Peterson reappointed chair of maternal and child health department

Dr. Bert Peterson

Herbert Peterson, MD, has been appointed for a second term as chair of the Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Department of Maternal and Child Health, Dean Barbara K. Rimer has announced.

Professor and chair in the department since 2004, Peterson previously served as medical officer with the Geneva-based World Health Organization and chief of the women’s health and fertility branch in the division of reproductive health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

A peer committee, chaired by Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of nutrition and director of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis, N.C., recommended Peterson’s reappointment to the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Bert is an outstanding chair who is committed to education, research and service,” Rimer said. “He is an international leader in reproductive health and development of evidence-based guidelines and practice in this area. I have been impressed by the extent to which Dr. Peterson is not merely admired and respected around the world, and he is, but he also is beloved, and that is rare indeed!”

“I am delighted,” Peterson said, “and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead as the Department continues its important work in improving the lives of women, children and families here and around the world.”

Peterson also is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the UNC School of Medicine. His appointment is effective until 2014.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.