Keynote Speaker for Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Commencement Ceremony

UCI Health Affairs is delighted to announce that Ann Kurth, PhD, CNM, MPH, will be the keynote speaker for the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences commencement ceremony taking place on Saturday, June 17. 

Ann Kurth is President of the New York Academy of Medicine and an early advocate for a no-silos, teamwork approach to healthcare. As a renowned epidemiologist and certified nurse midwife, Dr. Kurth has achieved noteworthy results through a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving that exemplifies the principles fundamental to One Health alliance within UCI’s health disciplines. Like Dr. Kurth, we embrace the belief that problems that seem intractable are surmountable if we work together.

Prior to her role as the leader of the New York Academy of Medicine, Dr. Kurth was dean and Linda Koch Lorimer Professor, Yale School of Nursing, and professor of epidemiology of microbial diseases, Yale School of Public Health. During her tenure at Yale, she co-founded the Yale Institute for Global Health, a cross-university research effort that grew from her personal and professional commitments to HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and global health research in the context of pandemics, climate change and other stressors. 

Kurth’s work extends around the world with funding by multiple institutes of the National Institutes of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNAIDS, CDC, HRSA, and others, with over $20 million awarded as principal investigator. She is past chair of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, and has served on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which sets prevention and screening guidelines for the United States.

Dr. Kurth brings together experts from diverse fields to tackle complex challenges with innovative solutions. This is reflected in her nearly 240 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and scholarly monographs and presentations at hundreds of conferences.

Exemplifying the spirit of excellence and the power of team-work we strive to impart to our graduates, Dr. Kurth’s achievements serve as a model for navigating an increasingly complex and interconnected world. We are grateful to have her share wisdom gleaned from practical experience with our graduates as they head out to heal the world.

Thank you, Bernadette Boden-Albala, MPH, DrPH, Director and Founding Dean of the UCI Program in Public Health, for arranging for Dr. Kurth to serve as our keynote speaker.