The Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department presents:                                          

     

     

     Public Health in the Decisive Decade
     Wednesday January 17, 2024
     12:00 –12:50 pm
     Drachman Hall A114 and
     Zoom: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/84373928188
     

 

Sally C. Morton, PhD

Abstract: Today’s challenges are accelerating in both scale and complexity as we enter what some have called the “Decisive Decade.” The urgent nature of issues facing the world, such as the inequitable health effects of climate change, requires that we produce practical and implementable solutions. The scientific community needs to conduct research faster and at scale. I will provide three illustrations of how public health is responding to this evolution via informing responses to global health emergencies; analyzing complex datasets to inform policy; and collaborating on transdisciplinary teams. I will also consider barriers to progress, particularly in the context of assessment in academia, with respect to incentives, expectations and risktaking. Meeting these challenges and overcoming barriers will allow maximum impact in public health during this critical period.

Bio: Sally C. Morton, Ph.D., is executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise at Arizona State University and is responsible for the University’s research and economic development ecosystem. Morton advances research priorities, oversees institutes and initiatives, and leads corporate engagement and strategic partnerships, international development, and technology transfer. She is a professor in the College of Health Solutions and the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. Previously, Morton was dean of the College of Science at Virginia Tech; chair of biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh; vice president for statistics and epidemiology at RTI International; and head of the RAND Corporation Statistics Group. Her research focuses on evidence synthesis, health policy, and patient-centered comparative effectiveness. Morton served as the 2009 president of the American Statistical Association and holds a PhD in statistics from Stanford University.