Today, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul appointed FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.
Dr. Bassett joined the FXB Center in 2018, following four years of service as New York City’s health commissioner. During her time at the FXB Center, Dr. Bassett strengthened the Center’s focus on structural racism both domestically and abroad, including a recently announced racial justice program. Dr. Bassett is a sought-after public health expert and has appeared in various media outlets and publications throughout the pandemic.
Dr. Bassett will take a leave of absence starting in December 2021 to serve in this role. Dr. Natalia Linos will lead the FXB Center during Dr. Bassett’s leave. Professor Jacqueline Bhabha, the FXB Center’s Research Director, will continue to lead other major Center initiatives, including the Forced Migration and Child Protection Programs.
Dr. Linos is a social epidemiologist and the Executive Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard. She has over 15 years of experience working at the global and local levels on some of the most pressing public health challenges of our time: from climate change to systemic racism. Since 2019, she has helped build a new research area for the FXB Center focused on racial justice. Along with Dr. Bassett, she co-leads the two largest programs in this area, namely to create an actionable field of scholarship on structural racism and health and make the public health case for reparations. These efforts build on their work together, including at the New York City Health Department and research on the social, legal and political determinants of health. Prior to her role at Harvard, Natalia worked at the United Nations for over a decade in diverse roles.
The FXB Center congratulates Drs. Bassett and Linos on their new roles.
Learn more about the FXB Center.