Newsmakers: August 2015

Natalie McGill

Dinh-Zarr named vice chair of National Transportation Safety Board

APHA member T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, PhD, MPH, in June was sworn in as vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. Dinh-Zarr previously served as director of the U.S. Office of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Foundation and as the North American director of Make Roads Safe.

Mickalide receives national Burn Prevention Award

APHA member Angela Mickalide, PhD, MCHES, in April received the American Burn Association’s Burn Prevention Award during the association’s annual meeting in Chicago. Mickalide is the executive director of Emergency Medical Services for the Children National Resource Center. Mickalide is also a former chair of APHA’s Public Health Education and Health Promotion Section and former governing councilor.

Smith receives Safe States Alliance award for injury prevention

APHA member Dwayne Smith, MEd, MCHES, is one of six people who received an award from Safe States Alliance for his injury and violence prevention work in May. Smith, an injury prevention manager at SafeKids Colorado and the Children’s Hospital of Colorado, received the Community Prevention Program Achievement Award. Smith’s work involved mapping Colorado childhood injury-related emergency department data.

Wright elected chair of black women’s health board

APHA member Terri Wright, PhD, MPH, in June was elected chair of the board of the Black Women’s Health Imperative. Wright is the director of APHA’s Center for School, Health and Education and the Center for Public Health Policy. She previously served as a program director for health policy at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

Eisinger named acting associate director for AIDS research

Robert Eisinger, PhD, in May was named acting associate director for AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health, as well as acting director of NIH’s Office of AIDS Research. Previously, Eisinger served as a senior health science policy advisor in NIH’s Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives.

Hallett named associate director for legislative policy

Adrienne Hallett, MTS, in May was appointed as associate director of legislative policy and analysis and the director of the Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis at the National Institutes of Health. Hallett previously served as a senior policy advisor for the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Mighty named dean of Washington, D.C., college of medicine

Hugh Mighty, MD, MBA, in May was named dean of the Howard University College of Medicine and vice president of clinical affairs. Mighty previously served as vice chancellor for clinical affairs at Louisiana State University’s Health Sciences Center.

Reedy named chief executive officer at national cancer organization

Gary Reedy in April was named the chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. Reedy served as a volunteer leader for 15 years at the American Cancer Society and previously served as worldwide vice president of government affairs and policy with Johnson & Johnson.

Siu named chair of preventive services task force

Albert Siu, MD, MSPH, in April was named chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Siu is the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Mount Sinai Health System chair and professor of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. Siu previously served as vice chair of the task force from March 2011 to March 2015 and as a member from June 2001 to December 2006.

Pérez-Stable named director of minority health institute

Eliseo Pérez-Stable, MD, in September will begin his position as the new director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health, the agency announced in April. Pérez-Stable is currently professor of medicine and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. He is also director of the university’s Center for Aging in Diverse Communities.