Amy Kind, MD, PhD, professor, Geriatrics and Gerontology, has been named inaugural Associate Dean for Social Health Sciences and Programs at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH).

In this role, she will oversee and create synergies among the school’s current and future initiatives focused on the underlying mechanisms and the eradication of health disparities. These include the Center for Health Disparities Research, the Wisconsin Partnership Program, and the Milwaukee-based Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships.

Dr. Kind will guide the growth of policies and programs that are designed to study and eliminate health disparities. She will work closely with leaders in research, education, clinical, and public health realms to build capacity and ensure the advancement of health equity research. She will also serve as a resource for connecting basic and clinical scientists with social scientists to facilitate discoveries in social exposome research, a key area in mechanistic health disparities inquiry.

Dr. Kind is an international leader in this field, with a particular focus on neighborhood-level contextual health disparities. Under her leadership, SMPH can make remarkable progress in our battle against health disparities and structural inequities and advance our goal of health equity for all.

Banner: Dr. Kind will be the first Associate Dean for Social Health Sciences and Programs at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Credit: Clint Thayer/Department of Medicine.