Chairs

Ashani T. Weeraratna, PhD

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Ashani Weeraratna studies the molecular mechanisms involved in melanoma metastasis with particular emphasis on the Wnt signaling pathway. She is also interested in examining the changes in the tumor microenvironment and how they affect melanoma progression and therapy resistance. Weeraratna joined The Wistar Institute in 2011 as an assistant professor. In 2018, she was promoted to professor, and serves as the co-program leader of the Immunology, Microenvironment & Metastasis (IMM) Program. She is also a member of the Wistar Melanoma Research Center.

 

Karen Bandeen-Roche, PhD, MS 

Department of Biostatistics

Karen Bandeen-Roche, an expert in the development, implementation and application of statistical models for problems which include underlying or unobservable processes of interest, currently serves as the Chair of Department of Biostatistics. She is most deeply invested in the scientific area of gerontology.

 

Marsha Wills-Karp, PhD, MS

Department of Environmental Health and Engineering

Marsha Wills-Karp, a leader in the study of the molecular mechanisms of asthma, joined the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering as its chair in early 2012. She is also the founding director of the Division of Immunobiology in the Department of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

 

David D. Celentano, ScD, MHS, PhD (Hon.)

Department of Epidemiology

David Celentano is the Dr. Charles Armstrong Chair of the Department of Epidemiology. He holds joint appointments in the Departments of International Health, Health Policy and Management, Health, Behavior and Society and Medicine (School of Medicine). His research integrates behavioral science theory and research with epidemiology.

 

Rajiv Rimal, PhD, MA

Department of Health, Behavior and Society

Rajiv Rimal’s research uses social and behavioral theory for disease prevention and harm reduction. He is interested in understanding how interventions can change health behaviors, and he has more than 25 years of experience implementing and evaluating health promotion interventions throughout the world. Currently, he is leading a Gates Foundation-funded intervention to reduce anemia in Odisha, India, and he is part of a team that uses social norms, social network analyses, and agent-based modeling to develop region-representative data and subsequently implement and evaluate behavior-change interventions.

 

Keshia M. Pollack Porter, PhD, MPH

Department of Health Policy and Management

Keshia M. Pollack Porter is chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management and a Bloomberg Centennial Professor in the Department. Pollack Porter is an expert in advancing health equity and policy change that promotes safe and healthy environments.

 

Joanne Katz, ScD, MS

Department of International Health (Interim Chair)

Joanne Katz is a Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of International Health. She holds joint appointments in the Departments of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. Her research aims to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity in low- and middle-income countries.

 

Elizabeth J. Letourneau, PhD

Department of Mental Health (Interim Chair)

Elizabeth Letourneau is Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Mental Health. She directs the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, leading efforts to prove that child sexual abuse is preventable, not inevitable. 

 

Cynthia S. Minkovitz, MD, MPP

Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health

Cynthia Minkovitz is the William H. Gates, Sr. Professor and Chair in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health. Her research focuses on enhancing the quality of preventive services for children and understanding the impact of systems reforms on the health and well-being of children and families. She holds a joint appointment in the School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics.

 

Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD

W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

Arturo Casadevall is the Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair of the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. He is a globally known expert in humoral immunity, molecular biology, virulence and cryptococcosis.

 

Mark J. Bittle, DrPH, MBA

Doctor of Public Health Program

Mark Bittle is the Chair of the schoolwide Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program and a senior scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management. He also serves as director for the School's Master of Health Administration and the Master of Applied Science in Population Health Management. His work focuses on the organizational and management factors that influence physician alignment and managing change in complex organizations.

 

Marie Diener-West, PhD

Master of Public Health Degree Program

Marie Diener-West is the Chair of the schoolwide Master of Public Health Program and the Helen Abbey and Margaret Merrell Professor of Biostatistics Education. Her research has focused on the design, conduct and analysis of multicenter clinical trials in ophthalmology and oncology, as well as statistical education.