Dr. Ruth Etzel is a Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Dr. Etzel has a broad background in public health, with specific training and expertise in pediatrics, preventive medicine, and children's environmental health. From 2009 to 2012 she served as the Senior Officer for Environmental Health Research in the Department of Public Health and Environment at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Previously, as a Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service, Dr. Etzel served in numerous public-sector leadership positions including US CDC (Founding Chief of the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch), US Department of Agriculture (Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Risk Assessment) and US Indian Health Service (Research Director at the Alaska Native Medical Center).
Dr. Etzel was a member of the US National Institutes of Health's First Expert Panel on the Management of Asthma and the US Department of Defense Science Board Task Force on Gulf War Health Effects. Dr. Etzel is the founding editor of Pediatric Environmental Health (a 3rd edition of the book was published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2011). This influential book has helped to train hundreds of doctors who care for children about how to recognize, diagnose, treat, and prevent illness in children from hazards in the environment. For more than 20 years she has worked with international organizations to educate health professionals about environmental health and to build their capacity to conduct environmental investigations.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES (Speaking, Spoken, and Authored)