Retirement of Dr. Shaw and a New Acting Editor in Chief for Public Health Reports

On April 30, 2019, Frederic E. Shaw, MD, JD, retired from federal service and as editor in chief of Public Health Reports (PHR). Hazel D. Dean, ScD, DrPH (Hon), FACE, is serving as the acting editor in chief for the journal. A search is underway for the next permanent editor in chief of the journal.

Dr. Shaw began his career in public health in 1983 and spent 26 years in federal service, including 22 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A former editor in chief of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a publication that shares its ancestral origin with PHR, Dr. Shaw began his tenure as acting editor in chief of PHR in May 2014 and was named permanent editor in chief of PHR in May 2015.

Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH

Vice Admiral, US Public Health Service

US Surgeon General

Dr. Shaw’s work on the journal improved PHR and increased its impact. Under his editorship, the journal was fully modernized and has maintained a high level of quality and relevance to public health practice. Working with the journal’s expert editorial team, Dr. Shaw reorganized the journal, recruited top scientists and practitioners to serve on its expanded Editorial Committee, established new departments of content, streamlined its publishing procedures, and forged new editorial collaborations. Dr. Shaw brought to the job his longstanding interest in scientific writing. He will continue to contribute to PHR as an associate editor in charge of the journal’s “Writing for Public Health” department.

Dr. Dean brings to the acting editor-in-chief position more than 30 years of public health research, surveillance, and program experience, plus 11 years of editorial board experience, 8 of them as a member of PHR’s Editorial Committee. She was guest editor of several supplements for journals including PHR, the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the National Medical Association, and AIDS Education and Prevention. She is the deputy director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, the CDC center responsible for public health surveillance, research, and interventions for preventing and controlling those diseases. Dr. Dean is a frequent author or co-author of peer-reviewed articles and is internationally recognized for her work in health disparities and health equity research and policy.

In 2018, PHR celebrated its 140th anniversary. Throughout its history, the journal has played an important role in improving the health of our nation’s communities. It has been a platform for the exchange of innovative scientific ideas and their application to practice. As the US Surgeon General, I am committed to working with Dr. Dean on further strengthening the journal to make it a publication that represents the best in science and practice of public health.