Jeffrey Koplan and Amelie Ramirez Join CDC Foundation Board of Directors

Jeffrey Koplan, MD, MPH, vice president for Global Health at Emory University, and Amelie Ramirez, DrPH, MPH, professor and chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, have each been elected to a five-year term on the board of directors of the CDC Foundation.

“As the CDC Foundation continues to play an integral role in addressing domestic and global health challenges, including the current COVID-19 response, we are honored to have both Dr. Koplan and Dr. Ramirez join our board of directors,” said Judith Monroe, MD, president and chief executive officer of the CDC Foundation. “These two accomplished public health experts offer unique knowledge and skills that will complement our existing board and provide additional counsel during these challenging times.”

Jeffrey Koplan

Koplan is a former director and 26-year veteran of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He began his public health career in the early 1970s as a member of CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service. He has worked on virtually every major public health issue, including infectious diseases such as smallpox and HIV/AIDS, environmental issues such as the Bhopal chemical disaster, and the health toll of tobacco and chronic diseases around the globe. From 1994 to 1998, he pursued his interest in enhancing the interactions between clinical medicine and public health by leading the Prudential Center for Health Care Research, a nationally recognized health services research organization.

Koplan founded the Emory Global Health Institute in 2006 and served as its director until March 2013 and continues his involvement as the university’s vice president for Global Health. He is co-founder of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), co-investigator of the Emory Global Health Institute’s Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network and chairs the Wellcome Trust’s Independent Review Panel of its Clinical Data Sharing Program.

In addition, Koplan is a trustee of the China Medical Board and a former trustee of Yale University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Amelie Ramirez

Ramirez is an internationally recognized health disparities researcher at UT Health San Antonio, where she is professor and chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research. She has 30 years of experience conducting behavioral and communications projects to reduce cancer, increase screening rates and clinical trial participation, prove the efficacy of patient navigation for cancer patients, prevent tobacco use and improve healthy lifestyles among U.S. Latinos.

She currently directs the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Salud America! national multimedia program to empower its vast network of 300,000 community leaders to drive healthy policy and system changes to promote health equity and support for Latino families.

Ramirez also conducts breast cancer disparities research on quality of life and survivorship issues, and directs Quitxt, a bilingual tobacco-cessation service for young Latino adults using mobile-phone text messages, funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. She has trained/mentored more than 250 Latinos in health fields, and leads the National Cancer Institute-funded Éxito! training program to help master’s-level students and professionals pursue a doctoral degree and research career focused on Latino cancer.

She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, a member of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a Susan G. Komen Scholar, and is on the prize jury for the Fries Prize for Improving Health Award and the Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award. Ramirez has been recognized by several organizations including the White House Champion of Change, American Public Health Association’s (APHA) K. Everett M. Rogers Award, CentroMed’s Icons in Healthcare Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She also is current board president of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST).