Newsmakers: July 2013

Natalie McGill

Brown receives university-endowed professorship

APHA member Theodore Brown, PhD, MA, in April was named the first recipient of the Charles E. and Dale L. Phelps Professorship in Public Health and Policy at the University of Rochester. Brown, a member of University of Rochester’s faculty since 1977, is a professor of history, medical humanities and public health sciences. A historian on health policy and public health, Brown is also working on the APHA History Update Project, an effort to compile Association history for a project website. Brown is one of the authors of “The Quest for Health Reform: A Satirical History” which can be found at www.aphabookstore.org.

Harris recognized at Kentucky YMCA

APHA member Muriel Harris, PhD, in April was recognized at a dinner held by the YMCA of Greater Louisville in Kentucky for her work on the YMCA’s Pioneering Healthy Communities team. Harris was active in reviewing YMCA initiatives that promoted better nutrition and physical activity. Harris is an associate professor in the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences’ Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences.

Luna named co-chair of subcommittee on asthma

APHA member Pamela Luna, DrPH, MEd, and Rebekah Buckley, MPH, CRT, AE-C, in March were named co-chairs of the School Asthma Education Sub-committee of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Luna is a member of APHA’s School Health Education and Services Section and a master trainer for Rand’s Project Adolescent Learning Experiences in Resistance Training, known as Project ALERT. Buckley is a health scientist for the Centers for Disease Control’s Division of Adolescent and School Health.

Allen, Frey named to Environmental Protection Agency committees

David Allen, PhD, MS, and H. Christopher Frey, PhD, MS, in November were named chairs of two separate federal advisory committees within the Environmental Protection Agency. Allen was named chair of the EPA Science Advisory Board and Frey was named chair of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. Allen is the director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources at the University of Texas at Austin. Frey is the professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University.

Conry named president of obstetrics, gynecology group

Jeanne Conry, MD, PhD, in May was named president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Conry is the Washington, D.C.-based organization’s 64^th president. A physician for 20 years, Conry is an assistant physician-in-chief at the Permanente Medical Group and associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology for the University of California, Davis Health System.

Ganzel named dean of school of medicine

Toni Ganzel, MD, MBA, FACS, in June began her new position of dean of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Since March 2012, Ganzel filled in as interim dean for Edward Halperin, MD, MA, after he stepped down earlier that year. Ganzel served as chief of otolaryngology at Kosair Children’s Hospital from 1989 to 2002 and was director of the university’s division of otolaryngology from 1993 to 2001.

Iglehart returns to health policy journal

John Iglehart in April returned to Health Affairs, a health policy journal he served as editor beginning in 1981. Iglehart, who retired from the journal in 2007, will assist in finding a new editor-in-chief and vice president for the publication.

Summergrad named president-elect of psychiatric association

Paul Summergrad, MD, in April was named president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association. Summergrad is chair of the American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Workgroup on the Role of Psychiatry in Healthcare Reform. At Tufts University, Summergrad is psychiatrist-in-chief of Tufts Medical Center, professor of medicine and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Tufts University School of Medicine. He is also the school of medicine’s Dr. Frances S. Arkin Professor.

Nurses named to online university faculty

Judy Burckhardt, PhD, RN; Gloria Ohmart, EdD, MN, APRN; and Cheryl Wagner, PhD, MSN, MBA, RN, in December were appointed as health sciences and nursing faculty for American Sentinel University. Burckhardt, named dean of nursing programs for American Sentinel, was previously dean of the nursing and health programs at Kaplan Higher Education. Ohmart, American Sentinel’s associate dean of undergraduate nursing programs, has previously taught for degree programs such as the University of Phoenix and Regis University. Wagner, American Sentinels’ associate dean of graduate nursing programs, was previously a program director and associate professor at the College of Nursing at South University. The Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council accredits American Sentinel University.

Three veterinarians receive year long fellowship in Washington, D.C.

Eric Deeble, DVM; Nathaniel Tablante, DVM, MPVM, MS; and Kate Varela, DVM, MPH, in April were chosen for the 2013-2014 American Veterinary Medical Association Fellowship Program in Washington, D.C. Deeble is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Tablante, a University of the Philippines graduate, is an associate professor and extension poultry veterinarian at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Varela, a University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine graduate, works at a Chicago area animal practice. The three winners were chosen from 30 applicants for the one-year program, which begins in August.