Galea is first IAPHS President; Link chosen President-Elect

IAPHS just finished its inaugural election. An impressive 86% of members cast votes for the organization’s new leadership.  Here are the results:

IAPHS’s incoming president is Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. A noted epidemiologist and physician, Dr. Galea is co-author of the recent text, Population Health Science, and a prolific author of research on population health. He is past-president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and of the American Epidemiological Society. Looking forward to his tenure as IAPHS’s inaugural president, Dr. Galea told us:

“I am deeply excited about the potential of IAPHS.  I am hopeful that in 2017 we can set the foundations for the organization’s future success, establish momentum, and create the glide path for growth in interdisciplinary population health work.”

Bruce Link, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Sociology, University of California Riverside, will be President-Elect of IAPHS. A sociologist, Dr. Link has written on the connection between socioeconomic status and health, homelessness, violence, stigma, and discrimination. With Jo Phelan, he has advanced the theory of social conditions as fundamental causes of disease.  He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the recipient of numerous other awards. Dr. Link will serve as IAPHS President during calendar year 2018. Link will begin planning 2018 meeting, appoint program chair

IAPHS’s new Secretary will be Lindsey Leininger, a senior health researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, where she leads quantitative studies informing health insurance design for vulnerable populations.  Its appointed Treasurer will be José Pagán, Director of the Center for Health Innovation at The New York Academy of Medicine.  Dr. Pagán is a member of the current Board and currently serves as Treasurer; he has graciously agreed to continue for one more year.  A new treasurer will be appointed for 2018.

Christine Bachrach, Research Professor at the University of Maryland, will also remain with IAPHS as volunteer Executive Director, managing the day-to-day affairs of the organization.  Dr. Bachrach currently serves as Managing Director and Board member and is completing her work as the co-Director of the National Program Office for the RWJF Health & Society Scholars.

The IAPHS’s new Board will include these officers and 7 additional Board members.  Three new members of the Board were elected to serve during 2017-18:

• Wizdom Powell, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• David Kindig, Emeritus Professor of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
• Tiffany Green, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Three additional elected members will serve for three years, 2017-2019:

• Sarah Stoddard, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing and Research Affiliate, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan
• Lourdes Rodriguez, Director, Center for Place-Based Initiatives and Associate Professor of Population Health, Dell Medical School, University of Texas, Austin
• Hedy Lee, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Washington

In addition, Yonette Thomas, a science adviser for both the New York Academy of Medicine, and the Association of American Geographers, has agreed to extend her service to the Board in order to provide continuity.  Dr. Thomas is a current Board member and was appointed to this one-year term.

Thanks to outgoing Board Members Dorothy Daley, Mark Hayward, Gerard Lebeda, and John Mullahy!  Each was crucial to IAPHS’s successful development.  Their leadership and wise counsel will be greatly missed.

The new leadership will take office February 1, 2017.  The elections for new Board members and officers starting in 2018 will be held earlier this year.  The nominations process will be completed in May, so email your suggestions any time and watch for a formal call for suggestions from the new Board.