Dr. William Latimer, Vice President of Mercy College’s Bronx Campus, will host a new weekly show, “Public Health America,” on local television network BronxNet in which he will interview national health experts. The show aims to promote health and social justice.
"We look forward to bringing you Public Health America with Dr. William Latimer in partnership with Mercy College on BronxNet TV. The show will present science and practical knowledge that will provide keen health insights and inspire in a multitude of ways," said BronxNet Executive Director Michael Max Knobbe.
Each 30-minute episode will focus on a current health topic — ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to hypertension — and provide both the science behind it and practical tips to live a healthier life. In addition, each episode will explore the health expert’s personal story and the decisions they made and support they received that helped them to succeed. These segments aim to provide viewers with the inspiration and the methods to realize their dreams.
“I am excited to partner with BronxNet to produce Public Health America,” said Latimer. “The topics discussed are of national importance and feature expert and leaders in their respective fields.”
“Public Health America” will premiere on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. and will air weekly.
- June 29 segment will feature Anna Bershteyn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. Bershteyn’s current research focuses on infectious disease modeling to inform policy decision-making. The segment will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, including how it started and what people need to know today to lead safe, healthy lives. She will also share her personal story of being an immigrant in the United States and how her love of science and math and the support she received from her parents and college mentors helped her to become a successful academic at a major research institution.
- July 6 segment will feature Dr. Philip Leaf, Professor of Mental Health in the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health. Leaf is also Director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence. He completed his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin Madison. The segment will focus on the need to develop and sustain trauma-informed healing environments in our schools and workplaces that take into account the wide array of traumas that many youth and families face. Leaf will also share his own journey that began in the Bronx and led him to faculty positions at Yale University and Johns Hopkins University, all made possible by the support of family and mentors during his college experience.
Latimer has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and maintained a 23-year record of continuous NIH-funded research. Latimer was principal investigator and director of the State Department-Funded Humphrey Fellowship for International Fellows and the NIH-funded Drug Dependence Epidemiology Training Program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He was the President of the College of New Rochelle, the founding dean of the School of Health Sciences, Human Services, and Nursing at Lehman College, CUNY, and the inaugural Elizabeth Faulk endowed chair of psychology at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island; an MPH in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota; a master’s degree in developmental psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University; and bachelor’s degrees in English and Psychology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude.
For more information visit: www.bronxnet.org