2023

A History of Impact: 1960s - 1980s


The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has been working to build a healthier future for more than six decades. The examples that follow, interspersed throughout this section, are just a few of the many ways.

Dr. Ronald Andersen developed a conceptual model in 1968 that would transform the understanding of U.S. healthcare access and has influenced numerous researchers in the decades since. His Behavioral Model of Health Services Use became a frame-work for healthcare utilization and cost studies around the world. Andersen, who joined the FSPH faculty in 1991 and is currently professor emeritus of health policy and management, has regularly updated the model over the course of his career while continuing to conduct pivotal research on issues of access to healthcare.


Lester BreslowDr. Lester Breslow became the school’s second dean in 1972. He served eight years, then remained an active faculty member well into his 90s. The former director of the California Department of Public Health, Breslow earned the nickname “Mr. Public Health” for his leadership and vision. He is credited with moving public health toward a broader health promotion/disease prevention focus.


Recruited to join the school’s faculty in 1972, Dr. Derrick B. Jelliffe spent much of the decade and beyond circling the globe with his wife and research partner, Patrice, to promote breastfeeding and fight corporations that were introducing commercial formulas in low-income countries — where many infants weaned from breast milk in their first year were dying from infections and malnutrition. Their work has been credited with triggering the boycott of Nestlé, the multinational corporation that was accused of aggressively marketing infant formulas in low-income countries, beginning in the late 1970s.


 

man running up stairs

In 1972, the year Dr. Lester Breslow became dean, he published a landmark study based on research he began in the early 1960s. Among Breslow’s findings, he determined that a 45-year-old male who followed six of seven healthy habits identified in the study — getting regular exercise and sleep; not smoking, excessively drinking, or snacking between meals; eating breakfast; and maintaining a normal weight — had a life expectancy 11 years longer than a peer who followed three or fewer, along with better-quality years. Although it seems obvious today, at the time it registered as a shock in the medical and public health community.


The Public Health Alumni Association was founded in 1974. Raymond Goodman (MPH ’72), a renowned public health physician who would become a longtime champion of the school through his philanthropy and leadership, served as the first president. The same year, the Raymond and Betty Goodman Foundation established the annual Lester Breslow Distinguished Lectureship.


Vasectomies now play an integral role in family planning, but in the mid-1970s, when FSPH was chosen as coordinating center for one of the nation’s largest-ever collaborative studies on the procedure, it wasn’t clear they were safe. That changed after a landmark study, led by Dr. Frank J. Massey Jr., found that not a single disease occurred significantly more often among vasectomized men than among men who had not had a vasectomy.


The Public Health Student Association was established in 1978 to meet the academic and social needs of the school’s students, promote community involvement, and inspire interest in and advancement of public health as a career

The Public Health Student Association was established in 1978 to meet the academic and social needs of the school’s students, promote community involvement, and inspire interest in and advancement of public health as a career.


Roger DetelsDr. Roger Detels, a professor of epidemiology at the school, was named dean in 1980 and served for the next five years. He is perhaps best known as the leader of the UCLA site of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS; now called the MACS/ WIHS Combined Cohort Study), the longest-running study of the natural history of AIDS, which began in 1984; as well as for his training of scores of public health professionals in Southeast Asia, India, China, and elsewhere who have led efforts against HIV/AIDS in their countries.


In low-income countries where resources are scarce, multiyear health assessments are often not feasible. Two UCLA Fielding professors, Drs. Ralph Frerichs (pictured below, left) and Susan Scrimshaw, developed methods to enable health planners in these countries to get accurate answers quickly and inexpensively.In low-income countries where resources are scarce, multiyear health assessments are often not feasible. Two UCLA Fielding professors, Drs. Ralph Frerichs (pictured, left) and Susan Scrimshaw, developed methods to enable health planners in these countries to get accurate answers quickly and inexpensively.


Dr. AfifiDr. Abdelmonem A. Afifi was appointed the school’s dean in 1985. A current professor of biostatistics and a member of the school’s faculty for nearly 60 years, Afifi was the longest-serving dean, remaining in the position until 2000. An expert in biostatistical methods, his renowned textbook, “Practical Multivariate Analysis,” is now in its 6th edition. His numerous professional accolades include the American Public Health Association’s Mortimer Spiegelman Gold Medal Award for outstanding biostatistician of the year.


In her landmark 1989 book, “Family Size and Achievement,” UCLA Fielding faculty member Dr. Judith Blake presented evidence that far from growing up feeling isolated, only children tended to have better social skills and achieve more years of schooling than children from larger families.


In 1989, the school was restructured into the five departments it has today: Biostatistics, Community Health Sciences, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, and Health Services (now called Health Policy and Management).


Continued in A History of Impact: 1980s - 2000s.

Faculty Referenced in this Article

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Ron Andersen

Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.

Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Roger Detels
Roger Detels
Epidemiology
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Dr. Elizabeth (Becky) Yano
Elizabeth (Becky) Yano
Health Policy and Management
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Anne Coleman
Anne Coleman
Epidemiology
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Dr. Naomi Zewde
Naomi Zewde
Health Policy and Management
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Marissa J. Seamans
Marissa Seamans
Epidemiology
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Paul Chung
Paul Chung
Health Policy and Management
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Sangeeta Ahluwalia
Sangeeta Ahluwalia
Health Policy and Management
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Sung-Jae Lee
Sung-Jae Lee
Epidemiology
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Hashibe, Mia
Mia Hashibe
Epidemiology
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Jody Heymann
Jody Heymann
Epidemiology Health Policy and Management
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Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh
Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh
Epidemiology
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Ondine S. von Ehrenstein
Community Health Sciences Epidemiology
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Lori Pelliccioni
Health Policy and Management
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Emmeline Chuang
Health Policy and Management
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Vilsa Eliana Curto
Vilsa Eliana Curto
Health Policy and Management
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Jian Li
Jian Li
Environmental Health Sciences Epidemiology
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Dr. Risha Gidwani
Risha Gidwani
Health Policy and Management
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Jose J. Escarce
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Timothy Brewer
Timothy Brewer
Epidemiology
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Su Yong Jung
Su Yon Jung
Epidemiology
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Naomi Greene
Naomi Greene
Epidemiology
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Pamina Gorbach
Pamina Gorbach
Epidemiology
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Dr. Frederick Zimmerman
Frederick Zimmerman
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Kristen Choi
Kristen Choi
Health Policy and Management
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Paul Simon Headshot
Paul Simon
Epidemiology
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Akihiro Nishi Headshot
Akihiro Nishi
Epidemiology
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Michelle Keller
Michelle S. Keller

Dr. Michelle S. Keller is a health services researcher whose research focuses on the use and prescribing of high-risk medications.

Health Policy and Management
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Robert Kim-Farley
Robert J. Kim-Farley

Robert J. Kim-Farley, MD, MPH, is a Professor-in-Residence with joint appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Community Health Sciences

Community Health Sciences Epidemiology
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Corrina Moucheraud
Corrina Moucheraud
Health Policy and Management
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Ralph R. Frerichs, 12/25/21
Ralph R. Frerichs
Epidemiology
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Thomas Priselac
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Aria Fallah
Aria Fallah
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Stephanie Taylor
Stephanie L. Taylor

Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.

Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Samuel Sessions
Samuel Sessions
Health Policy and Management
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Matthew Mimiaga
Matthew J. Mimiaga
Epidemiology
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Dr. Dylan Roby
Dylan Roby
Health Policy and Management
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Niklas Krause
Environmental Health Sciences Epidemiology
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Ron D. Hays
Ron D. Hays
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Arturo Vargas Bustamante
Arturo Vargas Bustamante
Health Policy and Management
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Steven Teutsch
Health Policy and Management
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Susan Ettner
Health Policy and Management
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Gordon headshot
Thomas D. Gordon
Health Policy and Management
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Julie A. Elginer

EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program

Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Xi Zhu
Xi Zhu
Health Policy and Management
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Roberta Malmgren
Epidemiology
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Bailley, Julia
Julia Bailey
Epidemiology
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Dr. Lillian Gelberg
Lillian Gelberg
Health Policy and Management
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Haroutune Armenian
Haroutune Armenian
Epidemiology
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Ximena Vergara
Ximena Vergara
Epidemiology
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Onyebuchi Arah headshot
Onyebuchi A. Arah
Epidemiology
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Nicole Hoff
Epidemiology
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Neal Halfon
Health Policy and Management
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Jonathan Jacobs
Jonathan Jacobs
Epidemiology
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Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang
Zuo-Feng Zhang
Epidemiology
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Paul Dluzniewski
Epidemiology
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Dr. Shira Shafir
Shira Shafir
Community Health Sciences Epidemiology
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Alan Tomines
Health Policy and Management
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Leeka I. Kheifets
Epidemiology
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Nathan Wong
Nathan D. Wong
Epidemiology
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Lawrence Ash
Epidemiology
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Gerald Kominski
Gerald Kominski
Health Policy and Management
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silhoette
Ty Robbins
Health Policy and Management
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Susan Cochran
Susan Cochran
Epidemiology
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James Macinko
James Macinko

Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research

Community Health Sciences Health Policy and Management
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Mark Litwin
Health Policy and Management
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Elizabeth Rose Mayeda
Epidemiology
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Arlene Fink
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Marjan Javanbakht
Marjan Javanbakht
Epidemiology
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Aronberg, Sandra
Sandra Aronberg
Health Policy and Management
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Comanor, Bill
William Comanor
Health Policy and Management
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Patricia Ganz
Patricia Ganz
Health Policy and Management
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Freund, Deborah
Deborah Anne Freund
Health Policy and Management
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Noel Weiss
Epidemiology
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Otoniel Martinez-Maza
Otoniel Martinez-Maza
Epidemiology
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Kadiyala, Srikanth
Srikanth Kadiyala
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Kenneth Wells
Kenneth Wells
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Jonathan Fielding
Jonathan Fielding
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Beth Glenn
Beth Glenn
Health Policy and Management
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David Hayes-Bautista
Health Policy and Management
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Robert Kaplan
Robert Kaplan
Health Policy and Management
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Clifford Ko
Clifford Ko
Health Policy and Management
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Alexandra Binder Headshot
Alexandra Binder
Epidemiology
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Dr. Thomas Rice
Thomas Rice
Health Policy and Management
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Amy Wohl
Epidemiology
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Vickie Mays
Vickie Mays
Health Policy and Management
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Julia Heck
Julia Heck
Epidemiology
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Leah Vriesman
Leah Vriesman
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Joann Elmore
Joann G. Elmore
Health Policy and Management
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Annette Regan
Epidemiology
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Nina Harawa
Epidemiology
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Karin Michels
Karin B. Michels
Epidemiology
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Nadereh Pourat
Nadereh Pourat
Health Policy and Management
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Annette Maxwell
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Ninez Ponce
Ninez Ponce
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Anne Rimoin
Anne Rimoin
Epidemiology
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Mangione, C
Carol Mangione
Health Policy and Management
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Robert Brook
Health Policy and Management
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Jack Needleman
Jack Needleman
Health Policy and Management
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Jeanne Miranda
Jeanne Miranda
Health Policy and Management
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Rosenstock
Linda Rosenstock
Environmental Health Sciences Health Policy and Management
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Laura Erskine
Laura Erskine
Health Policy and Management
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Vonthanak Saphonn
Epidemiology
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Emily Abel
Emily Abel
Health Policy and Management
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Peter Katona
Epidemiology
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Kelika Konda
Epidemiology
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Dr. Brian Bradbury
Brian Bradbury
Epidemiology
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Burt Cowgill
Burt Cowgill
Health Policy and Management
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Jian Yu Rao
Epidemiology
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Sander Greenland
Sander Greenland
Epidemiology
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Dr. Beate Ritz
Beate Ritz
Environmental Health Sciences Epidemiology
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Christie Jeon
Epidemiology
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Olivia Jung
Olivia Jung
Health Policy and Management
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Roch Nianogo
Roch A. Nianogo
Epidemiology
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Dr. Paul Hsu
Paul Hsu
Epidemiology
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Dr. Jennifer Wortham
Jennifer Wortham
Health Policy and Management
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Peter R. Kerndt
Epidemiology
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Yusuke Tsugawa
Yusuke Tsugawa
Health Policy and Management
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Jean Balgrosky
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. John Lu
Z. John Lu
Health Policy and Management
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Teresa Ellen Seeman
Epidemiology
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Isomi Miake-Lye
Isomi Miake-Lye
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Paul Fu, Jr.
Paul Fu, Jr.
Health Policy and Management
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Roshan Bastani Headshot
Roshan Bastani
Health Policy and Management
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Tony Kuo
Tony Kuo
Epidemiology
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Barbara Berman
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. William McCarthy
William J. McCarthy
Health Policy and Management
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Pamela Davidson
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Anthony Schiff
Anthony Hunter Schiff
Health Policy and Management
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Sheena G. Sullivan
Epidemiology
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Jørn Olsen
Epidemiology
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Moira Inkelas
Moira Inkelas
Health Policy and Management
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Avram Kaplan
Avram Kaplan
Health Policy and Management
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Dallas Swendeman
Epidemiology
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N/A
Epidemiology
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Michael Ong
Michael Ong
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Daniel Eisenberg
Daniel Eisenberg
Health Policy and Management
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Diana Hilberman
Diana Hilberman
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Dvora Joseph Davey
Dvora Joseph Davey

Dr. Joseph Davey is an infectious disease epidemiologist with over 20 years' experience leading research on HIV/STI services for women and children.

Epidemiology
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Dr. Alice Kuo
Alice Kuo
Health Policy and Management
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Lisa V. Smith
Epidemiology
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Najib Aziz
Epidemiology
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DerSarkissian, Maral
Maral DerSarkissian
Epidemiology
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Brennan Spiegel
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Liwei Chen
Liwei Chen

Professor in Epidemiology

Epidemiology
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Galper, Michael
Michael Galper
Health Policy and Management
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Warren Scott Comulada
Warren Scott Comulada
Health Policy and Management
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Frank J. Sorvillo
Epidemiology
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Dr. Felicia Hodge
Felicia Hodge
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Yvonne Flores
Yvonne Flores
Health Policy and Management
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