Newsmakers: July 2021
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* Aaron Warnick

## Auerbach joins CDC

In May, APHA member John Auerbach, MBA, was named director of intergovernmental and strategic affairs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Auerbach previously led Trust for America’s Health as president and CEO.

## Members named to board

In April, Research!America announced nine new members to its board. The new board comprises people who have made significant contributions to the advancement of health research. Among the new members is Jessica Mega, MD, MPH, co-founder and chief medical and scientific officer of Verily Life Sciences; and Donna Shalala, PhD, MA, who served as U.S. secretary of health and human services from 1993 to 2001 and as a member of the House of Representatives from Florida.

## Garcia to lead TFAH

APHA member J. Nadine Gracia, MD, was named president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health in May. Gracia most recently was executive vice president and COO at TFAH. During the Obama administration, she served as U.S. deputy assistant secretary for minority health and director of the U.S. Office of Minority Health.

## Bernard named chief

In May, the National Institutes of Health announced that Marie Bernard, MD, will serve as chief officer for scientific workforce diversity. Bernard assumed the position in fall on an interim basis after the retirement of Hannah Valantine, MD — the first person to hold the position. Previously, Bernard served as deputy director of the National Institute on Aging.

## Corbett joins T.H. Chan School

In June, Kizzemkia Corbett, PhD, joined the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health as an assistant professor and researcher. Corbett will teach in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Previously, she was a research fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Vaccine Research Center, where her research contributed to the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

## Dixon named director

In March, LaShan Dixon, MSHHP, was named the permanent director of the Rutherford County Public Health Department in Tennessee. Dixon had held the position on interim basis following the unexpected death of the previous director, Dana Garrett, in October 2020. Dixon has served the county since 2008, becoming assistant public health director in 2017.

## Chapple-McGruder named director

In April, Theresa Chapple-McGruder, PhD, was named director of the Oak Park Department of Public Health in Illinois. Chapple-McGruder previously served as the Women’s Health Data and Evaluation team at the Health Resources and Services Administration in Rockville, Maryland. Her tenure as director began in May.

## APHA welcomes new staff

In May, APHA welcomed Jolene McNeil, CMP, DES, and Katie Poe, MA, to its staff. McNeil is the new director of conventions and meetings, and Poe is journal production coordinator for APHA’s American Journal of Public Health.

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association