Newsmakers: October 2020
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* Sophie Wazlowski

## Williams honored for equity work

Lessie Williams received the inaugural REACH Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award for Advancing Health Equity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August. Recently retired, Williams previously served as executive director of the nonprofit organization Highland Haven in Portland, Oregon, where she created youth violence prevention programs, expanded access to culturally-relevant mental health services and launched culturally-tailored health education programs to promote healthy behaviors.

## Criswell named director

Lindsey Criswell, MD, MPH, DSc, was named director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in August. Criswell serves as the vice chancellor for research, chief of the Division of Rheumatology and the Jean S. Engleman Distinguished Professor of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco.

## Researchers awarded fellowship

The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine awarded 2020 Early-Career Research Fellowships to Christine Angelini, PhD; Monica Patrice Barra, PhD; and Sarah Lowe, PhD, MA; Garett Sansom, DrPH, MPH; and Elyse Zavar, PhD; in August. The two-year fellowship is awarded to scientists who perform interdisciplinary work involving environmental and community health.

## Riskind appointed director

Jennifer Riskind in July was appointed as director of the Correctional Health Foundation, an organization recently launched by the National Commission of Correctional Health Care. Riskind previously served as director of development for the Accelerate Institute in Chicago.

## Batey appointed chief health officer

Benjamin Batey, MPH, RN, in July became chief health officer of Bowling Green State University, where he is tasked with elevating the health and wellness of the campus community. He has served as health commissioner of Ohio’s Wood County Health Department since 2014.

## Chiang selected as director

Michael Chiang, MD, was selected by the National Institutes of Health in July to serve as director of its National Eye Institute. At the time of his appointment, Chiang was associate director of the Casey Eye Institute and Knowles professor of ophthalmology and medical informatics and clinical epidemiology at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

## Carrico awarded grant

Adam Carrico, PhD, was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to study risks for COVID-19 among methamphetamine users and HIV patients in July. He is a professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

## Siega-Riz appointed to board

Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, was appointed to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in July. Siega-Riz currently serves as Dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as a professor in the University’s Departments of Nutrition and Biostatistics and Epidemiology.

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