George Mason University has named Germaine M. Louis dean of the School of Health and Human Services, selecting a deeply committed educator, administrator and researcher to lead the college in its vital role of ensuring the health of the community, region and state.
Dr. Louis is currently the Director and Senior Investigator in the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She will assume the deanship in October.
“What excites me about the position are the faculty, the students and staff, all of whom are committed to improving the health of the many populations served by the College,” Louis said. “Another reason is the diversity of the student body and the university’s commitment to build a workforce that reflects the world we live in.”
An expert reproductive and environmental epidemiologist with a background in medical sociology and nursing, Louis will lead an integrated education and research agenda for the College of Health and Human Services, and will advance the College’s national and international impact by leading the effort to cultivate students’ understanding of complex societal and environmental problems, and critically approach solutions through a broad understanding of health.
“She will work across disciplines with faculty and staff to build an integrated curriculum that positions students for lifelong success while advancing multidisciplinary research for Health,” George Mason Provost and Executive Vice President S. David Wu said. “Dr. Louis will also lead the college in its vital role in ensuring the health of the community, region and state through its clinics, partnerships and exceptional workforce pipeline, as well as collaborating on strategic university initiatives, interdisciplinary research, education and practice.”
Mason’s College of Health and Human Services graduated 476 undergraduate and master’s students in the spring, and is currently tied for 33rd nationally in U.S. News & World Report’s latest evaluation of health care management master’s programs. Its nursing master’s program is tied for 73rd, a jump of 11 places.
“It will be exciting to work with the faculty and staff to make Mason an academic and research destination that delivers on its promise to provide the best possible education,” Louis said.
Louis provided leadership for three intramural branches within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH. Her research focuses on environmental influences on human reproduction and development, and she is currently a principal investigator on several key studies. She has co-authored more than 200 scholarly publications in her areas.
Prior to joining NICHD in 2000, Louis was a tenured professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, where she taught in both the graduate and medical school curricula and led research focusing on the impact of environmental influences on human reproduction and development. She earned her BA in medical sociology, then MS and PhD in epidemiology at the State University of New York at Buffalo.