Dr. Michael A. Joseph Receives the Champion of Diversity Award in Public Health from Manhattan-Staten Island Area Health Education Center
Nov 24, 2015
Brooklyn, NY – Michael A. Joseph, PhD, MPH, interim chairperson and assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences in SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s School of Public Health, recently received the 2015 Dr. Muriel Petioni Champion of Diversity in Public Health Award from the Manhattan-Staten Island Area Health Education Center (MSI AHEC).
The awards are named for the late Muriel Petioni, MD, who was called the “mother of medicine in Harlem” by The Amsterdam News, and known for her vigorous commitment to women's issues, community medicine, social justice, and health care for the underserved, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Also named as recipients of Champion of Diversity Awards were Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) (in Health Policy); Neil S. Calman, MD, FAAFP, president and CEO, the Institute for Family Health and chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (in Medicine); and Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, FACOFP, vice president, health sciences and medical affairs, at New York Institute of Technology (in Health Professions Education).
Dr. Joseph is also director of the Training/Education Core of the Brooklyn Health Disparities Center, a partnership between SUNY Downstate, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. In this role he provides underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students with education and training to pursue advanced study in the area of health disparities research.
MSI AHEC is part of both a national program with centers in 46 states, and a New York State system designed to support nine centers throughout the state. MSI AHEC aims to increase the numbers of minorities within the health care delivery system, and prepare these professionals to serve those communities that need it the most.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.