Augusta University School of Public Health Dean Teresa Waters, PhD, has announced two permanent additions to her former leadership team, as well as two new temporary positions.
Jie Chen, PhD, has been appointed assistant professor of academic and student affairs and Aaron Johnson, PhD, has been appointed assistant professor of research and public relations. Each has served as interim coordinator since August 2023.
“Dr. Johnson and Chen did an outstanding job as interim assistants. I am very pleased that they have agreed to take on these roles permanently to support the continued success of the School of Public Health,” said Waters.
In addition, Santu Ghosh, PhD, has been named interim chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Data Science, and Epidemiology, and Michael Vitacco, PhD, has been named interim chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences.
“As Dr. Chen and Johnson switch to permanent jobs, I am happy to choose Dr. Santu Ghosh as interim chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Data Science, and Epidemiology, and Dr. Michael Vitacco as interim chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences. ,” Waters said. “I am very grateful for their dedication to their faculty, staff and students.”
Gianluca De Leo, PhD, was named the inaugural chair of the Department of Health Management, Economics and Policy in June.
[Michael Holahan/Augusta University]
Chen, who served as interim chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Data Science, and Epidemiology during the school’s first year, oversaw the development and administration of many new academic programs during his time at the University of Augusta. As assistant provost for academic and student affairs, Chen will oversee all academic programs and activities related to the school’s academic mission. His office will be responsible for guiding the development and management of curriculum, evaluation and improvement of educational quality, and student services. He will directly supervise the SPH Program Directors, curriculum support staff and staff related to the review and approval of all SPH academic programs.
An elected member of the American Statistical Association, Chen specializes in statistical change analysis, which has a wide range of applications in industrial quality control, climate, economics and finance, medicine, genetics genetics and more. He has conducted extensive research in this area, including co-authoring a research monograph on change factor analysis published by Birkhäuser/ English. He also works as editor-in-chief of Journal of Applied Statistics. Chen has extensive collaborative experience in molecular biology and bioinformatics, working with biological and clinical researchers on sample data generated from various biological experiments.
Chen served as director of the Biostatistics Programs from 2015 to 2021 and worked with program faculty to develop and improve the biostatistics curriculum. He has supervised seven doctoral students to successfully complete their dissertations in biostatistics/statistics and served on more than 36 master’s and doctoral students’ thesis/consulting project/dissertation committees of different disciplines in the past twenty years.
[Michael Holahan/Augusta University]
Johnson, director of the Center for Public Health and Prevention, served as interim chair of the Department of Public and Behavioral Health Sciences during the school’s first year. As associate dean for research and public engagement, Johnson will serve as director of research and director of public engagement for the School of Public Health, ensuring that all activities in these areas are carried out in an efficient manner. coordinated, creative, efficient, effective and ethical. by rules and regulations of AU and the University System of Georgia. He will work closely and collaboratively with faculty, department chairs, department directors and staff to implement strategic plans for research and community engagement. He will also represent the school in internal and external constituencies.
For more than two decades, his research has focused on the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices, particularly in substance abuse prevention and treatment. During his 10 years at Augusta University, Johnson received more than $16 million in funding to train health professionals to identify and address alcohol/drug use, implement services to substance abuse assessment and treatment in a variety of settings (primary care, addiction treatment services. and criminal justice) and expanding the resources available in rural Georgia to directly address the opioid epidemic. Johnson serves on the executive committee of the Georgia Substance Abuse Research Alliance and is a member of the Regional Advisory Committee of the Georgia Opioid Abatement Fund.
The AU School of Public Health is currently in a 24-month study period as the first application for transfer from an accredited Master of Public Health program to the School of Public Health has been approved is the Education Council for Public Health.
SPH currently has seven academic programs: Master of Public Health, Master of Science degree in biostatistics, clinical translational science, data science and epidemiology, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in biostatistics and applied health sciences. Last year, SPH received more than $6.5 million in post-academic grants to support research and community-based programs.
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