Newsmakers

Amaya elected president of National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities

APHA member Megan Amaya, PhD, CHES, AFAA, in July became the president of the National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities. Amaya serves as the director of health promotion and wellness and an assistant professor of clinical nursing at the College of Nursing at the Ohio State University.

Brownson receives $2.6 million grant for cancer study

APHA member Ross Brownson, PhD, in April was awarded a $2.6 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute. Brownson, a health researcher on chronic disease prevention and epidemiology, will be studying cancer-control programs.

Sabo-Attwood elected president of Southeastern Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology

Tara Sabo-Attwood, PhD, in March was elected president of the Southeastern Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology. Sabo-Attwood is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Environmental and Global Health at the University of Florida.

Penson selected to chair American Urological Association Science and Quality Council

David Penson, MD, MPH, in March was chosen to chair the American Urological Association’s Science and Quality Council, where he will oversee the data, practice guidelines and improvement and patient safety committees. Penson previously served as the chair for the American Urological Association’s Public Policy Council. Penson will start his two-year term on June 1, 2018.

Oghalai named surgical chair

John Oghalai, MD, FACS, in August became chair of the Tina and Rick Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. Oghalai is a professor at the Stanford School of Medicine in the department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, director of the Stanford Children’s Hearing Center and director of the National Institute of Health-funded Clinician Scientist Training Program in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Roesler receives federal political director of the year award

Don Roesler, CRNA, in April received the 2017 Daniel F. Vigness Federal Political Director of the Year Award from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists during the organization’s mid-year assembly. Roesler is a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Avera McKennen Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and has been a nurse anesthetist for over 30 years.

Bagchi joins Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Anindya Bagchi, PhD, in April joined Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute as an associate professor in the Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program. Bagchi was an associate professor of genetics, cell biology and development, and served as co-director of the Mouse Genetics Laboratory, at the University of Minnesota.

Butler and Jenkins named 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health

Paris Butler, MD, MPH, assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Kevin Ahmaad Jenkins, PhD, vice-provost’s postdoctoral fellow at the Leonard David Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, in April were named the National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health. Butler is known for his work on reducing health care disparities along ethnic lines, while Jenkins’ focuses on the intersections of race, law and health, as well as eliminating health disparities and discrimination in health care.

Pietenpol appointed chief scientific advisor for Susan G. Komen Foundation

Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, in April was named the chief scientific advisor for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Pietenpol, who was the executive vice president for research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, has served as a Komen Scholar and is a leader in molecular genetics and cancer research.

Ginsburg named director of high-risk cancer program

Ophira Ginsburg, MD, in April was appointed the director of New York University Langone Medical Center’s Perlmutter Cancer Center’s High Risk Program. Ginsburg is a medical oncologist who held a faculty appointment at the medical center’s Department of Population Health, where she researched cancer disparities, hereditary cancer predispositions and risk reduction strategies for high-risk people. She previously was the medical officer for cancer control from 2015 to 2016 at the World Health Organization.

McHugh selected to Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council

Matthew McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, CRNP, FAAN, in April was selected by Gov. Tom Wolf to serve a four-year term on the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. McHugh is a Rosemarie Greco term-endowed associate professor in advocacy, associate professor of nursing and associate director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Stampfer receives cancer society award

Meir Stampfer, MD, DrPH, in April received the American Association for Cancer Research-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Recipients. Stampfer is an associate director at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Valle receives National Cancer Institute grant

Carmina Valle, PhD, in April was awarded a $2.2 million, four-year grant from the National Cancer Institute. Valle is a research assistant professor of health behavior and member of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive National Cancer Institute. The grant will go toward studying young adult cancer survivors.

Balasubramanian appointed regional dean of University of Texas Health Science Center

Bijal Balasubramanian, PhD, MBBS, in April was named new regional dean at the University of Texas Health Science Center at the Houston School of Public Health. Balasubramanian has been the regional interim dean since 2016 and a faculty member since 2010. Her research focuses on interventions that improve the lives of patients with serious chronic conditions.

Valentino named director of NIDA Division of Neuroscience and Behavior

Rita Valentino, PhD, in April was named director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Division of Neuroscience and Behavior. Valentino is a professor of anesthesiology and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and is the director of the Stress Neurobiology Division in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

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