Directors and Faculty

2003 Summer Institute Directors

Ray M. (Bud) Nicola , MD, MHSA, is a Senior Consultant and CDC assignee to The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Turning Point National Program Office and an Affiliate Associate Professor with the Department of Health Services. His past experience includes directing the Division of Public Health Systems at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Seattle King County Health Department, and the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department. (Management Track Director, Interagency Collaboration)

Mark Oberle , MD, MPH, Professor in the departments of Health Services and Epidemiology, has been a member of the faculty since 1990 and is affiliated with the Health and Policy Research Track of the MPH program and with the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. Dr. Oberle serves in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine as Associate Dean for Public Health Practice. (Epi Track Co-Director, Introductory Epidemiology)

2003 Summer Institute Faculty

Janet Baseman, MPH, is a doctoral student in the Epidemiology department at the University of Washington. She has experience teaching epidemiology and biostatistics courses in both the graduate and medical schools at the University of Texas and the University of Washington. (Advanced Topics in Epidemiology)

Ron Di Giacomo, VMD, MPH, is a Professor of Epidemiology with a long-standing interest in the epidemiology of infectious diseases and outbreak investigations. He teaches courses in molecular epidemiology and zoonoses (diseases transmissible from animals to humans). (Introductory Epidemiology)

Tom Furtwangler, BA, is Director of Cascade Health Communications Group, a program of the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Tom's background is in photography, design, and video production, and his work at Cascade Health Communications includes directing and producing 8 to 10 health education videos a year, as well as managing the overall operation of the group. Recent projects include a quarterly video series called "Current Topics in HIV/AIDS Care." (Communications for Emergency Preparedness)

James L. Gale, MD, MS, Professor of Epidemiology, has been the Health Officer for Kittitas County for 12 years and is a former Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. Dr. Gale is interested in the epidemiology of infectious diseases. His recent research deals with adverse affects of vaccines, especially pertussis vaccine. (Epi Track Co-Director, Introductory Epidemiology)

Karen Hartfield, MPH, is a Health Prevention Planner with Public Health — Seattle & King County and has worked in HIV/AIDS, family planning, and asthma prevention planning for the past 20 years. She is a University of Washington Lecturer in health communications, health promotion planning, program evaluation, and applied public health promotion programming. (Communications for Emergency Preparedness)

Richard Hoskins, PhD, is a Senior Epidemiologist and Public Health Geographer for the Washington State Department of Health and Clinical Associate Professor, departments of Epidemiology and Bioinformatics at the UW. He is co-editor of the web-based journal, International Journal of Health Geographics and co-developer of EpiQMS, a web-based public health assessment application. (GIS Track Director)

Patricia Kuszler, MD, JD, Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development in the UW School of Law, joined the faculty in 1994 to develop a health law program after practicing health law in Washington, DC. Prior to a career in law, she practiced emergency medicine in New York and Connecticut. (Public Health Law)

Carl Osaki, RS, MSPH, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Environmental Health, and Member of the Washington State Board of Health. He manages a training module development project, helping health departments integrate the Essential Public Health Services into environmental health practice. He is former Chief of Environmental Health at Public Health - Seattle & King County. (Tabletop Exercise)

Jeremy Sappington, MSPH, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Health Services, and faculty member of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, teaches organizational management and group process in the MHA and MPH programs and coordinates the undergraduate public health major and minor. He has 40 years of experience in public health and health care delivery system organizational development. (Interagency Collaboration)

Dennis Stillman, MHA, a Lecturer in the Masters in Health Administration Program, worked 20 years as a hospital administrator primarily in financial management. He teaches financial management and project management at the UW and provides consulting services in the health care industry. (Performance Management)

Jack Thompson, MSW, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Health Services and Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. His teaching interests include public health practice, organization and financing, workforce development, and health care systems. (Performance Management)

Melissa Schiff, MD, MPH, Associate Professor Epidemiology, is interested in injury epidemiology and maternal and child health. (Advanced Topics in Epidemiology)

Cindy Watts, PhD, Director of the UW Northwest Public Health Leadership Institute, is a professor of health economics and health policy in the Department of Health Services, with adjunct appointments in the Graduate School of Public Affairs and the Department of Economics. She is also core faculty in the Institute for Public Health Genetics, and a Faculty Associate of the Health Policy Analysis Program. Dr. Watts has worked extensively in the area of provider reimbursement and industry structure. (Public Health Law)

Noel S. Weiss, MD, DrPH, a Professor of Epidemiology, teaches epidemiologic methods. He is co-author with Dr. Thomas D. Koepsell of a new graduate-level text, Epidemiologic Methods: Studying the Occurrence of Illness. Dr. Weiss' research is primarily in the area of cancer epidemiology. Dr. Weiss was granted the 1992 Outstanding Teaching Award by the School of Public Health and Community Medicine. (Advanced Topics in Epidemiology)