residents.

Dr. Moreno earned his medical degree at Harvard. He also has a Master of Science in Public Health degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. One of many leadership roles he holds is as a member of the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Training Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry. As Vice President of Community Programs and Education Outreach at UT-Houston, he leads the university's efforts to promote diversity on campus. Dr. Moreno is chief of family practice at Memorial Hermann Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital in Houston.

Jon R. Wiener, PhD
Jon R. Wiener, PhD has been the assistant dean for academic affairs at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) since 1999 and assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center since 1994.

He received a BS and MS in microbiology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a PhD in microbiology from the University of Virginia. After a post-doctoral fellowship in microbiology at Duke University, in 1988 he joined the faculty of Duke University in the Department of Surgery.

His research focuses on aberrant tyrosine kinase signaling and protease secretion in human ovarian cancer, with other interests being infectious virology, and the education and training of biomedical scientists.

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Health Tip:

Packing Bag Lunches Safely

If you pack lunches for your child to take to school, be careful that you do not accidentally expose them to foodborne illness.

Bagged lunches, especially those containing perishable foods, need to be packed and handled properly in order to keep the food safe. In general, perishable foods should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. If left out too long, the temperature of the food can enter the danger zone where bacteria grow most rapidly, which is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Below are some tips to help families pack bagged lunches safely:

Pack foods that are nonperishable and won't require refrigeration.
If you do pack perishable foods such as luncheon meats or prepackaged cheese and crackers, include a frozen gel pack or a frozen juice carton with the food in an insulated lunch bag or box.
Pack only the amount of perishable food that your child can eat at lunch.
Preparing lunches the night before and storing them in the refrigerator until you pack your child's lunchbox in the morning can help keep food cold longer the next day.
Don't reuse packaging materials such as paper or plastic bags, aluminum foil, etc. as they can contaminate other foods and cause foodborne illness. Have your child discard all used food packaging and paper bags after lunch.

Before eating lunch or snacks at school, make sure your child washes his or her hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If your child's school does not have a handwashing program in place, encourage them to adopt a such a program, as handwashing is one of the best ways kids and parents can protect health and stop the spread of germs.