FALL 2016
Sterk named university president
Claire Sterk has assumed the post of president of Emory University. Her ties with our school are strong, dating back to 1995, when she joined our faculty. During her tenure at Rollins, Claire served as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Public Health, chair of the department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, and associate dean for research.
She went on, in 2005, to serve Emory as senior vice provost for academic affairs and then provost and executive vice president for academic affairs beginning in 2013. The move across campus did not diminish her commitment to public health. She spoke at our recent faculty retreat, where she noted that public health is her passion.
Sterk's primary research interests are addiction, mental health, and HIV/AIDS, with a focus on community-based interventions. She is a leading international figure in the fields of public health and anthropology. Her husband and research partner, Kirk Elifson, serves on the faculty here at Rollins.
Sterk has been an active teacher and a funded researcher her entire career. She has a broad understanding of all aspects of academia. We could not be more proud of the fact that she is a faculty member in Rollins.
Narayan elected to National Academy of Medicine
K.M. Venkat Narayan, Ruth and O.C. Hubert Professor of Global Health, has been elected to the 2016 class of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly the Institute of Medicine. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Venkat is one of the world’s leading researchers on type 2 diabetes. The nursing school's Deborah W. Bruner was also elected.
Venkat is also the PI for a new P30 grant from National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease to establish a Georgia Diabetes Translation Research Center. The grant was awarded to a partnership of Emory University (schools of public health, medicine, nursing, and business), Georgia Institute of Technology, and Morehouse School of Medicine. The GDTRC offers translation research cores (design and evaluation, engagement and behavior change, and disparities) designed to be responsive to the need to close remaining gaps in diabetes detection, prevention, and care, and to the changing profile of the U.S. diabetes population.
Strategic planning update
In the Spring of 2016, RSPH embarked on a strategic planning process in consultation with the Woodruff Health Sciences Center (WHSC) Office of Strategic Planning. This process will position the school to effectively respond to an upcoming strategic planning process that WHSC will initiate later this year and an ongoing strategic planning effort that the university is pursuing.
Faculty and chairs of the departments and the senior leadership of the EMPH program kicked the effort off by developing unit-level plans relating to research, teaching, and resources. The dean's office then consolidated the departmental plans into one draft report, noting cross-cutting themes and issues that emerged. The summary document was then shared with several standing committees for initial comment (including the Education Committee and the Research Advisory Committee) and the RSPH faculty in preparation for an August 22 all-school retreat.
During the retreat, faculty engaged in rich discussion of the future direction of the school, research and teaching priorities, and action plans to implement the priorities deemed most important. The dean's office has since drafted a strategic planning framework to reflect content generated from both the initial departmental/EMPH reports and the August 22 faculty retreat. This framework is being revised with input from the RSPH leadership team and will include input from heads of RSPH service units.
The next steps are to continue to refine the strategies that form the basis of the plan, develop 18-month action plans to achieve the strategies, and develop strategic outcomes (that are measurable) that rest on the existing values, mission, and goals of the school. This initial framework will be shared with faculty, staff, students, and the RSPH Community Advisory Board this fall for further refinement. It is expected that the full RSPH strategic plan will be completed by the end of 2016.
New assistant dean
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Kimberly Maune |
Kimberly Maune has been appointed assistant dean for research administration and senior director for research shared services. Her predecessor, Bill Lambert, is now assistant vice president for finance—grants & contracts for the university. In her new post, Kimberly is working to standardize reporting and procedures related to research. She is also helping Gary Miller and Dean Surbey with strategic planning. Prior to joining Rollins, Kimberly worked at the University of Cincinnati as the executive director of accounting and finance. She graduated from Xavier University in Cincinnati.
Inaugural Hilton Chair in Global Health Ethics named
James V. Lavery has been named the inaugural Hilton Chair in Global Health Ethics at the Hubert Department of Global Health as well as a faculty fellow of the Emory Center for Ethics. In his new role, Lavery will provide leadership in public health ethics aross the university and serve as a resource to Emory's partners in the global health community. Lavery is currently the managing director of the Centre for Ethical, Social & Cultural Risk in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital and associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto.
Alumni award winners
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Brigette Ulin 97MPH |
Brigette Ulin 97MPH received the 2016 Distinguished Achievement Award, given by the Rollins Alumni Association in recognition of lifetime career achievement. As Director of the Office of the National Prevention Strategy at the CDC, Brigette has been integral to the creation and implementation of our nation's first comprehensive plan for preventive health care. Beginning in 2012, she co-led teams from the CDC, the Department of Health and Human Services, and 17 departments within the National Prevention Council to conceptualize and draft the National Prevention Strategy. Since the official release of the strategy, Brigette has been in charge of its implementation across the federal government, as well as preparing annual progress reports that are presented to the President and Congress. As a result of the strategy, multiple federal departments and public sectors have started prioritizing prevention and have integrated public health considerations into their policy decisions.
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Felicia Warren 99OX 01C 08MPH |
Felicia Warren 99OX 01C 08MPH was awarded the 2016 Matthew Lee Girvin Award, which recognizes a recent graduate who is making significant contributions toward improving the health of others. As lieutenant commander of the United States Public Health Service, Felicia has dedicated her career to protecting and advancing the health and safety of some of the world's most vulnerable and underserved populations. She began her career at the CDC as a program analyst, where she coordinated national HIV/AIDS surveillance activities. She went on to serve in various capacities in Vietnam, Uganda, and South Africa, where she helped develop the 2014 South Africa PEPFAR Country Operational Plan, a $200-million initiative that required the collaboration of multiple non-profits, NGOs, and government agencies. Felicia now serves in the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in the Division of Violence Prevention, where she provides program expertise to the Violence Against Children and Youth Team.
New grants
Jeffrey Koplan, Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, $8.2 million
Carlos del Rio, Center for AIDS Research at Emory University, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, $2.5 million
Kevin Ward, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results, NIH National Cancer Institute, $2.3 million
Patrick Sullivan, Enhancing Models of HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STIs, and Tuberculosis, CDC, $1.2 million
Kathleen Miner, Region IV Public Health Training Center, Health Resources and Services Administration, $1 million
Jeffrey Koplan, Advancing National Public Health Institutes Globally, CDC, $970,000
Robert Breiman, Understanding Pneumococcal Evolution to Evade Vaccination in Developing Countries, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, $970,000
Scott McNabb, Emory Partnership for Global Health Security Training, CDC, $925,000
Christine Moe, Safe Water: Access to Clean Water in Health Facilities and Communities, GE Foundation, $830,000
Patrick Sullivan, Understanding Disparities in Effective HIV Treatment and Prevention, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, $770,000
Viola Vaccarino, PTSD and Ischemic Heart Disease Progression: A Longitudinal Twin Study, NIH, $750,000
Carlos del Rio, Center for AIDS Research at Emory University, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, $740,000
Viola Vaccarino, Mental Stress and Myocardial Ischemia after MI: Sex Difference and Mechanisms, NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, $730,000
Hao Wu, Statistical Methods for Single-cell RNA-sequence, NIH National Institute of General Medical Science, $700,000
Kevin Ward, Operation of the Statewide Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry, Georgia Department of Public Health, $670,000
Ralph Diclemente, JJ Trials- KIDS: Knowing about Intervention Implementation in Detention Sites, NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse, $660,000
Benjamin Druss, Progress Report: A Mobile Personal Health Record for Behavioral Health Homes, NIH National Institute of Mental Health, $660,000
Patrick Sullivan, Understanding Substance Use and Incident HIV/STI Among Young Black MSM, NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse, $640,000
K.M. Venkat Narayan, Worksite Lifestyle Program for Reducing Diabetes and CVD Risk in India, NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, $630,000
Michele Marcus, Collaborative Research and Action: Empowering an Exposed Community, NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, $625,000
Patrick Sullivan, Mobile Messaging Intervention to Present New HIV Prevention Options for MSM, CDC, $600,000
Timothy Lash, New and Integrated Perspectives on Modification of Tamoxifen Effectiveness, NIH National Cancer Institute, $550,000
Rollins faculty have recently received many other grants for research and training between May 1 - Sept 1. View the complete list.
Appointments and Promotions
Faculty promotions
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Zhengija (Nelson) Chen, Research Associate Professor, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
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Christine L. Moe, Professor, Global Health
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Saad B. Omer, Professor, Global Health
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Nancy J. Thompson, Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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Hao Wu, Associate Professor, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
New faculty
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Alvaro Alonso, Associate Professor, Epidemiology
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Cari Clark, Associate Professor, Global Health
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Elisa Helen Ignatius, Assistant Professor, Global Health
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Benjamin Lopman, Associate Professor, Epidemiology
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Carmen Marsit, Professor, Environmental Health
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Alexander C. Wagenaar, Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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Elizabeth Lee Reisinger Walker, Assistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
Post doctoral fellows
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Rose Grose, Global Health
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Michael Mina, Global Health
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Axel Poulet, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
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Jessica Prince-Guerra, Global Health
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Samaah M. Sullivan, Epidemiology
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Adriana N. Vest, Epidemiology
Staff promotions
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Carla Bailey, Administrative Assistant, Global Health
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Ron Barwick, Fulfillment Services Representative I, Fulfillment Services
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Jimmie Lee Benton, Fulfillment Services Representative II, Fulfillment Services
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Tara D. Davis, Research Projects Manager, Epidemiology
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Marisa Gallegos, Senior Public Health Program Associate, Global Health
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Allen W. Graham, Senior Research Administration Coordinator, Global Health
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Eric Hall, Data Analyst, Epidemiology
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April K. Hermstad, Public Health Program Associate, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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Yevgeniy O. Kovalenkov, Pre-Award II Research Administrator, Research Administration
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Tamaira Lyons, Pre-Award II Research Administrator, Research Administration
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Sean Lawrence McGrath, Client Services Tech Lead, Information Services
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Rachael Miller, Pre-Award II Research Administrator, Research Administration
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Stevie Lyles Plew, Research Administrative Coordinator, Health Policy and Management
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Suraja Raj, Senior Public Health Program Associate, Global Health
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Jerry Parks Reid, Fulfillment Services Representative II, Fulfillment Services
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Tyree Staple, Program Assistant Director, Epidemiology
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Ralph Valenzuela Jr., Fulfillment Services Representative I, Fulfillment Services
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Lei Weng, Research Specialist, Epidemiology
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Edgar Woods, Fulfillment Services Coordinator, Fulfillment Services
New staff
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Charita D. Alston, Senior Instructional Content Developer, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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Stephanie N. Beane, Biostatistician, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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LaMonta L. Beard, Research Specialist, Global Health
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Christopher Benson, Senior Operating Systems Analyst/Administration, Information Services
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Anna Marie Bratcher, Public Health Program Associate, Epidemiology
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Ashley R. Brown Randall, Social Worker I, Epidemiology
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Emily A. Chuba, Senior Research Administration Coordinator, Epidemiology
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Brianna R. Duncan, Pre-Award I Research Administrator, Research Administration
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Todd Everson, Biostatistician, Environmental Health
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Rebecca Filipowicz, Programs Associate Director, Epidemiology
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Karon Gaston, Senior Research Interviewer, Global Health
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JoAnna L. Hillman, Programs Associate Director, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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Shannon D. Holmes, Program Coordinator, Global Health
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Yvonne Kienast, Public Health Programs Associate, Global Health
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Ahoua Kone, Public Health Programs Associate, Global Health
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Jonathan Lehnert, Public Health Programs Associate, Epidemiology
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Emily D. Lemon, Public Health Programs Associate, Global Health
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Kimberly Maune, Research Administration Services Senior Director, Research Administration
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Candace McCloud, Public Health Programs Associate, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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Victoria E. Mitchell, Research Specialist, Environmental Health
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Stephanie Monday, Senior Research Specialist, Environmental Health
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Hannah Nicol, Student Affairs Assistant Director, Student Services
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Marc A. Padilla, Senior Research Administration Coordinator
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Anirudh R. Rao, Public Health Programs Associate, Global Health
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Shelby Rentmeester, Public Health Programs Associate, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
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Jessica Swiniarski, Clinical Research Interviewr II, Epidemiology
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Britton Tuck, Public Health Programs Associate, Global Health Institute
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Mariah Valentine-Graves, Public Health Programs Associate, Epidemiology
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David Watson, Research Specialist, Global Health
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Kevin Weiss, Data Analyst, Epidemiology
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Gretchen Marie Wilde, Public Health Programs Associate, Epidemiology
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Andrew Wilson, Public Health Programs Associate, Global Health
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Jamie Zimmerman, Senior Research Interviewer, Health Policy and Management
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