Iannotti Named Brown School Associate Dean for Public Health

Associate Professor Lora Iannotti has been named associate dean for public health. In this role, Iannotti oversees the Master of Public Health degree program — an innovative curriculum that uses transdisciplinary problem-solving to help students improve population health and confront health disparities.

“I am honored to assume this role, and I aspire to build on the extraordinary accomplishments of my predecessors,” Iannotti said. “Public health is an exciting and intellectually interesting field. We are well-placed at the Brown School under the leadership of Dean McKay and the energy and expertise of this faculty, to work towards our shared vision of health equity.”

Iannotti is widely respected for her global health leadership in child nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies related to poverty. She has worked extensively in Haiti, Ecuador, and East Africa studying the effects of transdisciplinary interventions to prevent malnutrition through improved diet quality, reduced infectious diseases, and economic development. Iannotti is deeply committed to the development of MPH students.

She is joined by Angela Hobson, a senior lecturer at the Brown School, who serves as the new assistant dean for public health. Both began their new roles July 1, 2017.

Hobson joined the Brown School faculty full-time in 2016, following several years as an outstanding adjunct instructor. She has won multiple MPH awards for her teaching in epidemiology and environmental health. Hobson brings hands-on experience in public health practice, as well as budding research collaborations in environmental justice and exposure assessment. A caring and effective problem-solver, she excels at addressing student needs.

Since 2013 the Master of Public Health program has been led by Matthew W. Kreuter, the Kahn Family Professor of Public Health, who served as the associate dean for public health. Amy Eyler served as assistant dean for public health since 2014. 

Under the leadership of Kreuter and Eyler, student enrollment in the MPH program has grown by 20 percent, and the program introduced numerous curricular innovations such as Skill Labs and the Public Health Seminar. The School’s public health offerings have also expanded significantly, with the addition of a PhD program in Public Health Sciences; MPH specializations in Health Policy Analysis and Urban Design; joint degree programs with Medicine, Business and Occupational Therapy; and a 3–2 MPH with the College of Arts & Sciences.

“I am very grateful to Matt and Amy for leading this phase of dynamic growth in the program’s young history,” said Mary M. McKay, Neidorff Family and Centene Corporation Dean of the Brown School. “I am confident that Lora and Angela will build on this great momentum.”