The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Biden taps 3 Yale-linked doctors to lead COVID task force
NEW HAVEN — A Yale professor and two other officials formerly affiliated with the university were named as co-chairmen of the response of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration to the coronavirus Monday.
Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate professor of internal medicine, public health and management and founding director of the Equity
Research and Innovation Center, will be among three co-chairmen of the group, according to Biden’s transition team.
Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, a 2003 graduate from the Yale School of Management, and former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, former dean of the Yale School of Medicine, also will helm the group, as noted in a post from the university.
A Biden transition committee spokeswoman declined an interview request with Nunez-Smith Monday.
In a statement, Nunez-Smith said: “Our country is facing an unprecedented time with COVID-19 cases accelerating nationwide.
“Everyone is affected by this pandemic, yet the burden is disproportionate. We know communities of color are grieving at high rates and are facing substantial
economic impact,” she said. “The transition advisory board is setting a course for everyone in our country to experience recovery. I’m honored to help lead on that work and thank President-elect Joe Biden for the opportunity to serve.”
Biden said in the release from his transition organization that “dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts.
“The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations,” Biden said.
Dean Sten Vermund of the Yale School of Public Health said NunezSmith would bring a community-focused mindset to the COVID-19 Task Force, as well as an ability to solve complex problems.
“She works very much in community health sciences and on the research side she’s very involved with community participatory research,” Vermund said. She also is known for “pragmatic interventions to improve health in communities,” he said.
Nunez-Smith involves community members in developing the research into their health care. Among projects she has led as founding director of the School of Medicine’s Equity Research and Innovation Center is research to help reduce discrimination in health care. The Patient-Reported Experiences of Discrimination in Care Tool, known as PreDict, is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.
“As an African-American woman, she understands very much the social determinants of disease. … She also is very fearless so she will speak truth to power easily,” Vermund said. “We all respect her immensely because she really gets things done. … She’s a courageous and effective leader and her community perspective is going to be invaluable.”
James Rawlings, a retired medical professional and executive director of the New Haven-based Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Southern Connecticut, said Monday that NunezSmith is the chairwoman of the Medical Advisory Committee of the SCDAA.SC.
“However, I have known and collaborated with Dr. Nunez-Smith over an extended period of time, which I must state has directly benefited the local and broader community immensely,” Rawlings said.
She “is a significant contributor to medical research science while also
being a practicing physician,” he said, and “in the medical world she would be considered an exemplar role model.”
“In reviewing the depth and breadth of her leadership roles speaks to her diversity and strengths,” Rawlings said. “It could be missed additionally that she is a relatively young physician researcher, which will bring enhanced credibility along the demographic continuum of America.”
The Rev. Kelcy Steele, pastor of Varick AME Memorial Church in New Haven, said Nunez-Smith “is an excellent selection” for Biden’s team.
“She has a wealth of knowledge and in addition to that, she understands the cultural aspects,” he said. “Both of those together are a dynamic package.”
Steele said she recently spoke to more than 200 people in a community conversation about COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact on residents of color. She also addressed racism as a public health crisis sponsored by the faith community.
Nunez-Smith also is a member of the Connecticut Voices for Children board.
According to the organization, Nunez-Smith has served on the Voices board for three years and is chairwoman of its Strategic Planning Committee.
“In this role, Dr. Nunez-Smith led the design of Voices’ new aim toward economic justice, which focuses on the social determinants of health,” the organization said in a statement. “Connecticut Voices for Children is proud of Dr. Nunez-Smith’s continued leadership and dedication to the state’s children and families, and we commend and are so grateful for her service to the country at this important moment.”
Nunez-Smith also is director of the Center for Research Engagement, deputy director of the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, which is researching a Pfizer-supported vaccine for COVID-19, a faculty member in the National Clinician Scholars Program and in the Global Health Leadership Initiative.
Paul Pescatello, senior counsel and executive director of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s Bioscience Growth Council, said her
selection as a leader of Biden’s response team “speaks very highly of the Yale and Connecticut life sciences community in general.”
Dean Nancy Brown of the Yale School of Medicine said in a statement: “Yale faculty and alumni have been working diligently to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and we are delighted that the three co-leaders of the task force, all with ties to Yale, are poised to have an even greater impact. Dr. Nunez-Smith brings a scientific understanding of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the health of specific groups in the community, which is critical to meet the challenges we are facing.”
Yale University President Peter Salovey said in a release: “As the nation continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Yale is proud to have three members of the university family guiding the president-elect’s transition strategy on this topic of such crucial importance to our country, our world, and our collective future. Drs. Kessler, Murthy, and Nunez-Smith exemplify Yale’s commitment to research excellence, and to improving the world today and for future generations. I offer them my congratulations and gratitude for their leadership and service.”
As noted by the Yale School of Management, Nunez-Smith said while speaking with the Yale Insights publication earlier this year that the disparity in outcomes during the pandemic reflects broader inequities.
“The disproportionate representation of brown and Black people in those low-wage, frontline jobs that were deemed essential during the pandemic — that’s a structural reality,” she said. “To get to a place of equitable health outcomes, we have to have hard conversations about access to opportunity.”
According to the Biden transition team, the “COVID-19 Advisory Board will help guide the Biden-Harris Transition in planning for the Presidentelect’s robust federal response.”
“These leading scientists and public health experts will consult with state and local officials to determine the public health and economic steps necessary to get the virus under control, to deliver immediate relief to working families, to address ongoing racial and ethnic disparities, and to reopen our schools and businesses safely and effectively,” officials said.
Kessler was commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 1990 to 1997, then served as dean of the Yale School of Medicine from 1997 to 2003. Murthy was surgeon general from 2014 to 2017 and founded the nonprofit Doctors for America.