Awards, honors, and activities
Francesca Dominici, Ronnie Levin named to TIME 100 Health list
September 13, 2024 – Two faculty members in the Department of Environmental Health—Francesca Dominici and Ronnie Levin — were named to the inaugural TIME 100 Health list in May, which cited 100 individuals who most influenced global health in 2024. Dominici, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population, and Data Science and faculty director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative, was cited for her work fighting air pollution. Levin, an instructor, was chosen for her research on lead, which played a key role in an Environmental Protection Agency proposal requiring that all the lead pipes in the U.S. be replaced within a decade.
Catherine Barber, senior researcher in the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Public Health & Community Impact for Suicide Prevention from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in May. Barber led the effort to design and test the pilot for the CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) National Violent Death Reporting System. This novel database provides a clearer understanding of violent deaths to inform suicide prevention.
Carlos Camargo, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, received the 2024 Stepping Strong Innovator Award from the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. This award supports research and innovation to prevent traumatic injury, improve treatment, and ensure recovery.
Brittany Charlton, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology, is the 2024 recipient of the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER) Sherman A. James Diverse and Inclusive Epidemiology Award. As part of the award, she gave a talk at the SER annual meeting in June.
David Christiani and Stefanos Kales were both honored by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in May. Christiani, Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics, received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award and Kales, professor in the Department of Environmental Health and director of Harvard Chan’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency, received the 2024 Excellence in Mentorship Award.
Andrea Foulkes, professor in the Department of Biostatistics, was inducted in August as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. Foulkes is the chief of biostatistics at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on statistical methods and applications to address significant clinical questions at the intersection of infectious disease and cardiometabolic disease.
Bizu Gelaye, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology, started as senior investigator and chief of the Epidemiology Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Development in the Division of Intramural Research in September.As chief of the Epidemiology Branch, Gelaye will provide scientific and administrative leadership, design his own program of research, and develop training opportunities.
Dae Hyun Kim, instructor in the Department of Epidemiology, received the 2024 A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School (HMS) in May. Kim is an associate professor of medicine at HMS, associate scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, and a geriatrician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Jukka-Pekka Onnela, professor of biostatistics, was elected to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in April. Each year, the academy invites academics and scientists who have distinguished themselves in their fields to become lifetime members.
Mingyang Song, associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition, received the 2024 Young Investigator Award in Clinical Science from the American Gastroenterological Association in May.
Unnur Valdimarsdottir, adjunct professor of epidemiology, was appointed president of the faculty of health sciences at the University of Iceland in July.
Dyann Wirth, Richard Pearson Strong Professor of Infectious Diseases, received the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Society’s Ogobara Doumbo MIM Award for Lifetime Achievements in Malaria Research and Capacity Building. The award was presented at the 8th Pan-African Malaria Conference, held in Kigali, Rwanda in April.
Appointments and promotions
Appointments
Julie Buring, adjunct professor of epidemiology
Ari Ne’eman, assistant professor of health policy and management
Vanessa Kerry, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health
Jeanne Lambrew, adjunct professor of health policy
Bo Rueda, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health
Katherine Semrau, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management
Promotions
Emma-Louise Aveling, lecturer on health research and qualitative methods
Jessica Cohen, professor of health economics
Jose Figueroa, associate professor of health policy and management
Elizabeth Frates, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health
Kale Kponee, adjunct senior lecturer on epidemiology
Erica Kenney, associate professor of public health nutrition
Michaela Kerrissey, associate professor of management
William Mair, professor of molecular metabolism
Rajarshi Mukherjee, associate professor of biostatisics
Bookshelf
Hospital, Heal Thyself: One Brilliant Mathematician’s Proven Plan for Saving Hospitals, Many Lives, and Billions of Dollars
This book (Wiley, November 2024) tells the story of how work by Eugene Litvak, adjunct professor of operations management, is helping hospitals reduce costs and improve health outcomes by better managing patient flow. Read an excerpt : hsph.me/heal-thyself.
In memoriam
David Egilman, MPH ’82, died April 2 at 71. He was a physician and clinical professor of family medicine at Brown University and was known as a passionate philanthropist and advocate for public health and social justice causes. The New York Times reported that he offered expert testimony in more than 600 trials involving pharmaceutical companies and other corporations, resulting in billions of dollars in compensation to victims and their survivors.
Larry David Samuels, SM ’61, SD ’66, died April 25 at 90. He was a pioneer in pediatric nuclear medicine, establishing a clinical department at Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He later served as associate professor of nuclear medicine at Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, where Israeli Prime Ministers Golda Meir and Menachem Begin were among his patients, and director of nuclear medicine at St. Louis University Medical Center. After he retired, Samuels moved to Hilo, Hawaii, with Lucia, his wife of almost 50 years.
Photos: Dominici: I Am a Scientist; Levin: Kent Dayton / Harvard Chan School; Samuels: Courtesy of Lucia Samuels