Class Notes
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Bruce Agins, MD, MPH '94, is the Medical Director of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, where he oversees a staff of 40 individuals involved in guidelines development, quality management, and education programs. He is the principal architect of New York’s HIV Quality of Care Program and has 20 years of HIV-specific QI experience. He is principal investigator of the HIVQUAL-US and National Quality Center programs funded by HRSA, has participated as faculty in several national HIV quality improvement collaboratives, and chaired the faculty of the national HIV QI Collaborative for state HIV agencies. Since 2002, Dr. Agins has applied his experience in the field of HIV QI to the international setting, directing HIVQUAL International/HEALTHQUAL, which is supported by UNICEF and PEPFAR. Following a successful launch in Thailand that resulted in scale-up to a national program, the model has been implemented in Uganda, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Haiti and Guyana. Dr. Agins is an infectious diseases specialist with extensive experience in the oversight of government-sponsored programs. He is a graduate of Haverford College and Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and received his MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health in 1994.
Philip Alcabes, MPH '81, PhD is Professor of Urban Public Heath at Hunter College’s School of Health Sciences and author of a forthcoming book, DREAD: How Fear and Fantasy Have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to Avian Flu [2]. Due out this spring by PublicAffairs Books, Dread explores the social and cultural history of epidemics.
In addition to his Hunter appointment, Dr. Alcabes holds a visiting faculty appointment at the Yale School of Nursing. He has spent the past ten years studying the history, ethics, and policy of public health. Previously, he conducted epidemiologic research on the epidemiology of AIDS and other community-acquired infections, social issues in the spread of epidemics, and methods for the statistical study of infectious diseases. Dr. Alcabes graduated from Union College and holds master’s degrees in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and public health from the Mailman School of Public Health. He earned a PhD in infectious-disease epidemiology in 1993 from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Claudine Cangiano, MPH ’04 was recently honored by Long Island Business News’ 11th Annual “40 under 40” Awards program. She was selected based on her leadership and success in business, and her support of Long Island’s not-for-profit organizations and local communities. Ms. Cangiano is the senior director of operations at the North Shore-LIJ Health System, an integrated healthcare network serving Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, as well as Staten Island. North Shore-LIJ consists of 14 hospitals, numerous long-term care facilities, an internationally recognized medical research institute, a home care agency, core laboratories, and dozens of ambulatory facilities. Ms. Cangiano came to North Shore-LIJ as an administrative fellow in 2004. Prior to that, she was a staff officer of research for the Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research for the Department of Psychiatry of the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Ms. Cangiano received her BA in psychology from Georgetown University, her MS in psychology from Saint Louis University, and her MPH with a concentration in health services management through the executive program at the Mailman School of Public Health. She has been working with the Mailman School to develop an administrative internship program at North Shore-LIJ Health System, which has already accepted two students for this past summer.
Alexandra L. Chan, DDS, MPH '04 of Pound Ridge, NY, is the Director of Dental Services for Hill Health Corporation in New Haven, CT, where she leads a multimillion-dollar oral health program and a multi-practice expansion within the state of Connecticut. Dr. Chan attended the New York University Dental School and completed her postdoctoral residency training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in 1999. In 2004, she earned her MPH in health policy and management at the Mailman School of Public Health. In 2005, Dr. Chan was the recipient of the Fellowship Award from the Academy of General Dentistry. She holds a faculty appointment at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine and oversees the training of dental residents and fellows at her dental sites. Dr. Chan is an active member in the Connecticut Primary Care Association, Connecticut Health Foundation, Connecticut State Dental Association, New Haven Oral Health Coalition, Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association, and the American Public Health Association.
Kevin Earle, MBA, MPH '04 of Phoenix, AZ, is the new executive director of the Arizona Dental Association (AzDA), a nonprofit organization representing over 2,500 dentists statewide and a constituent society of the American Dental Association. Prior to that, he served as the executive director of the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners where he worked closely with the AzDA and other stakeholders to successfully pass a major legislative initiative to improve consumer protection. Mr. Earle has served as executive director of several regulatory boards in the New Jersey State Division of Consumer Affairs for 16 years, including the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Dentistry. He received his BA in public affairs from George Washington University, his MBA from Rutgers University and his MPH with a concentration in health policy through the executive program at the Mailman School of Public Health.
Anjanette Ferris, MD, MPH '08 has been named Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. Dr. Ferris has dedicated much of her professional career to education and treatment of cardiovascular disease in women. Prior to assuming her new post, she worked at the Cleveland Clinic, caring for patients in clinical and preventive cardiology, and at the Women's Cardiovascular Center. She currently serves as a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association. Dr. Ferris earned her doctorate in medicine from the State University of New York at Downstate College of Medicine, and completed her postdoctoral training at Columbia University Medical Center, where she also obtained her MPH.
Claudia Fine, LCSW, MPH '75 (formerly Claudia Fine Sherman) recently received the Hunter College School of Social Work Achievement Award for her distinguished work in the field of aging. She is executive vice president, chief professional officer of SeniorBridge, a care management company that serves seniors and their families by managing chronic health conditions in the home and other settings.
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH '03, joined the Mailman School as the new chair of the Department of Epidemiology and as the Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor of Epidemiology in January 2010. Internationally recognized for his seminal contributions in the field of epidemiology, Dr. Galea's research seeks to uncover how determinants at multiple levels of influence—including policies, features of the social environment, molecular and genetic factors—jointly produce the health of populations. Previously a faculty member at the University of Michigan where he received accolades for his research, program management, and teaching, Dr. Galea served as Professor of Epidemiology in Michigan’s School of Public Health, Research Professor at the Institute of Social Research, and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Medical School. Dr. Galea was also the Director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Global Health. Dr. Galea received his MD in 1994 from the University of Toronto, his MPH in epidemiology in 2000 from Harvard University, and his DrPH in 2003 from the Mailman School.
Shelley Hearne, DrPH '94 was named managing director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Health and Human Services Program. She was a visiting professor and director of policy and practice at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A nationally recognized environmental health scientist, she was the founding executive director of Trust for America's Health, a U.S.-based health advocacy organization.
Lucille Pilling, EdD, MPH '94, RN appeared in BusinessWeek [3] online discussing the Weight Watcher's campaign "Lose for Good." Dr. Pilling is a Professor of Corporate Responsibility at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and School of Continuing and Professional Studies. She is President of Pilling and Associates, a firm specializing in collaborations between the non-profit sector and corporations that build corporate social responsibility. Dr. Pilling is an authority in the management of public-private partnerships and authored Global Health Alliance: Lessons Learned.
Monica Sweeney, MD, MPH '92 is featured in Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference, a new book published in November by fashion designer Kenneth Cole with 86 essays from celebrities, politicians, activists and social entrepreneurs. Dr. Sweeney is the Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. For more than 17 years, she served as the Medical Director of the Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center and made tremendous strides in bringing quality care to the people of Brooklyn. This year, she also received the 2008 Public Health Advocacy Award from the Public Health Association of New York City for her outstanding contributions to advocacy of public health improvements. She completed a second 2-year term on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and authored Condom Sense: A Guide to Sexual Survival in the New Millennium, a no-nonsense guide to condom use and sexual health.
Thomas Tsang, MD, MPH '02 has been selected as a 2008-2009 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, where he will spend a year actively involved in health legislation and policy at the congressional level. He is the chief medical officer of the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, a non-profit, community-based healthcare facility that addresses the health and social needs of underserved Asian Americans in New York City. His interests include hepatitis B prevention, information technology, and health services research.