Susan Blumenthal

Last updated
Ed Markey
​
(m. 1988)​
Susan Blumenthal
Susan Blumenthal at Earthshot Prize 2022 (FjEdLNnWAAIK46r) (1).jpg
Blumenthal in 2022
Director of the Office on Women's Health
In office
1993–1997
Alma mater Reed College (BA)
Harvard University (MPA)
University of Tennessee (MD)
Uniformed service
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Service / branchFlag of the United States Public Health Service.svg U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Years of service1984–2004
Rank US-O8 insignia.svg Rear Admiral
Awards

Susan Jane Blumenthal (born June 29, 1952) is an American physician, global health expert, psychiatrist and public health advocate. [2] With more than two decades of service as a senior government health leader in the administrations of four U.S. presidents, Blumenthal served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health and director of the Office on Women's Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and senior global health advisor within the HHS. [2] [3] She also was a research branch chief at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the chair of the NIH Health and Behavior Coordinating Committee. [4] [5] As of 2016, she has served as the senior medical and policy advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, a senior fellow in health policy at New America, and a clinical professor at Tufts and Georgetown Schools of Medicine. [6] [7] Blumenthal is the Public Health Editor of the Huffington Post . [8] [9] She is married to United States Senator Ed Markey.

Contents

Education

Blumenthal is of Jewish heritage. [10] Her mother was afflicted by cancer while Blumenthal was a child, strongly influencing her decision to become a medical professional. [11] Blumenthal received her undergraduate degree from Reed College and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She completed a residency program at Stanford University School of Medicine and a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. Blumenthal attended medical school at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, completing clinical clerkships at Stanford University School of Medicine. [12]

Career

Blumenthal in 2003 Susan Blumenthal, M.D, M.P.A.png
Blumenthal in 2003

For more than two decades, Blumenthal served as a national leader and senior government health official, researcher, and policymaker in the administrations of four U.S. presidents. [2] [9] She served as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, as well as rear admiral and senior science/e-health advisor in the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). [13] From 1993 to 1997, Blumenthal served as the first deputy assistant secretary for women's health and director of the Office on Women's Health. [14] In this position, she oversaw a $4 billion budget of women's health research, services and education programs across HHS agencies including NIH, CDC and FDA and worked with other government departments and private sector organizations to improve women's health. [15] Blumenthal established new initiatives to advance women's health and the study of sex differences, including the National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health Program at major academic health centers across the country, the National Women's Health Information Center, a resource hub available on the internet and through a toll free telephone number, and appointed regional women's health coordinators. [2] [15] [16] [17] During this time, she served as a White House health advisor. During her tenure, funding and attention to women's health significantly increased and women's health care became a national priority. [17]

Blumenthal organized and chaired the "Healthy Women 2000" Capitol Hill Conference Series and hosted an award-winning 13-part television series on women's health issues. She also participated as a member of the President's Interagency Council on Women, and was the United States representative to the World Health Organization's Global Commission on Women's Health and to the US/Mexico Bi-national Commission on Women's Health. [12] She served as co-chair of the US-Canada Conference on Women's Health and chair of the Federal Women's Health and the Environment Coordinating Committee. A critical focus of Blumenthal's work has been defeating breast cancer. She established many innovative, cross-cutting Federal agency programs, [18] including the “Missiles to Mammograms” initiative, partnering with the CIA, NASA, and United States Department of Defense to focus missile, space and intelligence imaging technology on the improvement of early detection of breast and other cancers. [12] [15] [17] [19] [20] [21] This work served as a foundation for the development of computer assisted diagnosis, 3D imaging of tumors and other advancements in the field. [22]

Blumenthal also served as U.S. Assistant Surgeon General. [5] Her work focused on advancing global health, addressing health disparities, improving mental health, preventing violence and suicide, and emphasizing the importance of disease prevention. Throughout her career, Blumenthal has worked to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic since it first emerged in 1981 and is currently senior medical advisor at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. She was among the first in the government to address this disease's impact on women. [6] [15] She has chaired major conferences, established research initiatives, and written articles to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS in America and worldwide. [12] Additionally, Blumenthal has been involved in the national response to bioterrorism and in advancing health care reform efforts. [9]

Blumenthal was a pioneer in applying information technology to improve health, establishing some of the first health internet sites in the government. [2] [12] [15] [23] Health education and mentoring of students has also been a focus of her work. [22] She has served as the Elizabeth Blackwell Lecturer and Bundy Visiting Professor at the Mayo Clinic, the Lila Wallis Distinguished Professor of Women's Health at Weill Cornell Medical College, as a visiting professor at Stanford University in Washington, as distinguished visiting professor of women's studies at Brandeis University, and as a visiting fellow at the Harvard University School of Government. [24]

Prior to these positions, Blumenthal was head of the Suicide Research Unit and coordinator of Project Depression, the first major public awareness campaign on this disease at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She served as a national spokesperson, increased scientific and public attention, and stimulated research and prevention efforts to address these public health problems. She also was a senior advisor to the White House Council on Youth Violence and established and served as the director of the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center at HHS and launched its website, safeyouth.org. Blumenthal edited a book, Suicide over the Life Cycle and was the editor of the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide. [25] [26] In 1984, she was commissioned as a medical officer in the United States Public Health Service, rising to the rank of two-star admiral. [2] [15] In 1985, Blumenthal was appointed as the chief of the Basic Prevention and Behavioral Medicine Research Branch at NIMH. [12] During her tenure at NIH, she worked with other colleagues and advocates to expose the inequities in women's health research and the lack of focus on sex differences in disease. [2]

Blumenthal was the founding director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. She served as chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center. [8] [15] Blumenthal was co-chair of the Commission on U.S. Federal Leadership in Health and Medicine: Charting Future Directions and also directed an initiative to promote peace through health in the Middle East. [27] She was a member of the Global Business Network. [28]

Later career

Blumenthal in 2016 Susan Blumenthal in 2016.jpg
Blumenthal in 2016

Currently, Blumenthal is public health editor at HuffPost , [8] the senior policy and medical advisor at AmfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, [6] and a clinical professor at Tufts Medical Center and the Georgetown University School of Medicine. [15] She is also a senior fellow in health policy at New America, where she directs the SNAP to Health initiative that promotes nutrition and obesity prevention in Federal Food Assistance Programs and explores ways to apply information technology to advance health. [7] [21] Additionally, Blumenthal serves on the board of directors of several philanthropic and educational organizations and is an advisory council member of the MIT Media Lab. [29] [15]

Awards

Blumenthal has received numerous honorary doctorates and medals, and has been named a top doctor by The New York Times , Ladies' Home Journal , and The Medical Herald. [12] In 2006, Blumenthal was decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal of the United States Public Health Service, its highest honor “for distinguished and pioneering leadership, groundbreaking contributions, and dedicated public service that has improved the health of women, our Nation, and the world”. [2] She has been awarded other medals for her contributions to advancing health, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the Outstanding Service Medal, the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal, and the Commendation Medal. [5] In 2009, she received the Health Leader of the Year Award from the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, its highest honor. [2] [30] Additionally, Blumenthal was the recipient of the Abram Sachar Silver Medallion from Brandeis University, in recognition of her pioneering leadership in women's health. [31] She is the recipient of the Dr. Rosalind Franklin Centennial Life in Discovery Award [8] and the Women's Leadership Award from Save the Children. She was honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Association of American University Women, and named a “Rock Star of Science” by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation. [5] [22] Blumenthal has served as the commencement speaker and received honorary degrees and doctorates from universities in the United States and around the world in recognition of her contributions to improving national and global health, and for “her innovative work in identifying and championing understudied public health problems, and marshaling the resources of the government to address them." [2] [5] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonia Novello</span> 14th Surgeon General of the United States

Antonia Coello Novello is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. Novello was the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General. Novello also served as Commissioner of Health for the State of New York from 1999 to 2006. Novello has received numerous awards including more than fifty honorary degrees, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2000, and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Her memoir, Duty Calls: Lessons Learned from an Unexpected Life of Service, was published in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surgeon General of the United States</span> Head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. The surgeon general's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), which is housed within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis W. Sullivan</span> American politician (born 1933)

Louis Wade Sullivan is an active health policy leader, minority health advocate, author, physician, and educator. He served as the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services during President George H. W. Bush's Administration and was Founding Dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Koh</span> American physician

Howard Kyongju Koh is the former United States Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), after being nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernadine Healy</span> US physician

Bernadine Patricia Healy was an American cardiologist and the first female director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

amfAR Nonprofit AIDS research organization

amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of AIDS-related public policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye Glenn Abdellah</span> American nurse (1919–2017)

Faye Glenn Abdellah was an American pioneer in nursing research. Abdellah was the first nurse and woman to serve as the Deputy Surgeon General of the United States. Preceding her appointment, she served in active duty during the Korean War, where she earned a distinguished ranking equivalent to a Navy Rear Admiral, making her the highest-ranked woman and nurse in the Federal Nursing Services at the time. In addition to these achievements, Abdellah led the formation of the National Institute of Nursing Research at the NIH, and was the founder and first dean of the Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). A few of Abdellah's more passionate interests in public health included the importance of long-term care planning for elderly patients; the need to strengthen nursing school infrastructure; and the necessity of patient-centered approaches in nursing. In 2000, Abdellah was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. During her acceptance speech, Abdellah made the following quote: "We cannot wait for the world to change. .. Those of us with intelligence, purpose, and vision must take the lead and change the world. .. I promise never to rest until my work has been completed!”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven K. Galson</span> American public health physician

Steven Kenneth Galson is an American public health physician. He is currently a Senior Advisor at the Boston Consulting Group and Independent Board Member at Biocryst Pharmaceuticals and Elephas Biosciences. Until 2021 he was Senior Vice President for Research and Development at Amgen, the California-based biopharmaceutical company. He is also a Trustee and Professor-at-Large at the Keck Graduate Institute for Applied Life Sciences in Claremont, California. He is a retired rear admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and public health administrator who served as the acting Surgeon General of the United States from October 1, 2007 – October 1, 2009. He served concurrently as acting Assistant Secretary for Health from January 22, 2009 to June 25, 2009, and as the Deputy Director and Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the Food and Drug Administration from 2001 to 2007. As the Acting Surgeon General, he was the commander of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and, while serving as the Assistant Secretary for Health, was the operational head of the Public Health Service.

Judith A. Salerno, MD, MS is a physician executive and the President of the New York Academy of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Hamburg</span> American public health administrator (born 1955)

Margaret Ann "Peggy" Hamburg is an American physician and public health administrator, who is serving as the chair of the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and co-chair of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). She served as the 21st Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from May 2009 to April 2015.

Lana Skirboll is the former director of the National Institutes of Health Office of Science Policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Giroir</span> American physician-scientist (born 1960)

Brett P. Giroir is an American pediatrician. He was formerly the U.S. assistant secretary for health, a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and an acting Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James W. Curran</span> Professor of epidemiology and pioneering HIV/AIDS researcher

James W. Curran is professor of epidemiology and dean of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. He is an adjunct Professor of Medicine and Nursing, and Co-Director and Principal Investigator of the Emory Center for AIDS Research. He is immediate past chair of the board on Population Health and Public Health Practice of the Institute of Medicine and served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Schools of Public Health. Additionally, he holds an endowed chair known as the James W. Curran Dean of Public Health. Curran is considered to be a pioneer, leader, and expert in the field of HIV/AIDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Pinn</span> American pathologist

Vivian Winona Pinn is an American physician-scientist and pathologist known for her advocacy of women's health issues and concerns, particularly for ensuring that federally funded medical studies include female patients, and well as encouraging women to follow medical and scientific careers. She served as associate director for research on women's health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), concurrently was the inaugural director of NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health. Pinn previously taught at Harvard University, Tufts University, and Howard University College of Medicine. Since retiring from NIH in 2011, Pinn has continued working as a senior scientist emerita at the Fogarty International Center.

Suniti Solomon was an Indian physician and microbiologist who pioneered AIDS research and prevention in India after having diagnosed the first Indian AIDS cases among the Chennai sex workers in 1986 along with her student Sellappan Nirmala. She founded the Y R Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education in Chennai. The Indian government conferred the National Women Bio-scientist Award on her. On 25 January 2017, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri for medicine for her contributions towards diagnosis and treatment of HIV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Slater</span> American physician (born 1945)

Eve Elizabeth Slater is an American physician who served as the United States Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2003. Slater received her B.A from Vassar College in 1967 and M.D. from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1971. She completed residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.In 1976, she was appointed the Chief Resident in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, the first woman to appointed to this position. Dr. Slater is currently Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S), where she has taught for over 35 years. She is board certified in internal medicine and cardiology and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.(FACC). At MGH, she led the Hypertension Unit, as Assistant Professor of Medicine. Harvard Medical School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Vaughan</span> American biochemist

Martha Vaughan was an American biochemist at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. She holds the title of emeritus scientist in the Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation and previously served as chief of NHLBI’s Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism. At the NIH, much of her work has focused on cell signaling, cellular regulation, lipid metabolism, and the identification of key proteins associated with cholera toxin and pertussis toxin. Vaughan first came to the NIH in the agency’s fledgling National Heart Institute, now NHLBI, and with the title of senior assistant surgeon worked on protein synthesis in the Building 3 laboratory of biochemist and public scientist Christian B. Anfinsen, Ph.D., who went on to share the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Susan J. Curry is an American health management and policy scholar. She retired from the University of Iowa in 2020 and is currently emerita dean and distinguished professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. She served as Interim Executive Vice President and Provost at University of Iowa from 2017 to 2019.

Susan S. Ellenberg is an American statistician specializing in the design of clinical trials and in the safety of medical products. She is a professor of biostatistics, medical ethics and health policy in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She was the 1993 president of the Society for Clinical Trials and the 1999 President of the Eastern North American Region of the International Biometric Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia J. García</span> Peruvian professor

Patricia Jannet García Funegra is a Peruvian professor of public and global health at Cayetano Heredia University. She originally trained as a clinician before focusing on research and public health. Her work also focuses on reproductive health, sexually transmitted diseases, and medical informatics. In 2016-17 García was the Minister of Health of Peru. She was the first Peruvian to be elected to the US National Academy of Medicine in 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Dr. Susan Jane Blumenthal". cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov. National Institutes of Health . Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "COA Frontline, Volume 46, Issue 4" (PDF). Commissioned Officers Association. May 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Shalom Magazine, Ed. 18". Shalom Magazine. Summer 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Physicians: Dr. Susan J Blumenthal". Changing the Face of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Susan J Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A." Epernicus. 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "amfAR :: Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A :: The Foundation for AIDS Research :: HIV / AIDS Research". www.amfar.org. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  7. 1 2 "Susan Blumenthal - New America". New America. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Susan Blumenthal, M.D." The Huffington Post. Huffington Post. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Doctor Honoris Causa for Susan J. Blumenthal | Sapienza - Università di Roma". en.uniroma1.it. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  10. ↑ "Ed Markey's Lawrence, Malden roots". 21 September 2019.
  11. ↑ "Changing the Face of Medicine | Susan J. Blumenthal".
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dr. Susan J. Blumenthal". U.S. National Library of Medicine. U.S> National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  13. ↑ "Women of Distinction Program". AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  14. ↑ "Changing the Face of Medicine | Susan J. Blumenthal". cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Jewish Heroes of America". seymourbrody.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  16. ↑ "Women's Health: Decades Later, What's Still Neglected". The Huffington Post. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  17. 1 2 3 "Blumenthal speaks up for women's health care". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. 3 April 2000. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  18. ↑ "Women's Health: Decades Later, What's Still Neglected". The Huffington Post. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  19. ↑ "IC Support for Breast Cancer Detection Research — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  20. ↑ "From Missiles to Mammograms". meyerweb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  21. 1 2 "Q&A with Susan Blumenthal on recent SNAP report | Public Health Newswire". www.publichealthnewswire.org. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  22. 1 2 3 "Geoffrey Beene | Susan Blumenthal". www.geoffreybeene.com. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  23. ↑ Blumenthal, Susan (August 2008). "Peace Through Health: A Mapping of Cooperative Programs in Palestine and Israel" (PDF). Palestine/Israel Health Initiative. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Brandeis Imprint, Winter 2005" (PDF). Brandeis University. 2005. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  25. ↑ "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide" (PDF). U.S. Public Health Service. 1999. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  26. ↑ Blumenthal, Susan J.; Kupfer, David J. (1990-01-01). Suicide Over the Life Cycle: Risk Factors, Assessment, and Treatment of Suicidal Patients. American Psychiatric Pub. ISBN   9780880483070.
  27. ↑ Blumenthal, Susan. "Advancing Trust and Reconciliation Among Palestinians and Israelis" (PDF). Center for the Study of the Presidency. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Susan Blumenthal". Global Business Network . Archived from the original on 2010-12-30.
  29. ↑ "Person Overview ‹ Susan Blumenthal – MIT Media Lab". MIT Media Lab. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  30. ↑ "amfAR :: amfAR Policy and Medical Advisor Blumenthal Named Health Leader of the Year :: The Foundation for AIDS Research :: HIV / AIDS Research". www.amfar.org. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  31. ↑ "Brandeis Imprint, Vol. 25, No. 2" (PDF). Brandeis University National Women's Committee. Winter 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.