7th Annual Innovations in Global Public Health Conference

April 12, 2025 : Rochester Institute of Technolgy, Rochester, NY

ARE YOU READY TO CHANGE THE WORLD OF GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH?

TAKING PLACE

April 12, 2025

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, NY 14623

About our Conference

Each spring, the Global Public Health Association @ RIT proudly presents the Innovations in Global Public Health Conference, a dynamic gathering that draws leading experts from across the United States and around the world to engage with cutting-edge global health topics. Attended by students, faculty, and staff from RIT and neighboring universities, along with professionals from the Greater Rochester area, this event is an unparalleled opportunity to exchange ideas and drive change.

Mark your calendars for April 12th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., as we host the 7th Annual Conference on RIT’s campus — a full day of transformative conversations, forward-thinking research, and innovative solutions.

This year’s conference will cover a diverse array of global public health issues, addressing today’s most urgent challenges. Through captivating keynote presentations, thought-provoking poster sessions, and lively networking opportunities, attendees will dive into the complexities of global health and uncover breakthrough approaches to improving health outcomes worldwide.

Don’t miss out on this rare chance to be part of a powerhouse of ideas and collaboration, where public health innovators, students, and professionals unite to explore new horizons and chart the future of global health.

Join us at the 7th Annual Innovations in Global Public Health Conference — a day that promises to ignite inspiration, foster impactful dialogue, and drive real-world change in the field of global public health.

OUR SPEAKERS >

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OUR SPEAKERS

SPEAKERS

James Myers

Keynote Speaker

Associate Provost, International & Global Education. Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics with 25 years of experience working in international settings on issues related to public health, public health infrastructure, and ecosystems economics. Project leader and principle investigator for multimillion dollar projects in Haiti, Kosovo, Niger and elsewhere. Primary focus has been on interventions for watershed protection, forest health, and surveillance to prevent infectious diseases such as cholera, malaria, typhoid, and scabies. Other projects have involved surveillance and community education interventions to prevent ambient lead contamination of water and food.

Ian Brissette, PhD

Ian Brissette, PhD is a Research Scientist at the New York State Department of Health and Director of the Bureau of Chronic Disease Evaluation and Research (BCDER). BCDER is responsible for overseeing public health surveillance, performance measurement and program evaluation to support the Department’s State- and CDC-funded chronic disease prevention programs. Dr. Brissette has worked at the New York State Department of Health for over 22 years. He is a behavioral scientist by training with expertise in applying research methods from the social and behavioral sciences to evaluate and improve public health programs.

Jallah M. Kennedy, PhD, MPH, RN

Dr. Kennedy is an epidemiologist, registered nurse, and research scientist with over 30 years of public health, clinical, research, advocacy, education and training, mentorship, and supervisory experience. His global health programs development through Roads To Health and other institutions focused on research; training/mentoring; community; mental health; maternal-child health; infectious diseases; surveillance and emergency preparedness; water, sanitation, and hygiene; chronic/noncommunicable diseases; data analytics; and nutrition and food security programs in targeting rural, hard to reach, and other vulnerable populations.
He holds doctorate and master’s in epidemiology; bachelor’s in premedical, biology and chemistry; registered nursing diploma; and several certifications including personal computer specialist; tobacco cessation specialist; and chronic disease and diabetes self-management.

He is an adjunct faculty of global public health at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York; professor of research and evidence-based practice at Free Pentecostal University in Liberia; adjunct faculty of epidemiology, research methodology, and evidence-based in mental health research at United Methodist University; and senior research fellow at the University of Liberia.
Scientific Officer and chair of the science and partnership committee of the Partnership for Research on Vaccines and Infectious Diseases in Liberia; and coordinator for PhD programs development in public health and biomedical sciences at the University of Liberia. Served as data analyst/epidemiologist at Washington DC Health Department; consultant with the World Health Organization leading the Epi-surveillance-data/analytics for the COVID-19 response at the Ministry of Health and National Public Health Institute of Liberia.

Irshad Altheimer, Ph.D.

Ellen Granberg Endowed Professor. Director, Center for Public Safety Initiatives. Professor, Department of Criminal Justice.

Andrew Sherman, MD, MPH

President of the non-profit organization Netlife (www.netlifeafrica.org), Primary Care Pediatrician -Rochester Regional Health, Global CARE (Community Health and Advocacy Resident Education) Assistant Director - University of Rochester , Rural Health Peace Corps Volunteer (Senegal 2000-2002)

Ruben A. Proano, PhD

Dr. Proano is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at RIT. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on using Operations Research and Prescriptive Analytics to tackle challenges in the healthcare sector.

His research has been supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has applied mathematical modeling to develop strategies for coordinating the global vaccine market and improving the affordability and accessibility of pediatric vaccines in low- and middle-income countries, all while ensuring profitability. He did a sabbatical year at the UNICEF Vaccine Center in Copenhagen, where he designed a stochastic model to analyze the coordination of a centralized safety stock system for Ebola vaccines. Since 2024, he serves on the Technical Advisory Board on Market Access for Vaccines at the World Health Organization.

Michael Herman

Michael Herman is The Founder and Executive Director of The Outer Loop Theater Experience, a Rochester-based 501c3 not-for-profit arts and humanitarian organization. He is also a director, playwright and teacher, who loves nothing more than watching a new play come to life, while increasing access to the arts.

Michael started The Outer Loop in 2009 and has worked with artists of all ages in New York, Chicago and Tanzania. The Outer Loop's work in Tanzania is called The Humanity Project, and lives under the Theater for Global Action umbrella, using theater to enact real world change.

Michael studied Architecture at The Cooper Union, holds undergraduate degrees in Theater and English from The State University of New York at Brockport, and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University.

Dora-Jones Yaidoo

Dora-Jones Yaidoo is a Public Health Nurse at the Cape Coast Metro health directorate, in the Central Region of Ghana. She holds a Master's degree in Public Health and is the current head of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) unit of the Cape Coast Metro Health Directorate. Dora started as a Professional Nurse (State Registered Nurse), and also a State Registered Midwife (SRM). In addition, she also obtained an advanced diploma in Public Health to become a state Registered Public Health Nurse.

Professionally, Dora has risen from the level of a Staff Nurse, to a Deputy Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer (DCNMO). She has also served as a Nurse in- Charge at various wards, a Midwife In-Charge at maternity wards, a district Public Health Nurse and a Metropolitan Public Health Nurse. At the moment, she serves as the Chairperson for the Preventive Health Nurses Society of Ghana (PREHENS-GH).

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