Summer 2024
1987
Thomas Lee, SM, was elected to the Blue Cross Blue Shield board of directors in February. He is a cardiologist focused on improving the quality and efficiency of health care, and the chief medical officer at consulting firm Press Ganey.
1999
Said Ibrahim, MPH, became the Anthony F. and Gertrude M. DePalma Dean of Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College in December. Ibrahim is an internal medicine physician nationally recognized for his efforts to combat health disparities. Previously, he served as senior vice president of Northwell Health’s Medicine Service Line and chair of the Department of Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, and the Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
2002
Ching-te “William” Lai, MPH, won Taiwan’s presidential election in January and was inaugurated in May. He previously was the country’s vice president. Read more
2004
Andrew Chan, MPH, received a Research Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterological Association in May. Chan is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and is chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and program director for gastroenterology training at Massachusetts General Hospital.
2008
Michael Scalzone, SM, joined the Mansfield Laurel Health Center in Pennsylvania in November. He is a board-certified gynecologist with 30 years’ experience, including practicing in rural areas with a shortage of providers, and providing executive oversight for both inpatient and outpatient care.
2010
Mediget Teshome, MPH, was appointed chief of breast surgery and director of breast health at UCLA Health. She previously was an associate professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the department of breast surgical oncology, and program director of the Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program. Her research focus includes breast cancer-related lymphedema, neoadjuvant systemic therapy for locally advanced breast cancer, and inflammatory breast cancer.
2017
Sayuri Jinadasa, MPH, received a Rising Star Award from the Sri Lanka Foundation in February. She is an assistant professor of surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, and was recognized for her contributions to acute critical care and medical student training.
2022
David Gibbs, MHCM, assumed the newly created role of inpatient assistant chief medical officer at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in October. Gibbs, a pediatric surgeon who previously served as the hospital’s inaugural trauma medical director, is continuing in his roles of division chief, pediatric surgery, and interim co-director of The Fetal Care Center of Southern California.
2023
Florence Frank, MPH, started working in Santa Fe’s Office of Affordable Housing in August as part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship. Her work during this two-year position has included looking at creative ways to increase the city’s housing stock.
In memoriam
Carlos “Kent” Campbell, MPH ’77, died on February 20 at 80. Known as an instrumental figure in the global fight against malaria, he served as chief of the malaria branch of the Centers for Disease Control and later as an adviser to UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Randolph Catlin Jr., MPH ’58, died November 17 at 97. His lengthy career in neurosurgery and psychiatry included 40 years at Harvard University Health Service, where he became chief of mental health service in 1983.
Timothy Mayne Empkie, MPH ’81, died on December 30. He had a distinguished career in medicine and was a member of the teaching faculty and assistant dean at Brown University Medical School.
Raymond Leo Harrington Murphy, Jr., MPH ’65, SD ’68, died February 26 at 91. A renowned pulmonary medicine physician and former professor at Harvard School of Public Health, his research helped inform changes to the national standard for the use of asbestos in products.
Annette Habegger Martin Özaltin, SM ’07, died October 21 at 44. Özaltin dedicated her career to the design and implementation of complex global health programs in low- and middle-income countries. Read a remembrance by her Harvard Chan School classmates.
Books
Gut: An Owner’s Guide
By Austin Chiang, MPH ’17
Penguin Random House, 2024 / 208 pages
With this colorful, illustrated book, Chiang aims to make topics in gut health and gastroenterology engaging and understandable for the general public.
Cluster
By Robert J. Mccunney, MPH ’81
Archway Publishing, 2023 / 414 pages
A potentially fatal disease, romance, and international terrorism converge in this medical thriller.