Dear NYAM Community,

Our network just keeps getting stronger in our pursuit of health equity and a healthy life for all. Today I am thrilled to announce that Kathryn T. Hall, PhD, MPH will join our staff as Senior Vice President (SVP) for Research.

“I am delighted to join the team at NYAM at this critical juncture in the health of our nation. NYAM’s history excites and energizes me, and I am enormously honored to have the ‘opportunity to add something further’ to the great and important work of NYAM.”—Kathryn T. Hall, PhD, MPH

Dr. Hall is currently the Deputy Commissioner for Population Health and Health Equity at the Boston Public Health Commission where she has served since 2021. She is also Assistant Professor, Part Time, Harvard Medical School and Associate Molecular Biologist, Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She has also served as the Director of Basic and Translational Research of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Prior to her academic career, she spent 10 years in the biotech industry at Wyeth and Millennium Pharmaceuticals in drug development.

She is a well-published researcher—including a landmark study on the placebo response—with her academic research at Harvard focused on health equity. She received her PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University and her master’s in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

In her SVP role, she will lead NYAM’s research enterprise, provide strategic leadership to shape and advance the research, evaluation, and policy impact work conducted through our research centers and by our Senior Scholars and Scientists. In addition to building the research portfolio at NYAM, we look forward to her contributions to the overall strategic direction of the organization.

I’ve included below just a few of the many enthusiastic comments we heard about Dr. Hall during our search process. I look forward to welcoming Dr. Hall to NYAM on June 10, and introducing her to our network of esteemed Fellows, Members, partners, supporters, and colleagues in the very near future.

Be well,

Ann Kurth, PhD, MPH, CNM

President

"Please excuse my Brooklyn language, but Kathryn is a freaking genius... she makes connections where no one sees them. That is unique. I've been in the Harvard community since 1985, and I've worked closely with a lot of smart people. Kathryn stands out among them all."— professor at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital

"Kathryn is a visionary leader.... she uses data science to uplift the issues that vulnerable populations face."— director at Boston Public Health Commission

Effective at "modernizing the research methods...entrepreneurial... exceptional emotional intelligence that creates work environments that encourage employees to produce their best work."— professor at Boston University