Two UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health faculty members were elected recently as officers on the international board of directors of the Global Implementation Initiative.

[Photo: UNC’s Dr. Dean Fixsen (left) and Dr. Herbert Peterson]

Dr. Dean Fixsen and Dr. Herbert B. Peterson were elected to serve as the board’s president and treasurer, respectively, during the third Global Implementation Conference (GIC), held in Dublin, Ireland, May 26-28.

Dr. Fixsen is research professor of maternal and child health at the Gillings School and co-founder (and until recently, co-director) of the National Implementation Research Network, based at UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. Dr. Peterson is Kenan Distinguished Professor and former chair of maternal and child health at the Gillings School and director of the School’s World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Research Evidence for Sexual and Reproductive Health.

The Global Implementation Initiative works to promote implementation science, practice and policy through three major global efforts – the biennial Global Implementation Conference; the formation of the Global Implementation Society, to develop implementation as a professional discipline; and the Global Implementation University, to help establish implementation educational programs.

At the conclusion of the conference, Dr. Peterson chaired a symposium – “Implementation Science and Improvement Science: Ready to Converge in Support of Global Health?” – which was sponsored by the WHO Collaborating Center. A panel discussion followed, which included facilitator Ms. Joumana Haidar, implementation science lead for the Center, and panelists Dr. Fixsen, Dr. Bryan Weiner, professor of health policy and management at the Gillings School; Dr. Rohit Ramaswamy, clinical associate professor in the School’s Public Health Leadership Program and of maternal and child health, and Dr. Pierre Barker, clinical professor of maternal and child health in the Gillings School and adjunct professor of pediatrics in the UNC School of Medicine. Dr. Weiner also provided the final keynote address for the conference, and Dr. Fixen offered closing remarks.