Newsmakers: March 2015

Natalie McGill

Christopher receives health philanthropy leadership award

APHA member Gail Christopher, DN, in March will receive the Grantmakers in Health’s 2015 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy. Christopher, vice president for policy and senior advisor at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is being recognized for her work in promoting health equity, child nutrition, integrative health and eliminating racism.

Danel named deputy director within PAHO office

APHA member Isabella Danel, MD, MS, in January was sworn in as deputy director for the Pan American Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization. Danel previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and held various positions including associate director for program development at CDC’s Center for Global Health and director of CDC’s Regional Office for Central America and Panama in Guatemala.

Wetle receives American Federation for Aging Research award

APHA member Terrie Fox Wetle, PhD, in November received the American Federation for Aging Research’s Irving S. Wright Award of Distinction. Wetle, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, received the award for leading public health initiatives centered on healthy aging research.

Breysse named director of federal environmental health groups

Patrick Breysse, PhD, in December became director of the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Breysse previously served as a professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Eschmeyer named executive director of Let’s Move! campaign

Debra Eschmeyer in January was named the executive director for the federal Let’s Move! campaign and the senior policy advisor for nutrition policy. Eschmeyer previously served as vice president of external affairs for FoodCorps, an organization she co-founded that sends its members into schools to teach kids about healthy food and nutrition.

Hamlette named executive director of National Medical Association

Martin Hamlette, JD, MHA, in January was named the new executive director of the National Medical Association by its board of trustees. Hamlette, who serves as counsel to state governments and health providers on Affordable Care Act issues, previously served as chief health policy advisor for former Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty’s Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs.

Health law program receives national award

The National Health Law Program in January received the American Bar Association’s Brown Select Award. The award, from the association’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, went to the program for its legal work in providing and maintaining affordable access to health care for low-income families.

Krist named to US Preventive Services Task Force

Alexander Krist, MD, MPH, in January was appointed as a new member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Krist is director of community-engaged research at the Center for Clinical and Translational Research and co-director of the Virginia Ambulatory Care Outcomes Research Network. He is also an associate professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University and practices and teaches in the Fairfax Family Practice residency program.

Runge named executive vice president for medical affairs at Michigan college

Marschall Runge, MD, PhD, in March became the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor’s new executive vice president for medical affairs. Runge previously served as chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, as well as principal investigator and director of the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute. In his new role, Runge will lead the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, University of Michigan Medical School, University of Michigan Shared Services and the Michigan Health Corporation.

Treede named new president of international pain organization

Rolf-Detlef Treede, MD, PhD, in October was named president of the International Association for the Study of Pain. An association member for 30 years, Treede previously served as president of the German Pain Society and was a contributor to the German version of the “International Classification of Diseases” 10^th revision regarding chronic pain.