2004 Public Health Symposium
'Global Health: The Challenge of Inequality'

Speaker Profiles

Eileen Crimmins, PhD

Dr. Crimmins is the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Director of the Center on Biodemography and Population Health at the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California. Dr. Crimmins holds a PhD in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Crimmins' current research, supported by the National Institute of Aging, includes a study on “The Role of Biological Factors in Determining Differences in Health by Education and Income Level" that examines how markers of biological risk can be used to explain the poorer health outcomes of people with less education and lower incomes. Another project is jointly being undertaken with Nihon University in Tokyo, Japan, comparing health and risk factors for persons in Japan and the United States. She has served on NIH review panels and monitoring committees for many years. She has also been on the technical panel advisory to the Social Security Administration, the National Center of Health Statistics Board of Counselors, and on the recent NAS panel on Race, Ethnic Differences in Health in Old Age.

James H. Hughes, MD

James M. Hughes is Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and an Assistant Surgeon General in the United States Public Health Service. He received his BA and MD from Stanford University and completed postgraduate training in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and preventive medicine. Dr. Hughes first joined CDC as an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service, serving from 1973 to 1975 and then returning to CDC in 1978. He worked initially on foodborne and waterborne diseases both domestically and internationally and subsequently on infection control in healthcare settings, serving as Director of CDC's Hospital Infections Program from 1983 to 1988. He was named Deputy Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases in 1988 and became director in 1992. The center comprises more than 1,300 individuals working to address domestic and global challenges posed by vector-borne, zoonotic, enteric, and healthcare-associated infections; antimicrobial resistance; and bioterrorism. Dr. Hughes is a member of the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies as well as numerous national and international professional societies. He is the author or co-author of more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, editorials, and book chapters and the co-editor of several books on emerging infections. He is a recipient of the Distinguished and Meritorious Service Medals and the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Award from the U.S. Public Health Service and The Secretary's Open Forum Distinguished Public Service Award from the Department of State.

Thomas Robins , MD, MPH

Thomas G. Robins, (AB, Harvard 1972; MD, Tufts 1979; MPH, UM 1983) has served on the University of Michigan School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences faculty since 1984. He is an occupational and environmental physician and epidemiologist. He is the director of two major training grants: 1) an education and research center funded by the National Institutes of Health to train U.S. occupational health professionals at University of Michigan ; 2) a National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center grant to develop human resource capacity in environmental and occupational health in the 14-nation Southern Africa Development Community. His research addresses global issues in environmental and occupational health with particular emphasis on respiratory morbidity associated with workplace exposures (coal dust, aerosolized protein, metalworking fluids) and ambient air pollution. Areas of focus include: 1) improvements in the available epidemiologic tools, methods of exposure assessment and measurement of disease outcomes to enhance the reliability of research findings; 2) the application of these research methods to the areas of most critical public health concern; and, 3) effective dissemination of knowledge regarding the causes and methods of prevention of occupational illnesses and injuries to employers and employees who may then modify health-related work practices and working conditions.

Gita Sen, PhD

Dr. Sen is the Sir Ratan Tata Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India. After receiving her BA from the University of Poona , she earned her MA in Economics from the University of Delhi , and her PhD in Economics from Stanford University. In addition to her current position, she is an Adjunct Professor at the Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University , and a Fellow (Professor) at the Center for Development Studies, Trivandrum. Dr. Sen has worked on many research projects involving poverty, economic growth and gender, and is an active member of many associations working on the situation of women in the context of economic development. She has served as Coordinator of International Training Programme on population and Development sponsored by the UN Population Fund and as a consultant for the United Nations INSTRAW project on Macro-Economic Policy Analysis on Women in the Informal Sector. Dr. Sen is currently on the International Advisory Group for the Population Program of MacArthur Foundation.