Bret Nicks, M.D., assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, has been named the first assistant dean of Global Health at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
The Office of Global Health was established to fulfill the mission, vision, and values of Wake Forest Baptist to institutionally recognize and support health problems that transcend national borders or have a global political and economic impact. The aim of the Office of Global Health is to take the extraordinary expertise, resources, energy, and creativity of the faculty, residents, students and staff and facilitate direct initiatives to impact global health.
Nicks said that there are already many examples of global health efforts at the medical center, including the creation of Kybele Inc., a humanitarian organization dedicated to improving childbirth conditions worldwide through medical education partnerships.
“Now we will have the institutional focus and support to more fully develop our global health initiatives,” said Nicks.
Nicks chairs the Wake Forest Baptist's Global Health Advisory Committee, along with Steven Block, M.D., senior associate dean of the School of Medicine and professor of Pediatrics, Medge Owen, M.D., professor of Obstetric Anesthesiology, director of Maternal and Infant Global Health Programs, and president of Kybele Inc., as well as several other integral faculty members.
In addition, the Global Health Advisory Committee is building a database of ongoing global activities and creating a website to integrate the many projects already in place and to facilitate growth in the area of global health.
On Oct. 23, the Office of Global Health hosted its first global health symposium, Introduction to Global Health at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Media Relations
Lisa Davanzo: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587
Mark Wright: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587