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The 14th Luther Terry Senior Fellowship in Preventive Medicine

Luther L. Terry Senior Fellow serves as the Senior Clinical Advisor for the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), which is located within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The 2013 fellowship is a one-year term and is open only to physicians with a Master’s Degree in Public Health or equivalent degree.

The 2013 application cycle for the 14th Luther Terry Senior Fellowship is now closed.

Background

The Luther Terry Fellow will receive intensive experience in a health policy setting while providing ODPHP with technical expertise in support of HHS prevention policies and programs. This fellowship provides a critical link between ODPHP and the medical and public health communities and offers a physician valuable experience in health policy development and implementation. The Fellow is selected by a committee composed of representatives from academic medical associations and ODPHP.

Luther Leonidas Terry, for whom the Fellowship is named, was Surgeon General of the Public Health Service from 1961 to 1965. During his tenure, Dr. Terry established and chaired the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health which produced the first Surgeon General’s report on the relationship between smoking and health. The report, Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, concluded that lung cancer and chronic bronchitis are causally related to cigarette smoking. Dr. Terry’s pioneering research on the health hazards of cigarette smoking serves as a model for the work of all Luther Terry Fellows at ODPHP. Similar to Dr. Terry, the Fellow uses his or her medical expertise to help impact disease prevention and health promotion policy on a national level.

Fellowship Description

Although specific projects undertaken by the Luther Terry Fellow will depend on ODPHP programs and projects during the Fellow’s appointment, the following selected activities of recent Fellows gives an idea of the possible scope and breadth work.

  • ODPHP Liaison to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
  • Senior Clinical Advisor contributions to the development of Healthy People 2020
  • Senior Clinical Advisor contributions to the HHS/Office of the Surgeon General “Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future” childhood obesity prevention initiative
  • Manage the ODPHP Journal Club
  • Evaluation Projects Manager for the Dietary Guidelines and Physical Activity Guidelines
  • Project lead for development of Prevention Portal on Healthy People website
  • ODPHP Liaison to the Healthy People Curriculum Task Force
  • Lead for Community Guide Website Working Group
  • Senior Clinical Advisor contributions to Health Literacy Work Group
  • Preceptor for ODPHP Prevention Health Policy Residents and Visiting Scholars

The Fellow is often asked to develop policy papers for HHS, make presentations to interest groups, as well as develop briefing materials for the HHS Secretary, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health and Surgeon General, and the White House.

Additionally the Fellow also oversees the mentoring and training of Preventive Medicine Residents, medical students, and public health interns on rotation at ODPHP. This position allows the Fellow to serve as a mentor for students of public health and preventive medicine and assist them in expanding their knowledge and expertise in the field of disease prevention and health promotion.

The Luther Terry Fellowship provides an unparalleled opportunity for professional growth and development as a national figure in both prevention policy and medical education. The Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for a clinician to gain substantial health policy experience. The Fellow is engaged in policy development and decision making throughout HHS. He/she has frequent contact with the public health community and gains substantial insight into the operations and interactions of its constituent members.

For information about applying to this fellowship program, contact Allison Roper at ODPHP (Allison.Roper@hhs.gov; (240) 453–8263).

 

This site is coordinated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.