Jeroan Allison, MD, vice chair and professor of population & quantitative health sciences, will succeed Catarina Kiefe, MD, PhD, on June 1, becoming the second chair of the department, according to Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the School of Medicine.
Dr. Kiefe, the Melvin S. and Sandra L. Cutler Chair in Biomedical Research, has been chair of the department since its founding.
“Since 2009, the Department of Population & Quantitative Health Sciences has been guided by Dr. Kiefe, and under her strong leadership, has grown into a vibrant team of more than 40 faculty members who play a pivotal role in connecting and supporting UMass Medical School’s strengths in research, education, patient care and public service,” said Dr. Flotte. “Some time ago, Dr. Kiefe informed me of her desire to step aside as chair of the department, returning to a full-time faculty position in which she will focus her energies on impactful and collaborative research. We therefore initiated a process to identify the department’s next chair.”
“Many of you know Dr. Allison quite well, as he has been actively engaged in our academic health sciences community for a decade. Under his direction, I have no doubt that PQHS will continue to deepen and expand its focus on population health and health equity, a goal that is reflected in the department’s shared value of ‘social justice through improved health.’
For 20 years, Allison’s work has been continuously funded by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Health Care Quality and Research and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is co-editor-in-chief of Medical Care, a journal of the American Public Health Association, and an internationally recognized scientist who has devoted his career to addressing the root causes of health disparities and promoting health equity.
Allison is also well-known throughout UMMS as a mentor to those interested in health equity, and a colleague who is highly engaged in the community. He co-directs the KL2 career-development component of the Clinical and Translational Science Award; is the immediate past faculty chair of the Council on Equal Opportunity and Diversity; and serves on the Personnel Action Committee, which evaluates all recommendations for faculty appointment and promotion.
In 2014, Allison was honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Diversity.
The search committee was chaired by Daniel Lasser, MD, chair and professor of family medicine & community health.
“I am grateful to Dr. Lasser and his colleagues for their time and energies in the search process, and I hope you will join me in congratulating Dr. Allison on his new role and in offering sincere gratitude to Dr. Kiefe for her years of dedicated leadership,” Flotte said.
