Hot Topics: It’s Time for Academia to Establish Academic Homes for Homelessness
Homelessness is among the most pressing public health challenges in the US, and there’s an urgent need for systematic research and education focused on its health impact, root causes, and potential solutions. In the 3rd Hot Topics Seminar this summer, Dr. Howard K. Koh will discuss ways in which the academic community could join in the national efforts in addressing the homelessness crisis.
Pizza will be served.
Dr. Howard K. Koh is the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard Chan), the inaugural Chair of the Harvard Chan Initiative on Health and Homelessness and a member of the Faculty Executive Committee of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. From 2009 to 2014, Dr. Koh served as the 14th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration. From 1997 to 2003, he was Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Dr. Koh also completed a term on the National Cancer Advisory Board (2000-2002).
A graduate of Yale College (where he was President of the Yale Glee Club) and the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Koh trained at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, earned board certifications in four medical fields, served as Principal Investigator of research grants totaling $27M and published more than 325 articles in the medical and public health literature. He has received over 70 awards and honors for interdisciplinary accomplishments in medicine and public health including six honorary doctorate degrees, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for National Service, the Sedgwick Memorial Medal from the American Public Health Association (its highest honor), the Champion Award from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Cancer Society. As part of recognition as a “Medical All Star” by the Boston Red Sox for promoting the early detection and prevention of melanoma, he delivered the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park (2003). In 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services established the annual Dr. Howard K. Koh Award for Excellence in Leadership sponsored by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council,