Turnock's Public Health

Guthrie (Gus) Birkhead, MD, MPH - Dr. Birkhead is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Public Health, University at Albany. Until September 2015, he worked at the New York State Department of Health for 27 years in positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as Deputy Commissioner for Public Health from 2007 to 2015. In that position, he provided direction and oversight to all public health programs in the department including infectious disease, chronic disease, environmental health, nutrition, the public health laboratory, public health practice, and public health preparedness. He is a past member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and past member and chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Council. He is a graduate of Princeton University (AB), Yale University School of Medicine (MD) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health (MPH). He is also a graduate of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service and Preventive Medicine Residency programs. Dr. Birkhead is board certified in internal medicine and in preventive medicine and public health. He has published over 150 papers in the peer-reviewed literature and authored eight book chapters on topics including public health surveillance, perinatal HIV prevention, immunizations, the public health workforce and public health preparedness. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Public Health Association and the Executive Committee of the Epidemic Intelligence Service Alumni Association. Cynthia Morrow, MD, MPH - Dr. Morrow currently teaches at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. Previously, she was the Lerner Chair for Health Promotion, Maxwell School of Public Administration, Syracuse University (2014-2017) and the Commissioner of Health for Onondaga County (2005-2014). She is a co-editor of three public health textbooks: “Bioethics, Public Health, and the Social Sciences for the Medical Professions” (Springer, 2019), “JPHMP’s 21 Public Health Case Studies on Policy & Administration” (Wolters Kluwer, Philadelphia, 2018), and “Public Health Administration: Principles for Population Health Management” (Jones and Bartlett, 2009). She is also a consulting editor for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice as well as the series editor for “Boots on the Ground: Narratives from Today’s Local Public Health Workforce” for JPHMP Direct, the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice’s companion website. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College (BA), Tufts University School of Medicine (MD, MPH), and the Medical University of South Carolina (Internal Medicine residency). Sylvia Pirani, MS, MPH - Sylvia Pirani is a public health practice consultant. She is providing public health practice support to the Region 2 Public Health Training Center hosted by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and serves as a site visitor for the national Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). For 25 years, she worked at the New York State Department of Health where she directed the Office of Public Health Practice. In that role, she managed technical, fiscal, and data support for the state’s 58 local health departments, led the development and implementation of the Prevention Agenda, NYS’ public health improvement plan, and guided the Department’s successful application for public health accreditation. She has a Masters in Public Health and a Masters in Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University. Prior to joining the NYS Department of Health, she spent 8 years at the NYC Department of Health working on child health policy issues.