Illinois Medicine

medicine awards AWARD AWARD LEADER IN PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVES ANET LIN, MD '99, MPH '04, has orchestrated multidisciplinary teams of nurses, public health professionals, physicians, business leaders, engineers and others to effect change on a global scale in areas ranging from HIV diagnosis to natural disaster field work. In recognition of her innovation and drive, she received the 2017 College of Medicine Emerging Innovator Award. As an associate professor of emergency medicine, director of health systems development in the Center for Global Health, and an affiliate associate professor of community health sciences in the UIC School of Public Health, Lin has combined her interests to tackle societal medical problems. Her insightfulness has pioneered a way to identify HIV during emergency room exams. And her innovative approach to natural-disaster field work in other countries has given caregivers worldwide new ways to bridge health disparities. Until recently, Lin served as director of the International Emergency Medicine and Global Health Fellowship at UIC, a post she held for 11 years. During that time, she worked extensively in Latin America, Africa and Asia to increase access to quality health care in areas with limited resources. Her ability to coordinate people, organizations and resources helped create a disaster-risk re-education training program for the people of Haiti, who have been affected by hurricanes and earthquakes. Closer to home, Lin serves as the principal investigator of a program, Project HEAL, that works to increase HIV and hepatitis C vaccination education, awareness, testing and linkage to care. "What she's done with HIV screening in the emergency department is remarkable. It's identified many people who did not know they were HIV positive. Their lives will forever be affected in a very empowering way," says Terry Vanden Hoek, MD, head of the department of emergency medicine. Lin received the University's Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013 and served as chair of the International Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians. She is currently the secretary/treasurer of the Illinois Chapter of the College of Emergency Physicians. A PUBLIC FACE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INCERE, KNOWLEDGEABLE AND AMBITIOUS, 2017 Distinguished Alumnus honoree Terry Mason, MD '78, who now leads the Cook County Department of Public Health, became a doctor to address the health challenges of African-Americans. The "death rates were higher and every indicator was worse," he says. "So I became a physician to improve those numbers." After completing residencies in general surgery and urology and working in private practice for a time, Mason began hosting "Doctor in the House" for Chicago's WVON-FM in 1992. Believing that food was the most important driver of disease prevention, he founded the Center for New Life in 1994 to treat chronic diseases with diet modification and exercise. "We could put a clinic on every corner in America, but it wouldn't make much difference in outcomes," Mason says. "Stroke, obesity and cancer are all driven by eating the right or the wrong foods." Ten years later, he launched Restart4Health, a weekly program that met at various Chicago locations to provide information and support that encouraged Chicagoans to adopt healthy eating and lifestyle habits. With a community-outreach background and a public voice from his radio show, he was tapped by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2005 to become commissioner of the City of Chicago Department of Public Health, a role where he oversaw the city's food protection, environmental permitting, immunization, and prevention efforts for communicable diseases. With more than 1,200 employees and an annual budget of $200 million, Mason's department also studied the root causes of community health issues, including poverty, housing and transportation. Four years later he assumed the role of chief medical officer and chief operating officer for the Cook County Department of Public Health, a post he holds today. "With a solid understanding of both the clinical delivery and the public health sides of health care, Dr. Mason has been the best choice for these important roles," says Jay Noren, MD, MPH, associate dean for leadership development. Janet Lin Terry Mason E M E R G I N G I N N O V A T O R D I S T I N G U I S H E D A L U M N U S S J I L L I N O I S M E D I C I N E | 31

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