Will Humble, MPH, longtime director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, has been appointed division director for health policy and evaluation at the Center for Population Science and Discovery at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.
A Tucson native, Humble is scheduled to join the UA April 13 and will report to Elizabeth Calhoun, PhD, MEd, associate vice president for population health sciences and executive director of the Center for Population Science and Discovery.
“The Center for Population Science and Discovery Center is well-positioned to bring the kind of analytical depth needed to catalyze improvements in population health in Arizona,” said Dr. Calhoun. “Will brings unique skills and strong relationships to the center – a perfect fit for our strategic goal to create linkages among researchers, public health organizations, health providers, health systems and payers to improve population health and reduce health-care costs,” she added.
“Bringing together interdisciplinary partners across a range of organizations, from academia to city planning, to classic public health rapidly is becoming the new model for improving population health,”said Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia, MD, UA senior vice president for health sciences. “We’re delighted to bring Director Humble on board to develop intervention partnerships across population health sectors, including state, federal and local public health departments, community and non-profit organizations, tribal and border organizations, the local and Arizona media and academia.”
The AHSC Center for Population Science and Discovery was developed in response to the recommendations of the faculty-led AHSC Population Health/Health Outcomes Advisory Council to further leverage AHSC’s established strengths in population health and health outcomes, health-care policy and health disparities research. The center rapidly is becoming Arizona’s “go-to” clearing house for identifying evidence-based solutions and best practices to improve population health and promote health equity throughout Arizona.
