Nunez-Smith Dr. Vivek Murthy Dr. David Kessler from yale in biden team

President-elect Joe Biden has named three public health specialists with shut Yale ties to lead his transition team’s new COVID-19 advisory board, along with Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an authority on the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on communities of color.


Nunez-Smith — partner professor of inner medicine, public health, and administration — will co-chair the COVID-19 Transition Advisory Board with Dr. Vivek Murthy ’03 M.B.A. ’03 M.D., a former U.S. general practitioner general, and Dr. David Kessler, a former dean of Yale School of Medicine and previous commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).


The full board, which consists of 10 other doctors, scientists, and public health experts, will guide the incoming administration’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, which include efforts to control a surge of infections, make certain the approval of safe vaccines, and protect at-risk populations. Cases of the virus are on the upward shove in at least forty states, with more than 9.3 million complete infections, and more than 236,000 deaths.



According to the Biden-Harris transition team, the advisory board will “consult with country and local officers to decide the public fitness and financial steps necessary to get the virus under control, to deliver instantaneous comfort to working families, to address ongoing racial and ethnic disparities, and to reopen our colleges and corporations safely and effectively.”


Nunez-Smith, Murthy, and Kessler have been already advising the Biden marketing campaign on the crisis, and now have a new opportunity.


“Our usa is facing an exceptional time with COVID-19 instances accelerating nationwide,” said Nunez-Smith. “Everyone is affected via this pandemic, yet the burden is disproportionate. We understand communities of shade are grieving at high costs and are going through big economic impact. The transition advisory board is placing a path for anybody in our u . s . a . to trip recovery. I’m honored to help lead on that work and thank President-elect Joe Biden for the opportunity to serve.”


Said Dr. Nancy J. Brown, Yale’s Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine:


“Yale college and alumni have been working diligently to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and we are delighted that the three co-leaders of the mission force, all with ties to Yale, are poised to have an even increased impact. Dr. Nunez-Smith brings a scientific appreciation of the disproportionate affect of the pandemic on the health of particular organizations in the community, which is critical to meet the challenges we are facing.”


Nunez-Smith, the director of Yale’s Center for Community Engagement and Health Equity, the founding director of the Equity Research and Innovation Center, and the clinical school’s companion dean for health fairness research, studies disparities in healthcare access. She was once one of the original Clinical and Translational Science Award pupils at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigations, and is now one of the program’s deputy directors.


Nunez-Smith has additionally chaired the neighborhood sub-committee for Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, focusing on communities and organizations most at risk for extreme COVID-19.


Drs. Vivek Murthy (left) and David Kessler

Murthy served as health care provider established beneath President Obama. As vice admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, he commanded a uniformed carrier of 6,600 public health officers. They centered on supporting underserved populations, defending the state from Ebola and Zika, responding to the Flint water crisis, and herbal disasters such as hurricanes. Murthy also is founder and president of Doctors for America, a group of over 15,000 doctors and medical college students who guide gorgeous low cost healthcare for all Americans.


As FDA commissioner beneath Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Kessler oversaw the implementation of obligatory dietary labelling and advocated for greater legislation of the tobacco industry. Later, from 1997 to 2003, he served as the dean of Yale School of Medicine. He is currently professor of pediatrics and epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine.


“As the kingdom continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Yale is proud to have three individuals of the university family guiding the president-elect’s transition approach on this subject of such indispensable importance to our country, our world, and our collective future,” stated Yale President Peter Salovey. “Drs. Kessler, Murthy, and Nunez-Smith exemplify Yale’s dedication to lookup excellence, and to improving the world these days and for future generations. I offer them my congratulations and gratitude for their leadership and service.”


Also serving on the task pressure is Yale alumna Rebecca Katz ’98 M.P.H., director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University. 


Post a Comment

0 Comments