Newsmakers: October 2023

Minoli Ediriweera

Chaplin elected vice president

APHA member Damōn Chaplin, MBA, was elected vice president of the National Association of County and City Health Officials board of directors in August. Chaplin is health commissioner for the Minneapolis Health Department, where he has worked to improve mental health, racial equity and the opioid crisis in the state.

Crosby appointed CEO and president

APHA member Kathy Crosby was selected as the new CEO and president of Truth Initiative, an organization that focuses on reducing smoking and vaping among young people. Crosby, who was appointed to the position in August, has worked as director of communications at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products for 12 years.

Va named Maine CDC director

APHA member Puthiery Va, MD, was named director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in July. In her previous role as director of the Division of Public Health in Chinle, Arizona, she served the Navajo Nation and led the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yu named interim associate dean of research

APHA member Qingzhao Yu, PhD, was named interim associate dean of research at Louisiana State University’s School of Public Health in August. Yu has served as a biostatistics professor at the LSU Health Sciences Center and as a co-investigator for the Louisiana Tobacco Control Initiative.

Reproductive equity group receives award

The Rutgers School of Public Health Youth Reproductive Equity group received the 2023 Excellence in Adolescent Health Award from the Adolescent Health Initiative in July. The group, formed by Rutgers professor and APHA member Laura Lindberg, PhD, is a coalition of researchers, policymakers and health professionals working to promote reproductive equity and accessibility for young people.

Population health association elects new board members

The Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science elected five new members to its board of directors in July. APHA member Philip Alberti, PhD, senior director of health equity research and policy at the American Association of Medical Colleges, will serve as the board’s president as of Nov. 1. Silvia S. Martens, MD, PhD, director of the Substance Use Epidemiology Unit at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, was elected senior board member. APHA member Sarah Gollust, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, will serve as the mid-career board member. APHA member Megan Todd, PhD, chief epidemiologist at the Philadelphia Department of Health, will serve as the junior board member. Michael Green, a PhD student within the Duke University School of Medicine’s Department of Population Health Sciences, will be the board’s student representative.

Chen named chair of Health Policy and Management department

APHA member Jie Chen, PhD, was named the chair of the department of Health Policy and Management at University of Maryland School of Public Health in August. Chen directs the university’s Hospital and Public Health Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory.

Marrazzo named NIAID director

In August, the National Institutes of Health has named APHA member Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Marrazzo most recently served as director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she focused on research related to the human microbiome.

Estes appointed executive director

APHA member Larissa Estes, DrPH, MPH, was appointed executive director of California’s Racial Equity Commission in July. Estes is the executive director of All In Alameda County, as well as the manager of community partnerships with the University of California-San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospitals.

McKinney appointed interim dean

W. Paul McKinney, MD, was appointed interim dean of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences in July. McKinney served as the associate dean for research and director of the Clinical Investigation Sciences program at the school, and worked to implement its International Travel Medicine Clinic.

Montemayor receives research fellowship

Ben Montemayor, PhD, a professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, received a research fellowship from Fordham University’s HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute in August. Montemayor’s research focuses on the willingness of students at high risk for substance use disorders to participate in research.

Hudgens named chair of biostatistics

Michael Hudgens, PhD, was appointed chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health in July. Hudgens has led infectious disease research in the biostatistics department since 2004, and has served as director of the university’s Center for AIDS Research Biostatistics Core since 2010.

Ibrahim appointed dean

Jennifer Ibrahim, PhD, MPH, MA, was appointed dean of the Temple University College of Public Health and School of Social Work in July. She previously served as interim dean and associate dean for academic affairs and is a tenured professor in the Department of Health Services Administration and Policy.

Friedrichs appointed head of pandemic preparedness office

The White House named Paul Friedrichs, MD, head of the new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy in July. Friedrichs previously served as joint staff surgeon at the Pentagon. The new office, which will be a permanent part of the Executive Office of the President, will coordinate the presidential administration’s domestic response to public health threats that have pandemic potential.