LAGHC 2024

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dr. Linda A. Vanotoo, PhD, MBA, MBChB

Dr. Linda Amarkai Vanotoo is a distinguished leader and expert in the field of public health with a rich and diverse background. With qualifications including a BSc. in Human Biology, MBChB, Master of Tropical Pediatrics, Certificate in Applied Epidemiology, Certificate in Health Systems Strengthening, and a PhD in Public Health, Dr. Vanotoo brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her current role.

With over four decades of experience in clinical and public health practice, Dr. Vanotoo has held various leadership positions across Ghana's health sector. She has served as a Country Director for Results for Development (R4D) in Ghana, Senior Capacity Development Advisor for Evaluate for Health, and Regional Director of Health Service for both Greater Accra and Western Regions. Dr. Vanotoo's career highlights include successfully managing the Accelerator Program into its 5th year with impactful results, supporting the scale-up of Primary Care Provider networks, and facilitating health research focused on improving access to healthcare in hard-to-reach communities. She has also played a key role in developing essential health services packages and health information strategic plans to enhance data harmonization and governance in Ghana.

Currently, as the Senior Program Director for Community and Primary Health Care at R4D in the USA, Dr. Vanotoo leads efforts to strengthen systems for frontline community health workers, leveraging digital innovation to drive health systems change and improve access to quality healthcare for universal health coverage. Dr. Vanotoo is recognized for her exceptional skills in stakeholder engagement, partnership building, critical thinking, and team management. She is frequently called upon to mentor and coach team members and has a strong track record of facilitating small and large team meetings. Her expertise extends to reviewing manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and providing guidance to Fellowship and PhD candidates. With her extensive experience and dedication to improving healthcare systems, Dr. Linda Amarkai Vanotoo is a valuable asset to any conference or discussion on public health and healthcare delivery.

 

Dr. Howard Hu M.D., MPH, Sc.D

Dr. Howard Hu is a physician-epidemiologist, Professor, and Chair of the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Dr. Hu trained in internal medicine, preventive medicine, and epidemiology. He has served as a Professor, Department Chair, and Dean at Harvard, the University of Michigan, and the University of Toronto.

Since 2020, Dr. Hu has been a Professor and the Flora L. Thornton Chair of the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Dr. Hu has led international teams investigating the determinants of adult chronic disease and impaired child development in NIH-funded population-based studies in the USA, Mexico, and India, generating over 400 publications and winning many awards along the way. He also chaired the Research Commission of the International Physician for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1992-1995), served as a Senior Faculty Fulbright Scholar in India (2000-2001), served on four fact-finding missions for Physicians for Human Rights, and continues to serve as the co-leader of the Global Burden of Disease-Pollution, Climate, and Health initiative; the Early Life Exposures in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) project; and the USC Sustainability and Healthcare initiative. Dr. Hu also serves as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation, the Co-Chair of the Research Council of the Public Health Foundation of India, and a member of the Advisory Council for Physicians for Human Rights.

 

ENVIRONMENT THEME SPEAKERS

Dr. Max Aung, PhD, MPH

Dr. Max Aung is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at the USC Keck School of Medicine, and a JPB Environmental Health Fellow through Harvard University. Max’s research program focuses on investigating biological mechanisms linking environmental exposures to maternal and child health outcomes. He uses translational approaches to advance environmental health research, including experimental models, epidemiological studies, community-engagement, and science communication and policy translation.

 

Rachael Jones PHD, MPH

Dr. Rachael Jones is Professor and Chairwoman of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health . She also serves as Director of the UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and the Southern California Education and Research Center, which supports graduate and post-doctoral training in occupational health disciplines at UCLA and UC Irvine. Dr. Jones completed her graduate training at the University of California, Berkeley, and was a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Utah prior to joining UCLA.

 

Barune Thapa, MS

As the 2021 Harvard Sheldon Traveling Fellow, Barune explored the impact of intersecting global forces of neoliberal policy and the COVID-19 pandemic on Majhigaun village in Nepal. Throughout Barune’s research, he collaborated with prominent global health equity organizations such as Partners in Health, the HEAL Initiative, GlobeMed, and Right to Health Action. Additionally, Barune’s master thesis focused on the correlation between redlining and COVID-19 under the guidance of Dr. Joia Mukherjee, CMO of PIH. Currently, Barune is enrolled as a medical student at Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine.

 
 

HEALTH SYSTEMS THEME SPEAKERS

Lord Carter-Edwards, PhD, MPH

At the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine. , Dr. Carter-Edwards leads the Office of Community Engagement, which seeks to bring the community into the school vice versa through outreach, education, practice, service, and research. Additionally, at the national level, she is the co-chair of the DEIA Enterprise Committee with the Clinical Translational and Science Award Program. As a cardiovascular social epidemiologist and health educator, she has over 25 years of experience conducting programs and studies in faith communities, with national expertise in community-engaged research and clinical and translational science.

 

Stephen Commins, PhD

Stephen Commins is a Lecturer in Regional and International Development in the Department of Urban Planning, Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA. He has over four decades of program experience with the World Bank, the UK government, UN agencies and international NGOs in programs related to human, social and environmental development, as well as specific contexts of disaster and FCV settings.  He is currently a consultant with the World Bank’s Social Protection and Jobs global practice, a Research Associate with ODI’s Poverty and Governance, and the co-lead for the Safety and Security team in the African Cities Research Consortium. 

He was Senior Human Development Specialist, Human Development Network and was one of the co-authors of the World Bank’s World Development Report 2004, including fragility and service delivery  His work has included the synthesis paper on service delivery and fragility for OECD/DAC, governance and urban fragility for OECD/DAC, a policy note and guidance resource for designing Multi-Donor Trust Funds or ‘Pooled Funds’ in fragile states, and eight years as an advisor for the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium.  Other projects have included a study of five World Bank Poverty Alleviation Funds in FCV South Asia contexts, support for World Development Report 2017 (Governance and the Law), a project on with IDS Sussex on ‘Cities, Violence and Order’, and a background paper on FCV and Education for World Development Report 2018 (Education).

 

Emily Conron, MPP

As the director of Global and Federal Affairs, Emily leads government relations, policy, and advocacy efforts at the Global Health Technologies Coalition, World Vision US, and Sabin Vaccine Institute. At PATH’s Global Health Technologies Coalition, she enhanced policy impact, developed proposals for increased resources in global health product development, strengthened connections with federal agencies and Congress, and secured legislative victories such as the passage of the Global Health Innovation Act. Having began her career at the Sabin Vaccine Institute, she led the outreach for the END7 campaign and has held leadership roles in the global health advocacy community, including co-chairing the Global Health Council’s Budget Roundtable.

 

Jonathan Lascher

Jonathan Lascher joined Partners In Health (PIH) in 2009. He spent several years managing programs and operations in Haiti, including the response efforts to the 2010 earthquake and cholera outbreak, as well as the country's first cholera vaccination campaign. In 2014, he helped found Partners In Health in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and served as PIH Sierra Leone's Chief Operating Officer from 2014 to 2016 and Executive Director from 2017 to 2021. After leaving Sierra Leone in 2021, Jonathan returned to the U.S. to study medicine. He is currently a first-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and is a member of the school's global health pathway, where he will focus some of his training and research in support of Sierra Leone. Since leaving West Africa, Jonathan remains engaged with PIH Sierra Leone where he serves as a strategic advisor to the leadership team. Before joining PIH, Jonathan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Togo, where he worked with the community, local government, and the NGO, Integrate Health, to open the region’s first community-based HIV/AIDS treatment center.  In 2019, Jonathan was nominated to be a mentor for President Obama’s Scholar program at the University of Chicago. Jonathan graduated from The George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in international Affairs, African Studies, and Peace Studies.