APTR | Promoting Health Through Prevention Education and Research

Sign-up for the APTR fellowship interest list

Application Cycle: Closed

The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) are seeking applications for the thirteenth Luther L. Terry Senior Fellowship in Preventive Medicine. The fellow serves as ODPHP’s Senior Clinical Advisor for a duration of two years. ODPHP is located within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, which is within the Office of the Secretary. ODPHP is directed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Disease Prevention & Health Promotion), who reports directly to the HHS Assistant Secretary for Health.

The fellow is selected by a committee composed of representatives from academic medical associations and ODPHP. The combination of these associations and societies represents the academic disciplines that have a role in identifying the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to integrate preventive medicine with medical education and practice.

The Luther Terry Fellowship provides an unparalleled opportunity for professional growth and development as a national figure in both prevention policy and medical education. The fellowship is an excellent opportunity for a clinician to gain substantial health policy experience. The fellow is engaged in policy development and decision making at the highest levels within the Department of Health & Human Services. He/she has frequent contact with the public health community and gains substantial insight into the operations and interactions of its constituent members.

Fellowship Description

Although specific projects of the Luther Terry Fellow depend on the activities within ODPHP during the fellow's appointment, a description of activities of the current and previous fellows gives an idea of the scope and breadth of the fellow's work.

Selected activities of the current Luther Terry Fellow include representing ODPHP on the Office of Adolescent Health Working Group, HHS Interagency Seasonal Influenza Task Force, HHS Interagency Work Group on Multiple Chronic Conditions, participating in the development of Healthy People 2020 and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (7th edition), and serving as ODPHP’s liaison to the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Previous fellows have addressed issues such as clinical preventive services guidelines and strategies for their incorporation into practice, school health initiatives, and evaluation of the preventive practices of primary care providers. Fellows have also participated in the HHS Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health, development of Healthy People 2010, coordination of HHS agencies on the Pfeisteria investigation in Eastern coastal waterways, promotion of adult immunizations, and increasing the emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion in the medical school curriculum.
In addition to specific projects, the Luther Terry Fellow is a key person within the Department to assist ODPHP in:

Developing policy papers for the Department
Making presentations to interest groups and legislators
Providing technical expertise, clinical experience and research analysis applied to various public health issues
Developing briefing materials for the Secretary of HHS, the Assistant Secretary for Health, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health
Serving as ODPHP’s representative on interagency and interdepartmental collaborations

The Luther Terry Fellow also oversees the Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Scholarship Program and is primarily responsible for the mentoring of fellows, residents and public health interns as they rotate through ODPHP. He/she serves as a mentor for students of public health and preventive medicine and provides them the opportunity to work with leading public health experts in the field of disease prevention and health promotion.

Background

The Luther Terry Fellowship provides intensive experience in a health policy setting while the fellow benefits ODPHP by providing technical expertise in support of the Department's prevention policies and programs. This fellowship provides a critical link between ODPHP and the medical and public health communities and offers a physician valuable experience in health policy development and implementation.

Luther Leonidas Terry, for whom the fellowship is named, was Surgeon General of the Public Health Service from 1961 to 1965. During his tenure in this position, Dr. Terry established and chaired the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health which produced the first Surgeon General's report on the relationship between smoking and health. The report, Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, concluded that lung cancer and chronic bronchitis are causally related to cigarette smoking. This landmark Surgeon General's report stimulated increased concern about tobacco on the part of the American public and government policy makers and led to a broad-based anti-smoking campaign. The report was also responsible for the passage of the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 which mandated the familiar Surgeon General's health warnings on cigarette packages. Dr. Terry's pioneering research on the health hazards of cigarette smoking serves as a model for the work of all Luther Terry Fellows at ODPHP. Similar to Dr. Terry, the fellow uses his or her medical background to help influence disease prevention and health promotion policy on a national level.

Eligibility

The applicant must possess an MD or DO degree and have completed a preventive medicine and/or primary care residency. If a primary care physician, an MPH or equivalent degree is required.
The applicant must be a U.S. Citizen, non-citizen national, or foreign national possessing a visa permitting permanent residence in the U.S. (Alien Registration or “Green Card”). Student visas and temporary work visas do not qualify.

Expected Start Date: Summer 2013

More Information

For more information on ODPHP visit http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/

For more information about this fellowship contact APTR at (202) 463-0550, ext. 137or Email

The Luther L. Terry Senior Fellowship in Preventive Medicine is coordinated by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS), Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP).

^top