Newsmakers: February 2010

Pharmacy group honors Clancy

APHA member Carolyn Clancy, MD, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in December received the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ Board of Directors Award of Honor for her support for expanded patient care roles for pharmacists. Established in 1966, the award recognizes people outside the pharmacy discipline who have made extraordinary national or global contributions to the health field.

Dwelle to chair National Board of Public Health Examiners

APHA member Terry Dwelle, MD, MPHTM, state health officer at the North Dakota Department of Health, in December became chair of the National Board of Public Health Examiners, which was incorporated to develop, prepare, administer and evaluate the voluntary certification examination for graduates from Council on Education for Public Health-accredited schools and programs of public health.

Kellermann takes Rand professorship

APHA member Arthur Kellermann, MD, MPH, in January was appointed to the Rand Corporation’s Paul O’Neill Alcoa Professorship in Policy Analysis. Kellermann will be based in Rand’s Washington, D.C., office and will spearhead the Rand Public Health Systems and Preparedness Initiative, which helps state and federal agencies improve the nation’s preparedness for public health emergencies.

Texas A&M claims three NIH Challenge Grants

Three Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health faculty members in October received National Institutes of Health Challenge Grants in health and science research. Recipients of the grant, funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are principal investigators Jean Brender, PhD, RN, associate dean of research and professor of epidemiology; Robert Ohsfeldt, PhD, associate professor of health policy and management; and Ming Tai-Seale, PhD, professor of health policy and management.

Trust for America’s Health promotes Hamburg

Richard Hamburg, MPA, in November was promoted to the position of deputy director at Trust for America’s Health. He will oversee public policy initiatives, advocacy campaigns and internal operations. Hamburg previously served as the organization’s director of government relations.

Owens takes helm of National Dental Association

Nashville dentist Walter R. Owens, DDS, in December was installed as the 86th president of the National Dental Association. The 96-year-old dental association is the leading voice and advocate of oral health care concerns for ethnic minorities. Owens currently serves as senior development officer for the Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry.

French government honors Volkow

Nora Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in December was awarded the International Prize from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research for her pioneering work in brain imaging and addiction science. Volkow received the award at a ceremony in Paris.

Physicians lauded for end-of-life care

For their exceptional work in end-of-life care, the Cunniff-Dixon Foundation in January presented the first Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award to Robert A. Milch, MD, FACS, of the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care; Elisabeth Potts Dellon, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina; Jeffrey N. Stoneberg, DO, of San Diego Hospice and the Institute for Palliative Medicine; and Eytan Szmuilowicz, MD, of Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago.