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John Rich of Drexel University's School of Public Health Wins $500,000 MacArthur Genius Grant

Posted on: Tuesday, 19 September 2006, 00:00 CDT

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Professor John A. Rich, MD, MPH, Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy at the Drexel University School of Public Health, was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur grant for his work in addressing the primary health care needs of young men in the inner city by designing clinical services and training programs. He is also noted for his research using in-depth interviews with young African American victims of violence to understand the effect of trauma in their lives. He joined the Drexel School of Public Health in July 2005.

Dr. Rich launched the Young Men's Health Clinic at Boston City Hospital in 1993; it is a primary care clinic designed to meet the needs of young men in the inner city. Young men in the clinic receive intensive health education, access to dental care, nutritional advice, fitness advice and mental health interventions. In 1995, Dr. Rich developed the Boston HealthCREW (Community Resources for Empowerment and Wellness) training program to train young men of color as community outreach educators. The HealthCREW members then go on to train for careers in public health, while continuing their outreach in the community.

Dr. Rich conducts research on inner city health problems. He has written on topics such as violent injury in young African American men, risk behaviors among inner city college students and racial disparities in health care. In 1997, he received a five-year award from the National Institute of Mental Health to study the experience of violence among young African-American men. He published results from this study in the American Journal of Public Health.

He graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in English. He received his medical degree from Duke University Medical School where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. He then completed the Harvard General Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship, also at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Rich holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

The Drexel School of Public Health, along with Drexel University, is immensely pleased to congratulate Dr. Rich on this exceptional recognition of his work and professional dedication to the practice of public health. Dean Marla J. Gold said, "We are so proud of John for the incredible achievement of becoming a MacArthur Fellow. His work is critically important at a time when the issue of intentional violence is receiving more attention than ever before. John's work will no doubt play a large part in the solution to escalating violence in our region and beyond."

Drexel University Provost Stephen Director stated, "This is a distinction for Dr. Rich and our outstanding School of Public Health. On behalf of the entire Drexel University family, we are proud of Dr. Rich and his leading work."

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation names new MacArthur Fellows every year since 1981. Dr. Rich joins 24 other Fellows for 2006. For more information on the MacArthur Fellow Program, please visit: http://www.macfound.org/

Drexel University

CONTACT: Lisa Simon, of Simon Public Relations Group, Inc.,+1-215-545-4715 x22, lsimon@simonpr.com

Web site: http://www.macfound.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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