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SPEAKER AND ORGANIZER BIOGRAPHIES (alphabetical by last name)
Stuart L. Abramson, MD, PhD
Dr. Abramson is assistant
professor of pediatrics and
immunology at Baylor College
of Medicine in Houston,
Texas. He is associate
director for Clinical
Research and Health
Professional Education at
the Children’s Asthma Center
at Texas Children’s Hospital
and directs the Pediatric
Allergy and Immunology
Clinic at Ben Taub General
Hospital in Houston. Dr.
Abramson is an active
clinician, teacher, and
researcher and is currently
principal investigator,
co-investigator, or
consultant on several
government and private
foundation grants pertaining
to asthma. Areas of focus
include new approaches to
asthma screening, medical
management, self-management,
and environmental control
that can be generalized to
community health providers
and schools. Several
projects involve
computer-based technologies
for education and physician
decision-support. Dr.
Abramson is board-certified
in pediatrics, allergy and
immunology, and diagnostic
laboratory immunology. He is
a fellow of the American
Academy of Pediatrics and
the American Academy of
Allergy, Asthma, and
Immunology. He has published
over 40 peer reviewed
articles and book chapters
in the fields of allergy,
asthma, and immunology and
has served on several grant
review panels. He is past
chair of the Regional
Advisory Board for the
American Lung Association of
Texas, Southeast Region. Dr.
Abramson received his
undergraduate BA in biology,
with honors, from The Johns
Hopkins University and
received his MD and PhD
degrees from Baylor College
of Medicine as a graduate of
the National Institutes of
Health (NIH)-funded Medical
Scientist Training Program.
He completed his internship
and residency in pediatrics
at Baylor College of
Medicine, Houston, Texas.
His allergy and immunology
fellowship was at the
National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, NIH, Bethesda,
Maryland.
Sophie J. Balk, MD
Dr. Balk is a general
pediatrician at Pediatric
Academic Associates,
Children’s Hospital at
Montefiore, and associate
professor of pediatrics at
the Albert Einstein College
of Medicine, Bronx, NY. She
received her BA from Cornell
University and her MD from
the Albert Einstein College
of Medicine. Dr. Balk's
academic work has focused on
pediatric environmental
health for more than a
decade. She has been a member of
the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) Committee
on Environmental Health (COEH)
since 1995,
and served as the
committee's chair from 1999
through 2003.
She is associate
editor of the AAP
Handbook of Pediatric
Environmental Health,
published in October 1999,
and associate editor of the
2nd edition of the handbook,
Pediatric
Environmental Health, which
was published in 2003. She
founded and was the first
chair of the Ambulatory
Pediatrics Association
Special Interest Group on
Environmental Health.
Melissa L. Bondy, PhD, MS
Dr. Bondy currently serves
as professor of epidemiology
at the University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
and Director of the Center
for Childhood Cancer
Epidemiology and Prevention.
In addition, she is a
professor in the Department
of Pediatrics,
Hematology/Oncology Section,
at Baylor College of
Medicine. Her current
research includes the
National Cancer
Institute-supported “Genetic
and Molecular Epidemiology
of Gliomas,” the
NCI-supported “Epidemiologic
and Genetic Determinants of
Breast Cancer Survival,” and
numerous additional projects
related the epidemiology of
breast, pancreatic, and
colon cancer. She has over
80 publications. She has
served on the National
Institutes of Health
Epidemiology and Disease
Control-2 Review Panel, the
National Institute of
Environmental Health
Sciences Environmental
Health Sciences Parent
Committee, and the American
Cancer Society Clinical
Research Cancer Control and
Epidemiology Committee. Dr.
Bondy received her PhD in
epidemiology in 1990 and her
MS in
epidemiology/environmental
science in 1982 from the
University of Texas School
of Public Health Houston.
Debra C. Cherry, MD, MS
Dr. Cherry has a unique
background consisting of
pediatrics training,
epidemiology experience, and
occupational and
environmental medicine
residency. She completed her
intern year in pediatrics at
Children's Mercy Hospital in
Kansas City, worked for two
years at the Kansas Cancer
Registry as a junior
epidemiologist, and
completed her masters of
science in environmental
science and her residency in
occupational medicine in
June 2000. She is
board-certified in
occupational medicine and
licensed as a physician in
Texas. She is assistant
professor in the Department
of Occupational Health
Sciences and a medical
consultant for the Southwest
Center for Pediatric
Environmental Health. She is
co-editor of Occupational
and Environmental Medicine:
Self Assessment Review
and has recently published
case studies on mercury
poisoning and symptoms of
multiple chemical
sensitivity in a child. In
addition, she is the mother
of three young children and
host mother of an exchange
student from Ecuador.
Mary desVignes-Kendrick, MD, MPH
Dr. Mary desVignes-Kendrick
recently retired after 12
years as director of the
City of Houston Department
of Health and Human
Services, and will be
joining the faculty of the
University of Texas School
of Public Health in Houston
later this year. She
currently serves on the
advisory boards of Allies
Against Asthma, the National
Youth Leadership Forum
Houston / Galveston, and the
University of Houston Law
and Policy Institute. Dr.
desVignes-Kendrick has
served as president of the
National Association of
County and City Health
Officials, as a member of
the National Vaccine
Advisory Committee (NVAC),
and as Chair of the NVAC
Immunization Registry
Workgroup. She has also
served on the National
Institutes of Health
Director’s Council of Public
Representatives (COPR), the
Institute of Medicine’s
committee to review the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention’s Centers for
Research and Demonstration
of Health Promotion and
Disease Prevention, and the
Advisory Board of the United
Way of Texas. She is the
recipient of the American
Public Health Association’s
1997 Milton and Ruth Roemer
Award for “Creative Local
Public Health Work.” Dr.
desVignes-Kendrick received
her MD from Meharry Medical
College, and did her
pediatric residency at
Baylor College of Medicine.
She received her MPH from
the University of Texas
School of Public Health in
Houston. She is
board-certified in
pediatrics and is a fellow
of the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
Gregory B. Diette, MD, MHS
Dr. Diette currently serves
as assistant professor at
Johns Hopkins University
with a joint appointment in
the departments of medicine
and epidemiology. He is also
the director of clinical
research, division of
pulmonary and critical care
medicine. He is active
clinically with an
outpatient clinic devoted to
patients with obstructive
airways disorders. His
current National Institutes
of Health-funded research
includes: (1) a cohort study
to determine the impact of
indoor allergens and
pollutants on childhood
asthma, (2) a study to
identify genetic
susceptibility to allergens
and pollutants in the
development of asthma, and
(3) development of an asthma
communication instrument to
reduce health care
disparities in minorities
with asthma. He has recently
submitted articles on home
environmental interventions
to control asthma and on the
impact of Canadian forest
fires on concentrations of
particulate matter in
Baltimore. Dr. Diette
received his BA in English
and BS in economics from the
University of Pennsylvania
in 1986, and his MD from
Temple University School of
Medicine in 1990. He
completed an internal
medicine residency at the
Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia in 1993. He
received his MHS in
epidemiology from Johns
Hopkins in 1997 and also
completed a four-year
fellowship in clinical
research at Johns Hopkins
from 1994 - 1998. He is the
father of two young
children, Abigail and
Gregory.
Ralph D. Feigin, MD
Dr. Feigin is currently
physician-in-chief of Texas
Children’s Hospital in
Houston, and the J. S.
Abercrombie Professor and
Chair of the Department of
Pediatrics at Baylor College
of Medicine. He is also
physician-in-chief of
Pediatric Services at Ben
Taub General Hospital, and
chief of the Pediatric
Service at The Methodist
Hospital. From 1996 to 2003
he was president and CEO of
Baylor College of Medicine,
and before that served as
Baylor’s Dean of Medical
Education. Dr. Feigin is an
internationally renowned
expert in pediatric
infectious diseases and has
published over 400 articles
or chapters. He is also
co-author or co-editor of
numerous books, including
books on pediatric
infectious disease, clinical
medicine, and pediatric
nutrition and the developing
nervous system. He is
editor-in-chief of
Seminars in Pediatric
Infectious Diseases and
associate editor of
Pediatrics. Dr. Feigin
is the principal
investigator on numerous
grants, including several
pediatric center grants from
the National Institutes of
Health. He has received
numerous awards including
the American Academy of
Pediatrics Medical Education
Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Texas Children’s
Hospital’s Clinical Care
Center was recently renamed
the Feigin Center in
recognition of the
contributions of Dr. Feigin
and his wife, Dr. Judith Z.
Feigin, who is director of
the hospital’s Learning
Support Center, in improving
the health and lives of
children. He was elected to
the Institute of Medicine,
National Academy of
Sciences, in 1995.
Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH
Dr. "Howie" Frumkin is
professor and chair of the
Department of Environmental
and Occupational Health at
the Rollins School of Public
Health of Emory University
and professor of medicine at
Emory Medical School in
Atlanta. He also directs the
Southeast Pediatric
Environmental Health
Specialty Unit, based at
Emory. He is a member of the
Board of Directors of
Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR) and of
the Environmental Protection
Agency’s Children's Health
Protection Advisory
Committee. His research
interests include public
health aspects of urban
sprawl; air pollution; lead
and mercury toxicity;
climate change; health
benefits of contact with
nature; and environmental
and occupational health
policy, especially with
regard to minority workers
and communities, and in
developing nations. He has
three books scheduled for
publication in 2004:
Urban Sprawl and Public
Health (Island Press,
written with Larry Frank and
Dick Jackson),
Environmental Health: From
Local to Global (Jossey-Bass),
and Safe and Healthy
School Environments
(Oxford, co-edited with
Leslie Rubin and Robert
Geller). Dr. Frumkin
received his AB from Brown
University, his MD from the
University of Pennsylvania,
his MPH and DrPH from
Harvard, his internal
medicine training at the
Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania and
Cambridge Hospital, and his
occupational medicine
training at Harvard. He is
board-certified in both
internal medicine and
occupational medicine, and
is a fellow of the American
College of Physicians and
the American College of
Occupational and
Environmental Medicine. He
is married to Beryl Ann
Cowan, an attorney and child
advocate. They have two
children, Gabriel (age 16)
and Amara (age 13).
Winifred J. Hamilton, PhD, SM
Dr. Hamilton earned her
graduate degrees from the
University of Michigan, Rice
University, and the Harvard
School of Public Health, the
latter in environmental
health epidemiology. She is
an assistant professor at
Baylor College of Medicine,
with joint appointments in
neurosurgery and medicine,
and is director of the
Chronic Disease Prevention
and Control Research
Center's Environmental
Health Section. Current
projects include a
geospatial and time-series
study that examines hospital
admissions and air pollution
in Harris County in 2000; a
community-based series of
focus groups to define
environmental health
hazards, broadly defined, in
diverse HISD elementary
schools and their
surrounding neighborhoods;
and a website that focuses
on regional environmental
health concerns. Dr.
Hamilton has served on the
board of the
Galveston-Houston
Association of Smog
Prevention and of Mothers
for Clean Air, and currently
serves on the board of the
Gulf Coast Institute and on
the Steering Committee for
the City of Houston's
Environmental Public Health
Tracking Network. She has
received numerous awards for
her work in the area of
environmental health,
including the Citizens'
Environmental Coalition's
Synergy Award for
Environmental Excellence.
Bruce
P. Lanphear, MD, MPH
Dr. Lanphear currently
serves as the Sloan
Professor of Children’s
Environmental Health at the
Cincinnati Children’s
Hospital Medical Center and
the University of
Cincinnati, and is director
of the Cincinnati Children’s
Environmental Health Center.
He has a broad interest in
environmental factors
impacting children’s health,
with recent publications on
tobacco smoke, lead, milk
intake, indoor allergens,
playground injuries, and
factors impacting
breast-feeding. He is
associate editor of
Environmental Research,
deputy editor of Public
Health Reports, and a
member of the Expert
Advisory Board on Children’s
Health and the Environment,
North American Commission
for Environmental
Cooperation. Dr. Lanphear
received his BA in biology
in 1985 and his MD in 1986
from the University of
Missouri at Kansas City. He
received his MPH, with an
emphasis in tropical
medicine, in 1988 from
Tulane School of Public
Health and Tropical Medicine
in New Orleans.
Jeffrey L. Levin, MD, MSPH
Dr. Levin currently serves
as professor and chair of
the Department of
Occupational and
Environmental Medicine,
medical director of East
Texas Interactive Healthcare
Network, and program
director of the Occupational
Medicine Residency at the
University of Texas Health
Center at Tyler. He is also
the co-director of the
Southwest Center for
Pediatric Environmental
Health and director of the
National Institute of
Occupational Safety and
Health-funded Southwest
Center for Agricultural
Health, Injury Prevention,
and Education. His
publications cover topics
such as asbestos-related
disease, mercury exposure,
and
1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane
(DBCP)-induced azoospermia.
He is a fellow of the
American College of
Physicians, the American
College of Chest Physicians,
and the American College of
Occupational and
Environmental Medicine. He
received his MD in 1983 from
the University of Texas
Medical School at San
Antonio and his MSPH in 1988
from the University of
Kentucky. He is
board-certified in both
internal medicine and
occupational medicine.
Martin I. Lorin, MD
Dr. Lorin is professor of
pediatrics, vice-chair for
educational affairs, and
director of house staff
education for the Department
of Pediatrics at Baylor
College of Medicine,
Houston. He is also an
attending physician at Texas
Children’s Hospital and at
Ben Taub General Hospital.
Dr. Lorin has a background
in pediatric pulmonology as
well as general pediatrics,
and is the author of the 5th
edition of Appleton and
Lange’s Review of
Pediatrics in addition
to numerous articles. Dr.
Lorin has a special interest
in environmental factors
affecting children’s health
and in the special
vulnerability of children to
these hazards, and speaks
frequently on these topics
to community and
professional organizations
around the nation. Dr. Lorin
received his MD in 1959 from
New York University College
of Medicine and completed
his residency training in
1963 at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine in New
York. He also completed
post-residency fellowships
in pulmonary medicine at
Albert Einstein College of
Medicine and in cystic
fibrosis at Columbia
University College of
Physicians and Surgeons.
Larry K. Lowry, PhD
Dr. Lowry is associate
professor of Occupational
Health Sciences and
co-director of the Southwest
Center for Pediatric
Environmental Health at the
University of Texas Health
Center at Tyler. His
research interests include
the use of biomarkers in
occupational settings,
interpretation of biomarkers
in children, and heavy metal
toxicity. He currently
chairs the Biologic Exposure
Indices Committee and serves
on the Agricultural Safety
and Health Committee of the
American Conference of
Governmental Industrial
Hygienists. In addition, he
serves on multiple
committees for the American
Industrial Hygiene
Association and the
International Commission on
Occupational Health. Dr.
Lowry received his BS in
chemistry in 1961 from San
Jose State University in San
Jose, California and his PhD
in comparative biochemistry
in 1968 from the University
of California-Davis. He
completed postdoctoral
training in clinical
chemistry in 1974 at Ohio
State University in
Columbus, Ohio.
Marie Lynn Miranda, PhD
Dr. Miranda currently serves
as the Gabel Chair in
Environmental Ethics and
Sustainable Environmental
Management and as a faculty
member in the Integrated
Toxicology Program at the
Nicholas School of the
Environment and Earth
Sciences, Duke University.
She also directs the
Children's Environmental
Health Initiative, a
research, education, and
outreach program at Duke
that fosters healthy
children by conducting and
delivering research in
communities across North
Carolina and nationally. Her
current research focuses on
lead, allergens, asthma
triggers, pesticides, and
air toxics and is funded by
the National Institute for
Environmental Health
Science, Housing and Urban
Development, Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention, and the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.
Larry L. Needham, PhD
Dr. Needham currently serves
as chief of the Toxicology
Branch, Division of
Environmental Health
Laboratory Sciences,
National Center for
Environmental Health,
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. In this
capacity, he identifies,
prioritizes, plans, and
conducts studies involving
human exposure to
environmental organic
toxicants. Dr. Needham often
serves as a spokesperson for
these studies, explaining
the findings to White House
committees, staffs of
Congress, scientific
delegations, peer review
panels, and international
officials. He has over 250
publications, including 15
book chapters and three
books as co-editor. His
recent publications cover
topics such as pesticide
exposure, assessment of
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
(TCDD) levels, and breast
milk contaminants. Dr.
Needham received his BS in
chemistry in 1968 from
Middle Tennessee State
University and his PhD in
organic chemistry in 1972
from the University of
Georgia. He completed
postdoctoral training in
1973 at Vanderbilt
University and at the
University of Georgia School
of Pharmacy.
Herbert L. Needleman, MD
Dr. Needleman currently
serves as professor of child
psychiatry and pediatrics at
the University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine. His
primary area of research has
been the effect of lead at
silent doses on behavior and
intelligence. His research
published in 1979 was
influential in the decision
to remove lead from
gasoline. He has over 100
publications and has edited
four books on lead. He has
received numerous awards,
including the Charles Dana
Award for Pioneering
Achievement in Public
Health. Dr. Needleman
received his MD from the
University of Pennsylvania
and served in the US Army as
a captain before completing
his pediatric residency at
Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia, a research
fellowship in cardiology at
the National Institutes of
Health, and a psychiatry
residency at Temple
University Health Sciences
Center. His academic career
includes professorial
positions at Temple and
Harvard universities before
joining the faculty at the
University of Pittsburgh.
Jonathan Ward, Jr, PhD
Dr. Ward is a professor and
director of the Division of
Environmental Toxicology in
the Department of Preventive
Medicine and Community
Health, as well as deputy
director of the National
Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences Toxicology
Center, at the University of
Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)
in Galveston. His research
addresses human sensitivity
to exposure to environmental
carcinogens and mutagens
using population
biomonitoring methods and
animal studies. He also
directs a community
environmental health
intervention project with De
Madres a Madres in Houston.
Dr. Ward received his PhD
from Cornell University and
was a post-doctoral fellow
at Massachusetts General
Hospital before coming to
UTMB.
Armin D. Weinberg, PhD
Dr. Weinberg is director of
the Chronic Disease
Prevention and Control
Research Center at Baylor
College of Medicine. He has
directed the center since
its inception in 1987 as the
Center for Cancer Control
Research. He was previously
director of the education
division of the DeBakey
Heart Center. Since the
early 1970s, Dr. Weinberg
has been principal
investigator or co-principal
investigator on over twenty
federal- or state-funded
projects relating to
continuing medical education
(CME), including projects
involving computer-assisted
instruction. He has over
twenty CME-related articles
in peer-reviewed journals.
In addition to his
consulting with the Office
of Continuing Medical
Education (OCME) at Baylor,
Dr. Weinberg is a member of
the Master Teacher
Fellowship Selection
Committee, a faculty
development initiative for
which OCME offers CME
credit. Dr. Weinberg serves
as a site visitor for the
Texas Medical Association (TMA)
Subcommittee on
Accreditation and is on the
Steering Committee of the
TMA's Physician Oncology
Education Program. He is
also the principal
investigator for the TMA's
TalkBack series, which
surveys licensed physicians
throughout Texas regarding
their cancer-related CME
needs.
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