FACULTY PROFILES AND RESEARCH INTERESTS
Full-Time Faculty
Dennis Paul Andrulis, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Jack A. DeHovitz, M.D., M.P.H.
Joseph G. Feldman, Dr. P.H.
Pascal James Imperato, M.D.,M.P.H. & T.M.
Michael A. Joseph, PhD, MPH
Judith H. LaRosa, Ph.D., R.N.
Allen D. Spiegel, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Tracey E. Wilson, Ph.D.
Part-Time Faculty
David Ackman, M.D., M.P.H.
Michael Augenbraun, M.D.
Karen Benker, M.D., M.P.H.
George Braman, M.D.
Ruth Browne, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Merle Cunningham, M.D., M.P.H.
Gerald W. Deas, M.D., M.P.H.
Barbara Delano, M.D., M.P.H.
John Fallon, M.D., M.B.A.
Stephen M. Friedman, M.D., M.P.H.
Norma J. Goodwin, M.D.
Murray Hochberg, Ph.D.
Susan Holman, M.S.
Joseph Lovett, M.F.A.
Steven Ritzel, M.P.H.
Monica Sweeney, M.D., M.P.H.
Daniel Vasgird, Ph.D.
Scyatta A. Wallace, Ph.D.
Mahfouz H. Zaki, M.D., Dr. P.H.,
Departmental faculty have been extensively involved in a broad range of scholarly and research activities. These include clinical outcomes and health care quality improvement, risk management in health care institutions, home health care, hospice care, cost containment and prospective payment, Medicaid, community mental health, strategic health planning, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, cancer epidemiology, prostate cancer, and comparative mortalities in surgical procedures. Current plans for future research directions include disparities in health and health care among minority populations, urban health issues, cancer epidemiology, health care evaluation, women’s health, prevention issues for urban minority populations, and HIV prevention and treatment.
FULL TIME
Dennis Paul Andrulis, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Andrulis received his Ph.D. in Educational-Community Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, and his M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently Visiting Research Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He is responsible for creating, developing, and conducting policy-relevant research related to national and New York State health issues.
In his current work and preceding tenure as Director, Office of Urban Populations at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City, Dr. Andrulis has created and overseen the development of projects, prepared major reports, and published on a wide range of issues affecting hospitals and safety net providers, vulnerable populations and their communities.
Dr. Andrulis has served as Principal Investigator for an investigative report, published by Jossey-Bass, entitled Managed Care and the Inner City: The Uncertain Promise for Providers, Plans and Communities. He has led projects concerning cultural diversity in health care including creation of a cultural competence self-assessment tool for health care organizations, and a national conference, Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations: Provider and Community Collaboration in a Competitive Marketplace. His focus on urban issues led to the creation of a compendium and analysis of information on the social and health characteristics of the nation’s major urban areas, published by The American Hospital Association Press, entitled The Social and Health Landscape of Urban and Suburban America. He also directs the New York State Forum for Child Health.
In his ten-year tenure as President of the National Public Health and Hospital Institute, Dr. Andrulis instituted a research and education agenda concerning public hospital systems and the safety net, including national surveys on hospital HIV care, teaching hospitals and their adaptation to managed care, patient-centered care and health care professional training on policy. He is a founding member and board member of the American International Health Alliance, which, with Agency for International Development assistance, establishes health care partnerships between the U.S. and Central-Eastern Europe. He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, D.C. Dr. Andrulis has held academic appointments in the George Washington University Department of Health Services Management and Policy, and the Columbia University School of Public Health. His experience includes tenures in the Office of the Secretary, the Department of Health and Human Services, specializing in alcohol, drug abuse and mental health programs, the Institute of Medicine-National Academy of Sciences, and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
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Jack A. DeHovitz, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. DeHovitz is Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Professor of Medicine. He received both his M.D. and Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Texas, and completed his residency training in 1983 in internal medicine at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. This was followed by a combined residency in Preventive Medicine and fellowship in Infectious Diseases at New York Hospital-Cornell. During this period, he participated in NIH-funded studies on the natural history and epidemiology of HIV disease in Haiti.
In 1985, Dr. DeHovitz came to Downstate Medical Center with a joint appointment in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases). He has participated in studies examining the risk of HIV disease in women, the cost of HIV disease in intravenous drug users, and the natural history of HIV disease in women. He co-directs the STAR Program (Special Treatment and Research Program), a multidisciplinary unit that provides community outreach, HIV testing and counseling, and adolescent education to multiple ethnic groups in Brooklyn. He is also Director of Downstate's Center for Urban Health. Dr. DeHovitz is consultant/advisor to HealthFirst and Healthcare Resources Groups.
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Joseph G. Feldman, Dr. P.H.
Dr. Feldman is Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He obtained his Dr. P.H. in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina, School of Public Health, in 1972, where he concentrated on health services evaluation and epidemiologic methods. Dr. Feldman directs the first year medical student program in Preventive Medicine, and frequently consults with students, house staff, and faculty on epidemiologic research issues. Over the years, Dr. Feldman has served on many committees at Downstate, including the Student Admissions Committee, the Committee on Academic and Professional Qualifications, and for several years was the chairman of the First Year Student Evaluation Committee.
Dr. Feldman’s research interests include the epidemiology of cancer, HIV infection, infectious diseases, and health care evaluation. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in these areas. Dr. Feldman is currently active in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), an NIH-funded project which tracks the natural history of HIV disease in 2,000 women at five geographic sites. He participates on several WIHS committees including the Executive Committee, and served as the chairman of the Epidemiology/Statistics and the Data Transition Committees.
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Pascal James Imperato, M.D., M.P.H. & T.M.
Dr. Imperato is Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and Director of the Master of Public Health Program. He received his M.D. degree from Downstate Medical Center and his M.P.H.&T.M. from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed his residency in medicine at Long Island College Hospital, and then served for six years as a medical epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in West Africa, where he directed mass immunization campaigns against smallpox, measles, yellow fever, cholera, and meningococcal meningitis. For his work in Africa, the U.S. Department of State awarded him its Meritorious Honor Award and Medal.
In 1972, Dr. Imperato became Director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control and Principal Epidemiologist of the New York City Department of Health. Later, he became First Deputy Commissioner and Director of the department’s Residency Training Program in Public Health. In 1976, he was appointed Commissioner of Health of New York City, and Chair of the Board of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. He has served as the Chair of the New York State Board for Medicine, and as a member of the New York State Council on Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Imperato served for seven years as editor of the New York State Journal of Medicine, now edits the Journal of Community Health, and is on the editorial boards of The Pharos and The Medical Herald. He is a member of the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct, the board of the Primary Care Development Corporation, and the New York State Department of Health’s AIDS Institute Nicholas A. Rango HIV Scholars Program Advisory Group. He is a member of the Fulbright Screening Committee for Africa, and has served as a Public Health Advisor to the Speaker of the New York City Council.
Dr. Imperato has served on many medical school committees and task forces. He served two terms as Chair of the Committee on Educational Policy and Curriculum (Curriculum Committee), chaired the Second Year Promotions Committee for twelve years, and was Chair of the Special Working Group on the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education Relationship. He also served as course director for the required Second Year Course in Preventive Medicine and Community Health from 1978 to 1998. His research in recent years has focused on clinical outcomes and health care quality improvement.
In 1999, Dr. Imperato received the New York City Department of Health’s Public Health Achievement Award, and was made a Master of the American College of Physicians.
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Michael A. Joseph, PhD, MPH
Dr. Joseph is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He completed his MPH in Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Yale University and his Ph.D. in Epidemiologic Science at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. His previous research has focused on the epidemiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) morbidity in Black men, a population in which the phenomenology of BPH and LUTS was poorly understood. Specifically, he investigated associations of serum hormone levels with prostate volume, estimated the validity and reliability of a urinary symptom index, and elucidated risk factors for the prevalence and severity of LUTS.
In his immediate past role as postdoctoral fellow at the Ruttenberg Cancer Center of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Joseph continued prostate research vis à vis the molecular epidemiology of prostate cancer, specifically the role of putative genetic biomarkers of susceptibility in modifying relationships between prostate cancer, dietary exposures and lifestyle factors. Broadly stated, Dr. Joseph's research interests are in social epidemiology, particularly issues of behavioral and cultural determinants of cancer screening practices among communities of color, and he is currently extending his research endeavors internationally through collaborations with the University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Dr. Joseph has previously served as Course Director for Fundamentals of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education at the City College of New York. He is also a founding member of the Black Young Professionals' Public Health Network, Inc., and organization that aims to foster educational and employment opportunities for students of color in the field of public health.
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Judith H. LaRosa, Ph.D., R.N.
Dr. LaRosa is Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, and Deputy Director of the Master of Public Health Program. Dr. LaRosa earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh, and her Ph.D. in Health Education at the University of Maryland. Her immediate past positions have been as Professor and Chair, Department of Community Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Director, Tulane Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health. In addition, Dr. LaRosa served as Associate Project Director of the National Science Foundation’s Louisiana Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. From 1991-1994, she was the first Deputy Director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is a co-author of the legislatively mandated 1994 NIH Guidelines on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research.
Dr. LaRosa is a member of the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research, the American Heart Association’s Women, Heart Disease, and Stroke Task Force, and the American Social Health Association’s National Advisory Panel. She is on the editorial boards of The Female Patient and The Journal of Gender-Specific Medicine. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Nursing, a member of Sigma Theta Tau International (honorary nursing society), Delta Omega (public health honorary society), and Sigma Chi Scientific Research Society. Until recently, she was a member of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, the Institute of Medicine’s Health Science Policy Board, and the National Institute for Nursing Research’s Advisory Council. Her research interests encompass women’s health, public health, and cardiovascular disease.
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Allen D. Spiegel, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Spiegel is Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He received his A.B. degree from Brooklyn College, an M.P.H. from Columbia University School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. from Brandeis University. He also holds a Special Diploma in Radio and Television from New York University. His employment includes the New York City Department of Health, The Medical Foundation [Boston], and SUNY. Dr. Spiegel also taught at Brooklyn College and St. Francis, was on the American Hospital Association programmed instruction faculty, and on the Aspen Systems continuing education faculty in health planning. In addition, Dr. Spiegel has been a consultant for a wide variety of private, voluntary, and governmental agencies on a broad range of subject matter. His research interests include health care administration, physician/patient communication, strategic health planning, risk management, medical sociology, and public health education. A prolific author, his publications include 23 books, 11 book chapters, and more than 150 articles and book reviews. His latest book deals with Abraham Lincoln's law career. In Abraham Lincoln, Esquire, Dr. Spiegel focused on cases that involved physicians and medical care experts.
In 1990, Dr. Spiegel was the recipient of the New York State/United University Professions excellence award in recognition of sustained outstanding performance and superior service to SUNY and to New York State. He currently co-directs the second year medical student program, and directs the Physician Assistant course in Clinical Preventive Medicine
.
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Tracey E. Wilson, Ph.D.
Tracey Wilson is Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. She received her PhD from the State University of New York at Albany in 1996, with a degree in Psychology and training in Cognitive Psychology. In 1997, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship in HIV/STD Prevention from the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Wilson's primary research interests are in the social and psychological epidemiology of HIV/STD, and the impact of behavioral interventions on the sexual and reproductive health of women and men at risk for or infected with these diseases. She is currently Principal Investigator on several research projects addressing issues such as (1) the promotion of HIV therapeutic adherence, (2) the reproductive health of women with HIV, (3) STD/HIV prevention among minority adolescent girls, (4) interventions to increase partner notification of STD, and (5) improvements in effectiveness of HIV counseling and testing in diverse populations.
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PART-TIME FACULTY
David Ackman, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Ackman, who received his M.D. degree from Downstate Medical Center, is Clinical Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He currently serves as Commissioner of Health of Nassau County. Prior to this he was Assistant Medical Director for Ambulatory Care at Lutheran Medical Center, and Director of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Control of the New York State Department of Health. Dr. Ackman did his residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine at Bronx Municipal Hospital, and received a Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University School of Public Health. He is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the SUNY Albany School of Public Health.
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Michael Augenbraun, M.D.
Dr. Augenbraun, Clinical Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Associate Professor of Medicine, is Hospital Epidemiologist at University Hospital of Brooklyn. He received his M.D. degree from the University of Rochester, and did his residency in Internal Medicine at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY, and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Augenbraun held a Clinical Fellowship in Infectious Diseases, followed by a Research Fellowship in Infectious Diseases, at SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn. He is Medical Director of the KCH Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinic, as well as Acting Director of the KCH Lumbar Puncture Clinic. Dr. Augenbraun serves as President of the Brooklyn Infectious Diseases Society.
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Karen Benker, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Benker, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Assistant Professor of Family Practice, received her medical degree from the University of Southern California at Los Angeles, and completed her residency training in Medicine and Pediatrics at Lincoln Hospital in New York. Her Master of Public Health degree is from Columbia University School of Public Health. Dr. Benker is Medical Director of Family Health Services, a neighborhood health center in East New York operated by University Hospital of Brooklyn, which provides primary care services to over 5,000 families. Dr. Benker participates in both the first and second year medical school programs as a small group preceptor and lecturer. Among her current professional interests are delivering primary care to inner-city populations, HIV-related issues (she first came to SUNY-HSCB in 1992 as an HIV Clinical Scholar), and smoking cessation. She is founder and director of Downstate's Freedom from Tobacco Project.
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George Braman, M.D.
Dr. Braman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and currently teaches in the department's required medical school programs. A native of Brooklyn, Dr. Braman earned his medical degree at the Downstate Medical Center, and trained in Internal Medicine at Sinai Hospital of Detroit and Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. He completed an NIH Fellowship in Hematology at Maimonides Medical Center, and served as Capt. USAF and Assistant Chief of Medicine at the Regional Air Force Hospital at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Most recently he was Director of Quality Management and Assistant Attending Physician at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, where he successfully guided the hospital through two JCAHO Accreditation Surveys. His experience includes seven years as Public Health Physician with the New York State Department of Health, and clinical and teaching positions in Geriatric Medicine. His interests encompass medical ethics and writing poetry. Several of his poems have been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Ruth C. Browne, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Browne is Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and in Downstate's College of Health Related Professions. A graduate of Princeton University, she received an ScD from Harvard University's School of Public Health and an MPH degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
As Director of the Arthur Ashe Institute of Urban Health (AAIUH) since 1993, Dr. Browne has directed the operational and programmatic aspects of the Institute's activities in the areas of clinical and health services research, urban health education, community health promotion and services and collaborations with local, national and international organizations. (AAIUH is based at Downstate Medical Center.)
Dr. Browne has also served as International Program and Public Policy Consultant for Funders Concerned About AIDS, and as Research Consultant for the New York Task Force on Immigrant Health. She is the author of three documents that were included in the Task Force Report on Immigrant Health in New York City: Common Health Problems Among the Foreign Born; Access to Health Care in Immigrant Communities; and a Compendium of Immigrant-Related Research in the New York Metropolitan Area.
She is on the Board of Directors of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women/Community Services Fund.
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Merle Cunningham, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Cunningham, Clinical Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, received his M.D. degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. His did his residency in Family Practice at Montefiore Hospital, Bronx, NY, and received a Master of Public Health from the Columbia University School of Public Health. He is Senior Vice-President and Ambulatory and Managed Care Medical Director for the Sunset Park Family Health Center Network of Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn. Dr. Cunningham serves on the Board of Directors of Community Health Project, Inc., in New York, and is a consultant for the New York State Council on Graduate Medical Education. He lectures and serves as a preceptor in the department's small group teaching program.
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Gerald W. Deas, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Deas, Clinical Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, is Director of Health Education Communication at the HSCB. A graduate of the Downstate Medical Center, he did his residency in Medicine at Kings County Hospital. Prior to attending medical school, he received a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan. For many years Dr. Deas had a primary care practice in an inner-city area of Queens, NY, and has been deeply involved in health education throughout his career. For ten years he was the medical reporter on the McCreary Report on Fox Television (Channel 5). For 20 years, he has spoken on WLIB radio five mornings a week, Monday through Friday, addressing issues of health promotion and disease prevention. In addition, he has a weekly half-hour show on Time-Warner cable TV, as well as shows on Brooklyn Cable Access TV (BCAT) and Brooklyn/Queens Cable TV. His articles appear regularly in the Amsterdam News, Caribe News, and the New York Voice, among other publications. Dr. Deas has lectured and served as a preceptor in the department's required small group teaching programs for more than twenty years.
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Barbara G. Delano, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Delano, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, is Director of the Home Dialysis Program for Kings County Hospital/Downstate Medical Center, and Associate Director of the Renal Disease Division of State University Hospital. She received an MD degree from State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, and an MPH from the New Jersey Graduate Program in Public Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Rutgers University. Among her teaching responsibilities, she conducts case-based learning sessions in the Preventive Medicine Department's required program for first year medical students.
Dr. Delano's research has focused primarily on hemodialysis, and she is the author of numerous publications in the field. She is on the editorial boards of Clinical Nephrology and Nephrology News and Issues.
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John A. Fallon, M.D., M.B.A.
Dr. Fallon is Clinical Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and in the Department of Medicine. He received an MD degree from the Tufts University School of Medicine, and an MBA from the University of South Florida. He has served as Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs at State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. Prior to coming to Downstate, Dr. Fallon was Founder, President and CEO of North Shore Health Systems in Massachusetts.
Among his areas of expertise in the health field are building new organizations, program development, strategic planning, change management, cost containment, customer service, benchmarking, restructurings, acquisitions, consolidations, negotiations, mergers, managed care, and integration/alignment of physicians and hospitals. He has lectured widely to various health care organizations and civic and community groups.
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Stephen M. Friedman, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Friedman is an epidemiologist in the Bureau of Preventable Diseases of the New York City Department of Health, and Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the Columbia University School of Public Health. He completed a New York City Public Health Residency Program in the Bureau of Preventable Diseases. Dr. Friedman has taught for many years in the department's first and second year small group teaching programs, and is a preceptor in the case-based learning curriculum.
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Norma J. Goodwin, M.D.
Dr. Goodwin is Clinical Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia, and did her residency in Internal Medicine at Kings County Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident. She later was a National Institute of Health Fellow in Nephrology, and Director of the Hemodialysis Center at the Health Science Center at Brooklyn and at Kings County Hospital. Dr. Goodwin then joined the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, where she became Senior Vice-President for Community Health and Ambulatory Care. She is the Founder and immediate Past-President of AMRON Management Consultants, a consulting firm specializing in planning, developing, delivering, administering and evaluating human services, and in conducting training programs. Dr. Goodwin is also the Founder and President of Health Watch Information and Promotion Service, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and longevity of blacks in America by motivating healthier lifestyles and behavior. Dr. Goodwin also founded the Bedford Stuyvesant Healthy Heart Program.
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Susan Holman, M.S.
A Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and in the College of Nursing, Ms. Holman has an MS in Nursing from the University of California at San Francisco. She is HIV Research Projects Director for the Special Treatment and Research (STAR) program at Downstate. Ms. Holman is also a preceptor in the Preventive Medicine Department's required case-based learning conferences for first year medical students.
Her research has focused on HIV/AIDS, and she has published numerous journal articles and lectured widely in the field. In 1994, she organized an international conference funded by the World AIDS Foundation on "HIV/AIDS Care and Prevention: Issues for Nurses," in Brno, Czech Republic. She is co-editor of a book, "Primary Care of Women and Children with HIV Infection: A Multidisciplinary Approach," published by Jones and Bartlett (Boston:1995). In 1996 she received the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Joseph Lovett, M.F.A.
Joseph Lovett, a Lecturer in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Film from Columbia University. He was a producer on the ABC-TV News show "20/20" for ten years, and prior to that was an editor and producer at CBS News for five years. He now runs his own film company, Lovett Productions. Mr. Lovett has participated in conferences sponsored by the Institute for Health Policy Analysis at Georgetown University Medical School, and is on the Executive Board of AIDSFILMS, a non-profit company committed to furthering AIDS education and prevention in the inner city. In 1997, he was a recipient of the National Leadership Award of the AIDS Action Foundation in Washington, D.C. because of his many fine media contributions in the field of AIDS and health. He has lectured regularly to second year medical students on issues related to medicine and the media.
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Steven D. Ritzel, M.P.H.
A Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Mr. Ritzel received his MPH degree from the Columbia University School of Public Health. He is Director of the Regional Planning and Research Unit of the Office of Planning and Institutional Advancement at Downstate, and a preceptor in the Preventive Medicine department's required case-based learning conferences for first year medical students. Previously, he worked for the NYC Department of Health in various capacities including Public Health Epidemiologist and Senior Grants Manager.
At Downstate, Mr. Ritzel's research focuses on disease trends, disease risk factors, the health status of residents, and the delivery of health care services. He is Chair of Downstate's Public Health Group which has produced a series of reports on the health status of Brooklyn, covering such subjects as infant mortality, asthma, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease and stroke.
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Monica Sweeney, M.D., M.P.H.
A Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Sweeney received an MD degree from State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, and an Executive MPH in Health Services Management from Columbia University School of Public Health. She has been Medical Director of the Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center since 1990, and Vice President for Medical Affairs since 2000.
Dr. Sweeney is a frequent lecturer on topical health issues and has appeared as a guest on many radio shows. She also participated in the making of two health videos, "Healthy People 2000", produced by the US Public Health Service, and "New Beginning," produced by Columbia University. She is the recipient of an award from the Black Women's Agenda of the Congressional Black Caucus for Service in Health and Health Education for Black Women.
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Daniel Vasgird, Ph.D.
An Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Dr. Vasgird received a PhD in Social Psychology from Syracuse University and was an NIMH Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently Research Compliance Officer for the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (CUNY). Previously he was Director of the Health Research Training Program of the New York City Department of Health and Chair of its Institutional Review Board.
Dr. Vasgird's current research interests are related to research ethics, specifically in the areas of research-related injuries and the protection of uninsured research subjects. He has presented numerous seminars and workshops throughout the country, including "Teaching Research Ethics" at Indiana University Poynter Center and "Ethical Issues in International Health Research" at Harvard University School of Public Health.
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Scyatta A. Wallace, Ph.D.
Dr. Wallace is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. She received her doctorate in Psychology, with a specialization in child and adolescent development from Fordham University and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Division of HIV/AIDS prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At CDC, Dr. Wallace was involved with the Parents Matter! Project, a behavioral intervention designed to decrease sexual risk and prevent HIV/AIDS among Black youth. In addition, she was an investigator for a study of adolescent participation in HIV clinical trials in Botswana, Africa. Her previous research includes examining the role of cultural factors in youth risk prevention (e.g., sexual risk, substance use, violence), studying the effects of community violence on youth development, and developing culturally specific behavioral interventions targeting youth populations. Currently, Dr. Wallace is an investigator for study examining attitudes toward HIV and HIV testing among Black American heterosexual young adults and is developing a study on the role of culture in HIV prevention and sexual risk reduction with Black youth. Her research interests include cultural and contextual considerations in behavioral health interventions with youth populations, promoting health education and health care utilization among Black populations, and ethical issues in health care and health related research with vulnerable populations. Dr. Wallace received the Dalamas A. Taylor Policy Fellowship awarded by the American Psychological Association, where she assisted with the passage of Health Disparities legislation. She is an NIH Health Disparities Scholar and was selected as a member of the Graduate Research Ethics Education Training Program sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
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Mahfouz H. Zaki, M.D., Dr. P.H., M.P.H.
Dr. Zaki, Clinical Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, has been a preceptor in the department's first and second year small group teaching programs for over 25 years. Until recently, he was Director of Public Health for Suffolk County, NY. His scientific research on public health issues is widely cited in the literature, and his innovative public health interventions regularly duplicated throughout the country. Dr. Zaki received his medical degree from Cairo Medical School of Cairo University in Egypt. He has a Master of Public Health degree from the Institute of Public Health of Alexandria University in Egypt, and a Doctorate in Public Health from Columbia University School of Public Health in New York City. He has served as a Peace Corps Physician and Advisor in Public Health to the Government of Afghanistan.
