Joseph Amon, Ph.D., MS, has joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights. He took office on October 15th.
Amon, whose research focuses on neglected diseases and populations, is from the Drexel University Dornsaif School of Public Health, where he was director of the Office of Global Health and the Jonathan Mann Global Health and Human Rights Initiative. Director and Professor of Clinical Education in the Department of Community Health and Prevention. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Health and Human Rights Journal, co-published by Drexel in collaboration with Harvard University’s FXB Center for Health and Human Rights.
Since 2004, the Center for Public Health and Human Rights has worked to provide the tools of public health research to empower the world’s most disadvantaged people. Based in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Epidemiology, the center brings together interdisciplinary faculty and global partners to advance policies by governments and global institutions to protect health and human rights.
As director, Amon will continue the center’s work conducting education and research related to stigmatized and historically disenfranchised peoples.
“We live in a time of enormous inequality, where people are struggling to survive, let alone thrive, amid conflict, authoritarianism, financial collapse, crumbling infrastructure, and environmental tipping points. ” says Amon. “The work of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights, which combines the tools of population-based science and human rights law, could not be more important in this context. I am honored to join the Center at this critical time when we need to rebuild trust and confidence in the…
Trained in molecular parasitology, Amon has worked for a wide range of government and non-government organizations, including the CDC, FHI360, Helen Keller International, and Walter Reed Army Research Institute. During his 10-year tenure at Human Rights Watch, he established the Human Rights and Health, Disability, and Environment programs.
Amon uses quantitative, qualitative, and legal/policy analysis to understand how and why certain populations and diseases are ignored, and how political determinants such as laws and their enforcement contribute to health outcomes. We conducted a study on the effects of His research investigated the impact of discrimination on access to preventive care and treatment. censorship; arbitrary detention; The “judicialization” of health. and the role of civil society in responding to infectious disease outbreaks and environmental health threats.
“Joe is an ambitious leader who is committed to the urgent work of research and advocacy to understand the impact of human rights violations on human health and develop rights-based approaches to public health challenges. I am ready to lead the center,” said Ellen J. Johnson. “His depth and breadth of experience will help the Center break new ground in our efforts to drive social change through rigorous science and a deep commitment to those most in need,” said Dr. McKenzie, M.S., Dean of the Bloomberg School. I guess.”
Amon has served on the advisory boards of UNAIDS, the Global Fund, and the WHO, and on the editorial and ethics committees of the Journal of the International AIDS Society. He is also a member of the International AIDS Society and the Lancet Commission on Health and Human Rights, and a founding member of the Coalition to Defend Health in Conflict.
“Joe is a world leader in the field of human rights and has been instrumental in demonstrating the connection between health and human rights while advocating for positive change,” said Dr. Shruti Mehta, Charles Armstrong Professor of Epidemiology. say. “He will undoubtedly lead the Center to innovate and build new collaborations that are essential to ensuring a more just and equitable health system for all.”
Amon holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Hampshire College, a master’s degree from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a doctorate in parasitology from the Uniformed Services University’s F. Edward Herbert School of Medicine. I’m doing it.
He will succeed Chris Baylor, MD, MPH, who will step down in 2022 to become director of the Duke Global Health Institute. Prior to Mr. Amon’s new role, Leonard Rubenstein, J.D., Distinguished Professor of Practice in the Department of Epidemiology, served as interim director.
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Media Contact: Jonathan Eichberger je@jhu.edu or Kris Henry khenry39@jhu.edu
