Faculty News: Winter 2024
In memoriam: Richard Cash
Richard Cash, senior lecturer on global health, passed away on Oct. 22 at age 83.
Cash’s contributions to global health were significant. In the 1960s, he was instrumental in the development and implementation of oral rehydration therapy (ORT), a simple mix of water, sugar, and salt that is very effective at rehydrating people with cholera or other diarrheal diseases. ORT is credited with saving tens of millions of lives worldwide. He was also a teacher, mentor, and friend to many and is remembered for his wisdom, humility, and humor.
Cash came to Harvard in 1977 as a fellow at the Harvard Institute for International Development and joined the School in 1979. He was instrumental in promoting ORT through education and training, ensuring the therapy would reach the underserved communities that could benefit from it the most. He also established programs to help train scientists and researchers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Read his New York Times obituary.
Highly cited faculty
Thirty-one Harvard Chan School faculty members were named to Clarivate Analytic’s 2024 list of Highly Cited Researchers—those who rank in the top 1% for citations. They include: Rifat Atun, Andrea Baccarelli, David Bates, Francesca Dominici, Sarah Fortune, Wendy Garrett, Ed Giovannucci, Christopher Golden, William Hanage, Miguel Hernan, Frank Hu, Curtis Huttenhower, Rafael Irizarry, Ichiro Kawachi, Karestan Koenen, Nancy Krieger, I-Min Lee, Marc Lipsitch, Vasanti Malik, Brendan Manning, JoAnn Manson, Vikram Patel, Alkes Price, Eric Rimm, Shekhar Saxena, Meir Stampfer, S.V. Subramanian, Elsie Sunderland, Tyler VanderWeele, Walter Willett, David Williams.
Faculty notes
Andrea Baccarelli, dean of the faculty, was awarded honorary citizenship by his hometown of Todi, Italy in September. Mayor Antonino Ruggiano said in a note that Baccarelli’s career, dedication, and experience are “an example that should be highlighted to new generations to build a better present and future.” In addition, the University of Perugia, where Baccarelli obtained his medical degree, will award him the Bartolo d’Oro in March 2025. This honor is given to graduates who have stood out in fields such as science, art, economy, politics, or culture.
Brittany Charlton became co-director of the Master of Science (80 credits) program this fall, joining co-director Lorelei Mucci. Charlton is associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and founding director of the LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence.
Albert Hofman, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Stephen B. Kay Family Professor of Public Health and Clinical Epidemiology, was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa of the School of Medicine of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in October.
Simin Liu, adjunct professor of epidemiology, became chair of the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health in October.
JoAnn E. Manson, MPH ’84, DrPH ’87, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, was selected to receive the Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award from the Endocrine Society. This is one of the Endocrine Society’s Laureate Awards, which honor the highest achievements in the field of endocrinology. The award recognizes Manson as “one of the most influential clinical investigators in endocrinology and women’s health” and for “pivotal and trailblazing contributions” in elucidating the role of estrogen therapy in early versus later menopause, vitamin D and omega-3 supplementation, and for launching the large-scale VITAL trial. The award will be presented at the 2025 Endocrine Society meetings in San Francisco.
Manson is chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women’s Health at Harvard Medical School, and scientific advisor to the BWH Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology. She is a physician epidemiologist, endocrinologist, and principal investigator (PI) or co-PI of several research studies, including the cardiovascular component of the Nurses’ Health Study, the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL); the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), and the Vitamin D for COVID-19 (VIVID) trial. Her primary research interests include randomized clinical prevention trials of nutritional and lifestyle factors related to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, the role of endogenous and exogenous estrogens as determinants of chronic disease, life course-related risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women, and biomarker predictors of CVD.
Pardis Sabeti, professor of immunology and infectious diseases, was named a core institute member at the Broad in August. The Broad is a research organization that convenes a community of scientists from across many disciplines and partner institutions. The new members were recognized as leaders in their fields, and for having demonstrated deep commitment to the community and intellectual life at the Broad. Sabeti, a computational geneticist, is a pioneer in pandemic preparedness and infectious disease surveillance.
Shekhar Saxena, professor of the practice of global mental health, received the Presidential Award from the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice in September. Saxena was recognized for his leadership and advocacy in global mental health.
David Williams, Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research at the annual meeting in Minneapolis in June, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa, in October.
Appointments
New faculty in the Department of Environmental Health
Peng Gao, assistant professor of environmental health and exposomics
Hannah Healy, assistant professor of environmental health and exposure science
Mary Rice, associate professor of environmental health; director of C-CHANGE
Amruta Nori Sarma, assistant professor of environmental health and population science
New faculty in the Department of Health Policy and Management
Emma-Louise “Emmilie” Aveling, lecturer on health research and qualitative methods
Ari Ne’eman, assistant professor of health policy and management
Jérémie Le Pen, assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases
Ole Norheim, Mary B. Saltonstall Professor of Ethics and Population Health
