ASU professor selected for health-policy fellows program at National Academy of Medicine

The National Academy of Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today named the 2016-2017 class of RWJF Health Policy Fellows, including Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, professor of nutrition at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions. Ohri-Vachaspati is the first from Arizona State University and one of only a few from Arizona to be selected in the over-40-year history of the fellowship.

Beginning in September, the eight health professionals selected will spend a year in Washington, D.C., working on health-related legislative and regulatory issues with members of Congress and the executive branch. They will also engage in seminars and discussions on health policy and participate in leadership development programs.

The fellows were chosen in a national competition for highly accomplished health professionals and behavioral and social scientists who have an interest in health policy. Their experiences in Washington will enrich their understanding of public-policy formation and the ways federal and state government relate to the mission of their home institutions and local communities. The fellows program will commence with a three-month orientation, followed by a nine-month assignment in a congressional office or the executive branch, where they will be involved in health-related legislation and programs. After their Washington assignment, fellows will continue to receive support to sustain their development as health policy leaders.

For more than 40 years, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. It is working with others to build a national Culture of Health enabling everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public-policy decisions related to science, technology and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Abraham Lincoln.