The Master of Public Health Steering Committee was formed as a standing committee in January 2007, derived in part from the former ad hoc MPH Working Group of the Advisory Committee of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences (formed in 2002). The committee currently meets 1-2 times per year and conducts business as needed by email, conference call, or Web conferencing.
The MPH Steering Committee makes recommendations to the
MPH Director with respect to the following responsibilities:
Composition
The MPH Steering Committee is chaired by the MPH Director, and additionally consists of the MPH Academic Advisor/Program Coordinator, a subset of faculty teaching in the progam or UWF administrators overseeing teaching faculty, representatives from regional health departments, one or more individuals employed at the federal level in public health positions, one or more individuals employed in the US Armed Forces in positions related to public health, and up to two current MPH students, as follows: (1) the current President of SAPH or his/her appointed representative, and (2) a representative student nominated by SAPH and from within the US Armed Forces.
John P. Albano, MD, MPHPosition: Army Associate Director, USN Aerospace Medicine Residency, Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, Pensacola, FL
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee (2005-present)
Contact: john.p.albano@us.army.mil
John P. Albano is a US Army flight surgeon with an MD from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, an MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health at San Antonio, and Aerospace Medicine Training at Brooks AFB. LTC Albano has over 19 years of combined clinical, research, and academic experience in US Army aviation medicine. His clinical experience includes general medical practice, air medical evacuation of critical patients, occupational medicine in the aviation environment, aeromedical fitness determinations, and helicopter accident investigations. His research management experience includes aircrew protection, aeromedical device testing, Army systems health hazard analyses, aeromedical policy promulgation, and advanced technology applications in medicine. Following his medical staff duty as the Regional Aviation Medicine Consultant in the Republic of Korea, LTC Albano was the Chief of the Aeromedical Education Branch of the US Army School of Aviation Medicine at Fort Rucker, AL. Currently, he is the Army Associate Director for the Navy Aerospace Medicine Residency at Pensacola, FL.
Karen A. Chapman, MD, MPHPosition: Director, Okaloosa County Health Department
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: Karen_Chapman@doh.state.fl.us
Karen A. Chapman is a public health physician with over 20 years of experience at local and state public health levels. Dr. Chapman received her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1982 and her Master of Public Health from the University of South Carolina in 1985. She is board-certified in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Chapman has served as the Director of the Okaloosa County Health Department, a unit of the Florida Department of Health, for the past 7 years.
Position: Administrator, Santa Rosa County Health Department
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2008-present)
Contact: Shannon_Jacobs@doh.state.fl.us
Shannon Jacobs is the Administrator of the Santa Rosa County Health Department.
Tekeda Freeman Ferguson, MPH, MSPH, PhDSAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: tekedaferguson@yahoo.com
Tekeda Ferguson received her Ph.D. and MSPH in Epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and her MPH in Health Education/Communication from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. She has experience in coordinating and data management of longitudinal epidemiologic studies in cardiovascular disease and clinical trials involving stroke and rheumatoid arthritis. She has created and assisted with developing study procedures, manuals of operations, multi-site distributed data entry systems, data collection forms, automatic adverse event reporting systems, and monitoring reports. She has taught at University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Ferguson research interests include cardiovascular disease and diabetes, Barriers to adherence and adverse effects of HIV/AIDS Anti-Retroviral Drug Therapies, and Factor Analysis Predictive Modeling.
John Lanza, MD, PhD, MPH, FAAPPosition: Director, Escambia County Health Department; SAHLS Adjunct Instructor (2005-present)
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/MPH Working Group (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: John_Lanza@doh.state.fl.us
John Lanza is a board-certified pediatrician with a Ph.D. in Nuclear & Radiological Engineering (Medical Radiation Physics) from the University of Florida. He is a graduate of the UTESA School of Medicine, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Lanza has been the Director of the Florida Department of Health Escambia County Health Department since May 1996 and has been in public health for over 13 years. In 2002, Dr. Lanza completed a Master of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida College of Public Health. In addition to other faculty positions at the University of West Florida, he is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine (FSUCOM). Dr. Lanza directs public health experiences for both pediatric and obstetrics and gynecology residents at the FSUCOM residency programs in Pensacola as well as aerospace medicine residents from the Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute at Naval Air Station Pensacola and family medicine residents from Naval Hospital Pensacola.
Justice Mbizo, Dr.PHPosition: SAHLS Lecturer in Public Health (2007-present); SAHLS Adjunct Instructor (2005-2007)
SAHLS Membership: Medical Informatics Working Group (2004-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: jmbizo@uwf.edu
Justice Mbizo received his Doctor of Public Health degree form Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland and a Masters of Science in Administration (Health Services) from Central Michigan University. He has been co-teaching and teaching courses in the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences since 2005, including Epidemiological Design and Statistical Methods, Computer Applications in Public Health, Strategies for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Healthcare Quality, Statistics and Database Management.
Joel Montgomery, MSc, PhDPosition: Epidemic Intelligence Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: jkvperu@yahoo.com
Joel Montgomery received the MSc and PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington in Parasitology. He worked for the Special Pathogens Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an Infectious Disease fellow before entering the Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellowship program at CDC. He has investigated outbreaks of Ebola, hanatvirus, and various other organisms.
R. Jason Newsom, MD, MPHPosition: Director, Bay County Health Department, Panama City, FL
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: Jason_Newsom@doh.state.fl.us
Jason Newsom was born and raised in Panama City, FL. He joined the Army at 17 years old and completed Basic Combat Training at Ft. Jackson, SC in 1988. He majored in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the U. of FL while on an ROTC scholarship and graduated with a B.S. in Agriculture in 1992. Dr. Newsom attended the U. of Miami School of Medicine, once again on an Army Scholarship, and graduated in 1996. He completed a preliminary internship in Internal Medicine at the Medical College of GA in Augusta, GA in 1997 and was then stationed at Tooele Army Depot, UT where he spent 3 years in an Occupational Medicine Clinic which served as his introduction to Preventive Medicine. Dr. Newsom attended the Army’s Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency at Madigan Army Medical Center at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, WA, during which time he completed his M.P.H. at the U. of WA in Seattle. After residency he once again found himself at Ft. Jackson, SC, this time as the Chief of the Department of Preventive Medicine. During his 4 years at Ft. Jackson he spent 8 months of 2005 attached to the 3rd Infantry Division deployed to Taji, Iraq. Dr. Newsom completed his Active Duty obligation in October 2006 and was hired as the Director of the Bay County Health Department back in his home town of Panama City. He continues to serve in the Army Reserves as the Preventive Medicine Physician for Army Reserve Medical Command located in Pinellas Park, FL. Dr. Newsom’s areas of interest are tobacco use prevention, nutrition and physical activity.
Pam Perrich, CIHPosition: Head, Industrial Hygiene Department, Naval Hospital Pensacola
SAHLS Membership: MPH Advisory Committee (2005-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: pbp2@students.uwf.edu
Pamela Perrich is the Head of Industrial Department at the Pensacola Naval Hospital and former President of the Pensacola Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers. In Pam's current position she manages a team of 16 industrial hygienists and technicians to provide comprehensive industrial hygiene services to Navy facilities in Northwest Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. She is also a representative for Naval Hospital Pensacola’s 13 Branch Health Clinics to the EOC-QMB to ensure their operations are within JCAHO’s parameters. In addition, she conducts safety and health program audits to determine the effectiveness of such programs such as Bloodborne Pathogens, Hazardous Materials, and Respiratory Protection and serves on Mock JCAHO survey teams to assess these programs. She is presently heavily involved with the rebuilding of Naval Air Station Pensacola after Hurricane Ivan, providing technical guidance to the Naval Air Station, working with Naval Facilities Engineering Command to develop post-disaster mold remediation criteria, conducting worksite inspections, and investigating mold-related health problems.
F. Edward Ranelli, PhD, MBAPosition: Dean, College of Business and Professor of Economics, UWF
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: eranelli@uwf.edu
Edward Ranelli received his B.A., MBA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Alabama in 1965, 1966, and 1971, respectively. His research record includes peer reviewed publications, funded research grants, and other academic proceedings and publications on a variety of economic, marketing and strategic planning issues. In addition to serving as economic professor and academic administrator, Dr. Ranelli has over twenty years experience as a senior health care executive and has served as an economic, planning and management consultant to various financial and health care organizations, Federal and Department of Defense agencies, state and municipal governments, and other businesses. Dr. Ranelli serves on the board of directors of Baptist Health Ventures, Bank of Pensacola, Consumer Credit Counseling of West Florida, Florida’s Great Northwest, Pensacola Development Commission, and Advantage Credit.
Enid Sisskin, PhDPosition: WUWF; SAHLS Adjunct Instructor (2005-present)
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/MPH Working Group (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: esisskin@uwf.edu
Enid Sisskin received a BA from Queens College of the City University of NY and an MS from Southern Illinois University. Her PhD in Pathobiology was awarded under the direction of Dr I. Bernard Weinstein, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. Upon graduation she completed a postdoc at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, and continued with research at Everglades National Park’s South Florida Research Center. She also worked in the park in the Resource Management division. Enid sits on the board of directors of several local and regional environmental organizations, including the Gulf Coast Environmental Defense, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and the Florida Conservation Alliance.
Position: Interim Administrator, Walton County Health Department
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2008-present)
Contact: Crystal_Steele@doh.state.fl.us
Crystal Steele is the Interim Administrator of the Walton County Health Department.
George L. Stewart, PhDPosition: Chair of Biology and Director of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences
SAHLS Membership: Head, Division of Life and Health Sciences (2002-2006), Director, SAHLS (2006-present)
Contact: gstewart@uwf.edu
George Stewart's area of expertise is in infectious and parasitic diseases. He studied parasitology under Dr. Clark Read at Rice University and has collaborated on a variety of studies with USAMRIID, CDC and WHO. Dr. Stewart has consulted with a long list of drug and diagnostic companies on problems in the treatment and diagnosis of infectious diseases. His areas of research include pathophysiology and pathobiochemistry of infectious diseases and modulation of mammlian immune response by disease agents. Dr. Stewart has taught Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, Parasitology, Immunology, Medical Microbiology, Bioterrorism and Human Sexuality. He is currently Chair of Biology and Director of the School of Allied health and Life Sciences under which is included Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Biology, Nursing, Medical Informatics, Health Care Ethics, the Master of Public Health and the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree programs.
Melanie A Sutton, PhDPosition: Co-Director, Medical Informatics Program, SAHLS, UWF
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/Medical Informatics Working Group (2002-present), Mobile and Wireless Solutions Working Group (2006-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: msutton@uwf.edu
Melanie A. Sutton
is currently a tenured Associate Professor in SAHLS
and serves as the Co-Director of the Certificate in Medical Informatics Program at UWF and as one of the co-developers of SAHLS's Medical Informatics Resource Site. She teaches courses in medical terminology, bioinformatics, health information systems, medical informatics, and computer applications in public health. Her research interests and publications span these areas, as well as computer vision, robotics, digital mammography, and web-based instruction and assessment.
In 2008, Dr. Sutton
received the U-Make A Difference Award from the UWF
Excellent Matters Faculty and Staff Reward and Recognition Program,
and in 2007, she received an Appreciation Award from the Pensacola chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers for helping to promote safety and health along the Gulf Coast.
She received the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Advising Award in 2002 and the Outstanding Instructor of the Semester Award in 1998. In 1999-2003 she served as the Principal Investigator of a $200,000 grant from The Whitaker Foundation for the project, Development and Assessment of Protocols for Efficient Utilization of Large-Scale Digital Mammography Databases. While pursuing a Master's degree in Computer Science at the University of South Florida (USF), she worked with Harris Space Systems in Rockledge, Florida, on the CORE project, a redesign of the Launch Processing System for the Space Shuttle. She subsequently received her Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering at USF in the area of computer vision and robotics under Drs. Kevin Bowyer and Louise Stark.
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