Awards and Honors
Mary Bassett, Bizu Gelaye, and Xihong Lin were among the 50 University of Washington alumni honored this fall as “Changemakers of Public Health.” Bassett is the François-Xavier Bagnoud Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights and director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights. Gelaye is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology. Lin is a professor of biostatistics.
Atul Gawande, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, was named a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board on November 9. Gawande is a surgeon at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. He also is a best-selling author and the founder and chair of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Chan School.
Marcia Goldberg, professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, was elected to the Medical Sciences section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was honored for distinguished contributions to the field of microbial pathogenesis, particularly the molecular mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions.
William Haseltine, a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Chan School from 1976 to 1993, published his autobiography, My Lifelong Fight Against Disease: From Polio and AIDS to COVID-19, in October. It covers his time at Harvard and highlights moments of medical discovery.
Nancy Krieger, professor of social epidemiology, was named the 2020 recipient of the American College of Epidemiology’s Outstanding Contributions to Epidemiology Award in November. The award recognizes an active epidemiologist for outstanding contributions to the field, and she was given the award “in recognition of her exemplary work.” Krieger will receive the award and deliver a platform talk at the college’s 2021 annual meeting.
Marc Lipsitch and Pardis Sabeti were elected to the National Academy of Medicine in October. Membership is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievements and commitment to service. Lipsitch is a professor of epidemiology with a primary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and a joint appointment in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. He also directs the School’s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. Sabeti is a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard Chan School. She is also a professor at the Harvard FAS Center for Systems Biology and the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, an institute member of the Broad Institute, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
JoAnn Manson, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, received the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Research Achievement Award at the AHA’s annual Scientific Sessions on November 14 for outstanding career contributions to cardiovascular research.
Frank Sacks, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention in the Department of Nutrition, received a Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) in November. It recognizes members for “significant, original, and sustained scientific contributions” to advancing understanding of cardiovascular disease. Sacks has also started as chair of the AHA’s Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health.
Tyler VanderWeele, John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology, was awarded the Outstanding Mentor Award by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Postdoctoral Association on September 24. This award is based on nominations from postdocs and research associates. In the award notice, VanderWeele’s mentees spoke of his inspiring curiosity, generosity with his time, and kindness. They wrote, “In addition to his excellent professional mentorship, it is his genuine care for the people he works with that makes him a truly remarkable mentor and deeply deserving of this award.”
Michelle A. Williams was named in October to the Medical, Marketing & Media 2020 Health Influencer 50 list. Williams, Dean of the Faculty and Angelopoulos Professor in Public Health and International Development, was recognized for leveraging the increased attention that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to health inequity to “eloquently and powerfully garner more attention for causes such as preventive health and social determinants of health.”
Aisha Yousafzai, associate professor of global health, was honored for her work in early childhood development with this year’s Alice Hamilton Award from the Harvard Chan School. She presented her award lecture virtually on October 1.
Also honored at the ceremony: Sonia Hernández Díaz, professor of epidemiology, for mentorship, and Karen Emmons, professor of social and behavioral sciences, for service to the community of women in science at the School.
Appointments and Promotions
Gary Adamkiewicz, associate professor of environmental and exposure disparities
Joseph Allen, associate professor of exposure assessment science
Jarvis Chen, lecturer in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Stephanie Child, assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences
Issa Dahabreh, associate professor of epidemiology
Nora Kory, assistant professor of molecular metabolism
Natalie Slopen, assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences
Bookshelf
The Case for Masks: Science-Based Advice for Living During the Coronavirus Pandemic
by Dean Hashimoto
Skyhorse, 2020
In America, the debate over whether masks should be worn to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has become enmeshed with political affiliation, views on religious and personal freedoms, and conflicting media reports on the benefits and dangers of facial coverings. But what does science say? What have we learned from biosafety, observational, and population-based studies? Hashimoto, the chief medical officer overseeing the Workplace Health and Wellness division at Mass General Brigham, presents the current research, making the case that wearing masks in public is a key part of saving lives and bringing this pandemic to a halt.
Public Health Nutrition: Essentials for Practitioners
Edited by Jessica Jones-Smith
Harvard Chan School contributors: Sara Bleich, Johannah Frelier, Lindsay Jaacks, Scott Richardson, Kelsey Vercammen
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020
This foundational textbook covers the role of nutrition in public health in communities around the world. It examines common nutrition-related problems in both high- and low-income countries, allowing students to draw connections between the principles and realities of public health nutrition. It also describes the fundamental tools of public health nutrition, from nutrition assessment to program monitoring and evaluation, as well as current and future solutions for public health nutrition’s most pressing issues.
