Dr. Judith Wasserheit has been named new chair of the department of global health at the University of Washington. The unique department is one of the largest at the University of Washington, with 334 faculty from across campus and projects in more than 130 countries. It resides within both the School of Public Health and School of Medicine.

Dr. Wasserheit, a long-time leader in research on sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, succeeds Dr. King Holmes, the first William F. Foege chair of the department. She brings extensive research, program, and policy experience in low and middle-income countries – including Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Thailand, and Zambia – as well as the United States. She co-founded Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center Southeast Asian Refugee Clinic, now known as the International Medicine Clinic.

Her national leadership experience includes serving as founding chief of the National Institute of Health’s STD research branch and as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of STD/HIV Prevention. Dr. Wasserheit is a professor in global health, medicine, and epidemiology.

Read more: http://globalhealth.washington.edu/node/9834