Health Science Council
The Health Science Council is comprised of deans and senior leaders from the University of Michigan health science schools. The HSC advises the Center on engagement with the University community and on efforts to create synergy between health science schools around global health.
Chair
Laura Lein, PhDDean and Collegiate Professor of Social Work
Laura Lein is dean of the University of Michigan's School of Social Work. Formerly, she was a professor of social work and anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). Dr. Lein directed the Women's Studies Program at UT for two terms, from 1987-1991, where she coordinated interdisciplinary curriculum, fund development, and new programs. She was also director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women from 1981-1985 and director of an interdisciplinary project on work, family interaction, and child development at the Center for the Study of Public Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1973-1977.
Her work has concentrated on the interface between families in poverty and the institutions that serve them. She is author of nine books on welfare, health care, children, and families, including Poor Families in America's Health Care Crisis (Cambridge University Press, 2006), coauthored with Ronald Angel and Jane Henrici. She has served as principal investigator on multiple grants on poverty, family and women's issues, and impoverished populations in Texas.
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Frank J. Ascione, PharmD, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Pharmacy; Professor of Social and Administrative Sciences
Frank Ascione became the Dean of the School of Pharmacy in 2004. He had been Associate Dean since 1996, joined the faculty in 1977 and became a full professor in 2001. He holds the title of Professor of Social and Administrative Sciences.
Dr. Ascione's research focus is on drug policy, specifically the FDA regulatory process and healthcare institutional decision-making. His projects include examining the decision-making ability of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising. He received his B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan and his M.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees in Health Behavior/Health Education from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan.
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Martin Philbert, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Public Health; Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Martin Philbert became dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health on January 1, 2011, having previously served as senior associate dean for research at the school since 2004. He arrived at UM in 1995 from Rutgers' Neurotoxicology Laboratories, where he was a research assistant professor. He has maintained a continuously federally funded portfolio of basic research activities throughout his career. Most recently his work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Air Force and the National Cancer Institute.
At the national level, he is recognized for his expertise in neurotoxicology and experimental neuropathology. He is the author of numerous research publications in top peer-reviewed journals, and one book.
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Peter Polverini
Dean and Professor of Dentistry, School of Dentistry; Professor of Pathology, Medical School
In addition to his administrative role as dean, Polverini also teaches pathology and diagnoses specimens submitted to the School's oral pathology biopsy service.
In 1992 Polverini came to the U-M as a professor of dentistry and chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. He was appointed chair of the Department of Oral Medicine/Pathology/Surgery in 1995, and a year later became chair of the Department of Oral Medicine/Pathology/Oncology. In 1996 he also was awarded the Donald A. Kerr Endowed Collegiate Professorship.
Polverini's career began at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 1977, where he served as an assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences. In 1981 he was recruited to Northwestern University Medical and Dental School. While at Northwestern, Polverini directed the Laboratory of Diagnostic Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, helped organize a graduate Ph.D. program in oral and maxillofacial pathology, and developed the Northwestern University Dental School undergraduate dental student research program.
Polverini is on the editorial board of Laboratory Investigation and the Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine, and is an associate editor of the journal Angiogenesis. He is a charter member of the National Cancer Institute's Subcommittee C, Basic and Preclinical Sciences review committee. Polverini also has an active National Institutes of Health-funded research program that focuses on angiogenic signaling pathways, gene expression, and cell survival mechanisms pertinent to tumor development and angiogenesis-dependent diseases.
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Kathleen Potempa, DNSc, RN, FAAN
Dean and Professor, School of Nursing
Kathleen Potempa, a nationally recognized contributor to nursing education, was appointed Dean and Professor at the University of Michigan's School of Nursing on October 1, 2006. Before coming to the University of Michigan, Dr. Potempa had been Dean of the School of Nursing at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) since 1996 and was appointed Vice President and Dean in September, 2002. Dr. Potempa has had 25 years of experience in nursing education and administration. Prior to joining OHSU, Dr. Potempa was Executive Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the University of Illinois College of Nursing.
Dr. Potempa is a nursing leader who has served on numerous local, regional and national organizational committees, advisory councils and boards. She has served on AACN Task Forces and Committees consistently since 1997 including: Chair of the Task Force on Distance Education and Nursing (1997-1999); Member of the Doctoral Conference Planning Committee (1997-1998; 2000-2002); Member, Task Force on Hallmarks of Professional Practice (2000-2002); and member of the Nominating Committee (1999-2000).
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Douglas L. Strong, MBA
Director and Chief Executive Officer, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers
Doug Strong became Director and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers in August 2006 after serving as interim in that role since October 2005. He joined the University of Michigan Health System in 1998 as Associate Vice President for Health System Finance and Strategy. In 2002 he was also named Interim Chief Financial Officer, and assumed the post permanently in 2004. Prior to coming to the University of Michigan, Strong worked at four other academic medical centers over a 20-year time frame.
Strong came to the University of Michigan from the University of Chicago, where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Associate Dean of the Pritzker School of Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division. Previously, he was Associate Dean for Administration and Finance at the School of Medicine of the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Associate Dean of Planning and Operations at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
Strong holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Health Care Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts and Sciences.
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Robert A. Winfield, MD
Chief Health Officer, University of Michigan; Director, University Health Service, Division of Student Affairs
Robert Winfield, MD, is the director of the University Health Service (UHS) and the Chief Health Officer for the University. He has been a leader in the development of University policy on a variety of health-related concerns.
From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Winfield headed the University's Mental Health Work Group, which created recommendations for far-reaching changes to improve mental health support for students. He co-chaired the SARS Campus Planning Group and he currently co-chairs the Infectious Hazards Planning Group that is focused on preparations for a possible influenza pandemic. In this capacity, he works closely with many units of the University, the Health System and the Washtenaw County Health Department. Dr. Winfield has served for the past two years as a member of the Michigan Healthy Community Task Force and co-chairs the Student Health and Wellness Subcommittee. He currently chairs the Integrated Disability Oversight Committee and co-chairs the Michigan Healthy Community Steering Committee, both charged to improve the health, well-being and productivity of the University faculty and staff.
James O. Woolliscroft, MD
Dean of the Medical School, Lyle C. Roll Professor of Medicine, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Professor, Department of Medical Education
James Woolliscroft, MD, is an internationally recognized medical educator. He has played major roles in medical student, resident and fellow education at the University of Michigan. His leadership has led to multiple educational innovations including: the nation's first medical student clinical skills course using community facilities for the elderly as educational sites, introduction of a multi-station comprehensive clinical assessment for senior students, development of the school's international academic program Global REACH, introduction of a structured clinical examination to assess incoming residents' skills leading to individualized learning agendas, and development of the institution's Clinical Simulation Center. He has also helped to establish standards for education and accreditation at a national level for medical schools and graduate medical education. Dean Woolliscroft has served as chair of the AAMC's Group on Educational Affairs; the AAMC Research in Medical Education Committee; and as a founding member and president of the Clerkship Directors of Internal Medicine. He has also served on several National Board of Medical Examiners committees.
His research interests in medical education have resulted in numerous publications, invited presentations and visiting professorships both across the United States and internationally.
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Ronald Zernicke, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Dean and Professor, School of Kinesiology; Professor Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering; Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical School
Ronald Zernicke's areas of research focus on the functional adaptation of bone to physiological stimuli (exercise, disuse, diet, and disease), bone-cartilage interactions in post-traumatic osteoarthritis, and biomechanical mechanisms underlying control of normal and pathological movements. With more than 570 research publications and three books, his research has been supported by high profile organizations such as the Arthritis Society of Canada, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Ingenuity Fund and Canadian Institutes of Health Research among others.
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