Advisory Board

John Ioannidis - Chair   

John P.A. Ioannidis, MD, DSC, holds the C.F. Rehnborg Chair in Disease Prevention at Stanford University where he is professor of medicine, professor of health research and policy, and professor of statistics (by courtesy) at the School of Humanities and Sciences. From 1999 until 2010, Dr. Ioannidis chaired the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece. He trained at the University of Athens School of Medicine in Greece, Harvard and Tufts, and also held appointments at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Harvard, and Imperial College London.

Dr. Ioannidis is one of the most-cited scientists of all times in the scientific literature. His current research at Stanford covers a wide agenda, including meta-research, large-scale evidence, population health sciences and predictive medicine and health. He has received numerous awards, including the European Award for Excellence in Clinical Science, and has been inducted into the Association of American Physicians and the European Academy of Cancer Sciences. Dr. Ioannidis is recognized as the leading clinical research methodologist of his generation for his work in evidence-based medicine and in appraising and improving the credibility of scientific studies and results. The PLoS Medicine article, Why Most Published Research Findings are False,” was the most accessed and downloaded article in the history of PLoS. The Atlantic selected Dr. Ioannidis as the Brave Thinker” scientist for 2010, characterizing him as one of the most influential scientists alive.

Jonathan Fielding    

Jonathan Fielding, MD, MPH, MBA, has served over 40 years in public health service, education and research. He has recently retired after 16 years as the LA County Public Health Director and County Health Officer.  In these roles, Dr. Fielding emphasized the importance of the social and physical environments on health and health disparities. From 1975-79 he served as Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health.

Since 1979 Dr. Fielding has been a professor at the UCLA Schools of Public Health and Medicine, including co-directing the UCLA Center for Health Enhancement Education and Research from 1979 through 1984. He chaired the HHS Secretary’s expert advisory group on the 2020 Healthy People Project, chairs the U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force and is Editor of the Annual Review of Public Health.  His current research interests are modeling the health effects of evidence validated policies and programs in other sectors, such as transportation, education and housing. He received his MD, Masters in Public Health and Masters in History of Science from Harvard University and an MBA from Wharton School of Business. He has published over 300 original articles, commentaries, editorials and book chapters.

Dr. Fielding has been honored with many national and other awards for public health achievements, including the UCLA medal, the highest award given by that University, and the national Fries prize for contributions to the health of Americans.  He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Erica Frank

Erica Frank, MD, MPH is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Preventive Medicine and Population Health in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. 

Dr. Frank is also the founder and President of NextGenU.org, the world’s first free university (now in use in 132 countries), founder of the Healthy Doc = Healthy Patient initiative (establishing with four national studies and building on the relationship between physicians’ personal and clinical practices), and Past President (2008) of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Larry Green

Before joining the University of California, San Francisco in 2005, Larry Green, PhD, was Director of the Office of Science and Extramural Research and Director of the World Health Organization Global Tobacco Control Collaborating Center for the Centers for Disease Control. Dr. Green has been on the full-time public health and/or medical faculties at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Texas, and the University of British Columbia. He was the first Director of the federal Office of Health Promotion under the Carter Administration, and a Vice President of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Dr. Green has published several books and over 300 articles on program planning, evidence and evaluation issues in health services, health promotion and public health. He served on the founding U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and now on the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. He is now Associate Editor of the Annual Reviews of Public Health, and on the Editorial Boards of 13 other journals.

Dr. Green's awards include the highest distinctions of the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Health Behavior, the International Union for Health Promotion and Education, the American Association for the Advancement of Health Education, the Society for Public Health Education, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health Alumnus of the Year, and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo. Dr. Green was elected in 2009 to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and has chaired several IOM committees, most recently one on Evaluating Obesity Prevention Efforts.

Soonman Kwon

Soonman Kwon, PhD, is professor and former Dean of the School of Public Health, Seoul National University, South Korea. He is also adjunct professor at the China Center for Health and Development, Peking University, China. After he received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he was assistant professor of public policy at the University of Southern California in 1993-1996.

Dr. Kwon has held visiting positions at the Harvard School of Public Health, London School of Economics, University of Toronto, University of Trier (Germany), and Hosei University (Japan). He was the president of the Korean Association of Schools of Public Health in 2013-2014, is the President of Korean Gerontological Society and President-Elect of Korean Health Economic Association.

Dr. Kwon has been on the editorial boards of leading international journals such as Social Science and Medicine, Health Economics Policy and Law, BMC Health Services Research, and Ageing Research Reviews. He was the editor of the Korean Journal of Public Health in 2007-2009 and currently the editor of the Korean Journal of Health Economics and Policy.

Dr. Kwon was a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of the World Health Organization Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research. He has been a member of numerous government committees of Korea and occasionally worked as a short-term consultant of WHO, World Bank, GIZ, and ADB on health systems and financing in Algeria, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Martin Landray

Martin Landray, MB ChB, PhD, is professor of Medicine and Epidemiology within the Nuffield Department of Population Health and Deputy Director of Oxford’s Big Data Institute within the Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery at the University of Oxford.

His work seeks to further understanding of the determinants of life-threatening and disabling diseases through large-scale epidemiological and clinical studies. The results of his work have changed regulatory drug approvals, influenced clinical guidelines and changed prescribing practice to the benefit of patients. He also oversees the development of systems for recruitment, data collection, analysis and sharing for the UK Biobank, a prospective cohort study of 500,000 middle-aged men and women.

In addition to leading his own research, he is involved in national and international efforts to streamline clinical to improve healthcare decision-making. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Clinical Trial Transformation Initiative (a FDA initiative, coordinated by Duke University), co-led the successful CTTI Monitoring and Quality by Design Projects, and is now a leader on the CTTI Mobile Clinical Trials project.

Dr. Landray received his general medical and speciality training (Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics and General Internal Medicine) at the University of Birmingham (UK). Dr. Landray practices clinical medicine as an Honorary Consultant Physician in the Cardiology, Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Directorate at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Higher Education Academy, the American Society of Nephrology, and the British Pharmacological Society.

Keji Li

Keji Li, MD, is a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health at Peking University in Beijing, China.  His current research interests focus on nutrients and energy metabolism and requirements, water-salt metabolism, dietary fat and disease, physical activity and health promotion, non-communicable disease and life behavioral risks, nutrition and food safety information communication.

Dr. Li has also held an appointment as professor of the Institute of Sports Medicine at Peking University and has been the principal investigator of multiple NSF funded projects, as well as, projects from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and the World Health Organization. He also holds positions in several national committees, including the State Food and Drug Administration, the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association and the Chinese Nutrition Society.

Victor Matsudo

Victor Matsudo, MD, PhD, is currently the Scientific Director of the Physical Fitness Research Centre of São Caetano do Sul in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the Chair of both the Agita São Paulo Program and the Physical Activity Network of the Americas.  He is also a full professor in medicine at Gama Filho University, specializing in Orthopaedics, Traumatology and Sports Medicine.  

Dr. Matsudo is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Actigraph Inc, the Sports Nutrition Commission for the International Olympic Committee, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education.  Past positions include Vice-President of the International Council of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, Chairman and Member of the Executive Board of the Agita Mundo Network, and Scientific Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Science and Movement.  

Dr. Matsudo has received numerous awards including the International Grand Prix in Sports Medicine at the Barcelona Olympic Games (1992); the “ Philip Noël Baker” Award, in Sports Medicine, awarded by the International Council of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, (1995); the Prince Faisal Award, awarded by the International Federation of Physical Education (1996); the Carso Foundation Award, (2011); and Awards from the American College of Sports Medicine (citation, 2014; Odyssey award, 2015).

Philip Pizzo

Philip Pizzo, MD, is the David and Susan Heckerman Professor and Founding Director of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute. Dr. Pizzo served as Dean of the Stanford School of Medicine from 2001-2012, where he was also the Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Professor. He received his MD from the University of Rochester, and then completed an internship and residency at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston. 

Between 1973 and 1996, Dr. Pizzo served as head of the National Cancer Institute’s infectious disease section, as chief of the NCI’s pediatric department, and as acting scientific director for NCI’s Division of Clinical Sciences. Before joining Stanford, he was the physician-in-chief of Children’s Hospital in Boston and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School from 1996-2001, where he was also the Thomas Morgan Rotch Professor of Pediatrics.

Dr. Pizzo is the author of more than 550 scientific articles and 16 books and monographs, including Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology, the Seventh Edition of which will be published in 2015.  

Dr. Pizzo has received numerous wards and honors, among them the John Howland Award, the highest honor for life-time achievement bestowed by the American Pediatric Society. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1997, and was also elected to the IOM Council. He served on the Governing Board for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Rochester, of the Board of Overseers for Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey, and of the Ludwig Institute.

Amelie Ramirez

Amelie Ramirez, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert in health disparities research and health promotion at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Over the past 30 years, she has conducted communications research and behavioral interventions that have made tremendous strides to reduce cancer and chronic disease, increase screening rates and clinical trial accrual, and improve healthy lifestyles among U.S. Latinos.

Dr. Ramirez directs two national research networks, one National Cancer Institute program targeting Latino cancer (Redes En Acción, www.redesenaccion.org) and one Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program targeting Latino child obesity (Salud America!, www.salud-america.org). She also mentors Latino undergrad, pre- and post-doctoral students, contributes to the scientific literature and serves on journal editorial boards.

Dr. Ramirez has been recognized for her work to improve Latino health and advance Latinos in medicine, public health, and behavioral sciences, including: 2014 Making a Difference Award from Latinas Contra Cancer; 2011 White House “Champion of Change”; 2009 Health Care Hero from the San Antonio Business Journal; 2007 election to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies; 2007 Professor of Survivorship from Susan G. Komen For the Cure; and others. Dr. Ramirez also leads the SaludToday Latino health social media campaign.

Chia Kee Seng

Chia Kee Seng, MBBS, Msc(OM), MD, is an internationally recognized expert in molecular epidemiology of chronic diseases and primary prevention of chronic disease. He is affiliated with NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Chia Kee Seng has been awarded the Ministry of Education Service to Education Award (2009) and the NUHS Research Excellence Award (2010). 

He has recently retired as the Dean of Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Chia Kee Seng is still actively involved in the Workplace Safety and Health Council, the Health Promotion Board and the Residency Advisory Committee (Preventive Medicine).

Linhong Wang

Linhong Wang, PhD, is the Executive Deputy Director of the National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. She has presided over many international and domestic studies related to the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD), including the national surveillance of NCDs prevalence and high risk behaviors, comprehensive management of hypertension and diabetes and multiple NCD intervention projects.

Dr. Wang is a technical member of the China Preventive Medicine Association (CPMA), the director of the Women’s Health Care Division of CPMA, and is a consultant to the China Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization. She has edited and translated more than thirty academic monographs, and published numerous academic articles in leading public health journals.

Anne Wojcicki

Anne Wojcicki graduated Yale as a biologist eager to work in health care. After 10 years in health care investing on Wall Street, it became clear to her the industry was incentivized to treat the sick, rather than prevent disease. Anne's passion for prevention was born out of a desire to change the way we approach health care, while also knowing the value of genetic data to treat and prevent disease.

Ms. Wojcicki built one of the world's largest DNA databases with over 1M consumers globally. 23andMe is the first company to gain an FDA authorization to market a direct-to-consumer genetic test. Her mission is to use genetic data for good by finding a way for everyone to crowdsource better disease treatments and cures.

Colleen Carkeet

Colleen Carkeet, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow and Regulatory Strategist for the Nutrilite Health Institute. With expertise in product development, clinical research and program management, her role includes developing scientific and regulatory strategies to solve complex business challenges and bring emerging technologies to the consumer.

Dr. Carkeet received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemistry from Idaho State University and a Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry from University of California, Davis. Her work at Davis included studying the pharmacokinetics of vitamin B12 using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. This led to a novel method for diagnosing vitamin B12 malabsorption as it relates to pernicious anemia and the issuance of a U.S. patent.

Dr. Carkeet’s postdoctoral training was at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. Her work involved analytical method development for the identification of urinary metabolites of anthocyanins and clinical studies to investigate the dose response and metabolism of these phytonutrients.

Dr. Carkeet has published several papers on human metabolism of phytonutrients and B-vitamins, as well as a book, Phytochemicals: Health Promotion and Therapeutic Potential. She is a member of several professional organizations including the American Society of Nutrition and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.