Ross Kauffman, Ph.D., visiting assistant research scientist and postdoctoral fellow, Indiana University School of Nursing, will present "Not Merely the Absence of Disease: Creating a Healthy World," as part of Bluffton University's weekly Forum series, Jan. 12 at 11 a.m. in Founders Hall. The forum is free and open to the public.

Kauffman is an epidemiologist working in the Training in Research for Behavioral Oncology and Cancer Control program at the Indiana University School of Nursing in Indianapolis.

His research seeks to reduce the harmful effects that are caused by tobacco usage through policy and prevention efforts. Kaufmann graduated from Eastern Mennonite University in 2003, and went on to receive his M.P.H and Ph.D. in public health from The Ohio State University.

He has worked on several projects following the harmful effects of tobacco including prisoner tobacco use, causes of death for fireman and policeman, and cancer-related lifestyle factors in the Amish community of northeast Ohio.