Executive Steering Committee
Virginia Rauh, ScD, Trauma-Free NYC Co-Director
Professor of Population and Family Health
Columbia University Medical Center
Director of Child, Adolescent and Family Health Certificate, Director of CHILD: Child Health Initiative for Learning and Development
Virginia Rauh, ScD, has been a member of Columbia's faculty since 1984 and is Deputy Director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. Her postdoctoral work in psychiatric epidemiology was supported by NIMH and a career development award from NICHD. Her work focuses on the adverse impact of exposure to air pollutants, including second hand smoke and pesticides on pregnancy and child health, and the susceptibility of individuals and disadvantaged populations to environmental hazards. Dr. Rauh is a perinatal epidemiologist by training, whose expertise is in the area of low birth weight and preterm delivery, particularly with respect to socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority populations. She has been principal investigator on numerous major research projects, including studies of the impact of organophosphorus insecticides and secondhand smoke on child neurodevelopment and brain abnormalities (MRI, fMRI), a randomized intervention trial for low birth weight infants, a multi-site study of lifestyles in pregnancy, a study of developmental outcomes of children born to inner-city adolescent mothers, a multi-level analysis of the impact of Head Start on New York City school children, a study of the effects of ambient air pollutants on pregnant women and their children, and a study of links between race, stressors, and preterm birth. She has worked with other Columbia faculty to study the effects of the World Trade Center disaster on pregnant women and newborns. Dr. Rauh serves on numerous national committees, including advisory groups at NIEHS, NICHD, and the Scientific Advisory Board for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Daniel S. Press, JD, Trauma-Free NYC Co-Director
Partner at Van Ness Feldman, LLP
Daniel Press has provided legal and Washington representation assistance for more than 40 years to Indian tribes, Indian organizations, and companies doing business with tribes. Dan assists tribes with strengthening their tribal governments by helping them develop and implement ordinances that exercise the tribe’s sovereign authority in such areas as employment rights and labor relations. Mr. Press serves as pro bono general counsel for two national organizations, the Roundtable on Native American Trauma-Informed Initiatives and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice, that assist communities apply the science on the causes and effects of historical and childhood trauma to address social and health problems in their communities. Mr. Press recently step down after serving as an adjunct professor at Columbia for the past six years.
Kimberly Noble, MD, PhD, Trauma-Free NYC Co-Director
Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
As a neuroscientist and board-certified pediatrician, Kim Noble directs the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development (NEED) lab, where she and her team study how socioeconomic inequality relates to in children's cognitive and brain development. Her work examines socioeconomic disparities in cognitive development, as well as brain structure and function, across infancy, childhood and adolescence. She is particularly interested in understanding how early in infancy or toddlerhood such disparities develop; the modifiable environmental differences that account for these disparities; and the ways we might harness this research to inform the design of interventions. Along with a multidisciplinary team from around the country, with funding from NIH and a consortium of foundations, she is currently planning the first clinical trial of poverty reduction to assess the causal impact of income on children’s cognitive, emotional and brain development in the first three years of life. Dr. Noble received her undergraduate, graduate and medical degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, completed postdoctoral training at the Sackler Institute of Developmental Psychobiology of Weill Cornell Medical College, and completed her residency in pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center / Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York - Presbyterian. She was awarded a 2017 Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions. Her work linking family income to brain structure across childhood and adolescence has received worldwide attention in the popular press.
Charles Branas
Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor of Epidemiology
Chair, Department of Epidemiology
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Dr. Branas has conducted research that extends from urban and rural areas in the US to communities across the globe, incorporating place-based interventions and human geography. He has led win-win science that generates new knowledge while simultaneously creating positive, real-world changes and providing health-enhancing resources for local communities. His pioneering work on geographic access to medical care has changed the healthcare landscape, leading to the designation of new hospitals and a series of national scientific replications in the US and other countries for many conditions: trauma, cancer, stroke, etc. His research on the geography and factors underpinning gun violence has been cited by landmark Supreme Court decisions, Congress, and the NIH Director. Dr. Branas has also led large-scale scientific work to transform thousands of vacant lots, abandoned buildings and other blighted spaces in improving the health and safety of entire communities. These are the first citywide randomized controlled trials of urban blight remediation and have shown this intervention to be a highly cost-effective solution to persistent urban health problems like gun violence. He has worked internationally on four continents and led multi-national efforts, producing extensive cohorts of developing nation scientists, national health metrics, and worldwide press coverage.
Jay Gingrich, MD, PhD
Sackler Institute Professor of Developmental Psychology (in Psychiatry)
Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Gingrich and his group use a systems approach to better understand normal and abnormal brain function; in particular, the mechanisms that underlie neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety disorders. Their goal is to understand how genetic and epigenetic factors affect behavior and intervening systems such as circuitry, anatomy, and physiology. The lab exploits the ability to genetically modify mice–either to mimic known human susceptibility factors or to use conditional gene modifications–to further investigate our hypotheses regarding circuitry and physiology. Towards that end, Dr. Gingrich is pursuing several lines of research related to the role of serotonin-signaling in the cortex. These studies have demonstrated an important role for cortical influence on behaviors related to schizophrenia and anxiety. His lab also has an active program examining the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin on the development of brain circuits that modulate affective and anxiety states. Additionally, the group has developed a mouse model of epigenetic effects of paternal age on behavior and brain function.
Danielle Z. Kassow, PhD
Senior Program Officer
Trauma-Free NYC and the Child Health Initiative for Learning and Development (CHILD) Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Dr. Kassow is a leader in the early childhood/early learning field with more than 20 years of experience as a research scientist, executive director, and public school teacher. With experience in both rural and urban communities, she has served in a variety of roles and sectors across the country including research centers, a family foundation, and statewide public-private partnership, to the largest school district in the country. Dr. Kassow owns her own consulting firm and has held contracts with universities, government agencies, and national and local organizations. Her work has ranged from early childhood issues to workforce development. Dr. Kassow’s role at the Mailman School of Public Health focuses on strategic planning, partnership building and overall management of Trauma-Free NYC and CHILD.
Ariella Lang, PhD
Assistant Dean in the Office of Academic Planning and Administration
Columbia College
Ariella Lang is Assistant Dean in the Office of Academic Planning and Administration of Columbia College. She comes to this role from the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, where she served as Associate Director. In this capacity she developed a fellowship program for human rights practitioners working on historical violence and questions of accountability; she created and launched the historical dialogues Network, a virtual network for students, scholars and practitioners interested in questions of history, memory and human rights; and she oversaw a wide range of research-related events and projects. As Assistant Dean, Dr. Lang develops undergraduate research opportunities in the College, and oversees fellowships, awards, prizes and other opportunities for Columbia College students.
Dr. Lang has taught at Barnard College, Columbia University and Rutgers University, and her interests include Italian studies, minority rights and cultures, and genocide and Holocaust studies. She has published a number of articles in these areas and her book, Converting a Nation, was published in 2008. Dr. Lang received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University and her B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Nim Tottenham, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology
Columbia University
Nim examines brain development underlying emotional behavior in humans. Her research has highlighted fundamental changes in brain circuitry across development and the powerful role that early experiences, such as caregiving and stress, have on the construction of these circuits. She has authored over 80 journal articles and book chapters. She is a frequent lecturer both nationally and internationally on human brain and emotional development.
Renée Wilson-Simmons, DrPH
Director
National Center for Children in Poverty
Assistant Professor of Health Policy & Management
Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Wilson-Simmons is director of the National Center for Children in Poverty (www.nccp.org), a nonpartisan public policy research center at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, established in 1989 to promote the economic security, healthy development, and well-being of America’s low-income children and their families. She came to the role in 2012 with more than 20 years of experience in program development, implementation, and evaluation in child and adolescent health and development, and a commitment to fostering better futures for young people. Dr. Wilson-Simmons is also a member of the National Advisory Board of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services Division of Child and Family Well-Being, which is employing a two-generation framework and equity lens to leverage resources, eliminate health disparities and barriers, and create critical connections to information and services that will enhance whole family social capital.
Prior to joining NCCP, Dr. Wilson-Simmons was at the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, first as the senior program officer for adolescent health and development, then as associate director of the Evidence-Based Practice Group, which is identifying, developing, and scaling up evidence-based interventions for children and families involved with public human service systems. Before her time at Casey, Dr. Wilson-Simmons was a senior scientist at Education Development Center, where she led the development and implementation of range of projects that addressed the health and safety needs of young people living in high-poverty urban areas. She was director of the Health Promotion Program for Urban Youth at Boston City Hospital, principal investigator of the first Office of Minority Health-funded grant to develop a community-based coalition to prevent homicide in the African American community, and director of a five-year National Institutes of Health study of the long-term impact of an adolescent health program on reductions in multiple-risk behaviors related to violence, substance abuse, and early and unprotected sexual activity among inner-city African American and Latino youth. She received her doctorate in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in urban journalism from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Jackie Aufricht, BSW, MPH Candidate
Graduate Assistant
Columbia University Trauma-Free NYC
Jackie is a Masters of Public Health student in her final year at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health. Her primary academic focus is the impact of poverty and parental mental health and substance use disorders on children’s development.
Prior to coming to Columbia, Jackie worked for three years at Calgary Urban Project Society, an organization providing health services, housing and income supports, education, and parenting support to families in Calgary, Canada. Jackie oversaw a comprehensive program that offered family support for children aged 0-6. She led the team of social workers, counsellors, and child development clinicians to provide home visits, parenting classes, and basic needs supports. Jackie managed the strategic vision process and outcome measurements for the program to determine its effectiveness for some of Calgary’s most vulnerable families. She was also the CUPS Site Manager for a research project led by the Harvard Center on the Developing Child, Ready4Routines. This initiative targeted improved executive functioning for preschoolers and their parents. Jackie received her Bachelor of Social Work from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada in 2012.
Rebecca Grant, MPH Candidate
Graduate Assistant
Columbia University Trauma-Free NYC
Rebecca is a Master of Public Health student in her final year at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health. A champion for children, Rebecca has used her time at Mailman to better understand the life course health impacts of childhood adversity and learn best practices in mitigating and preventing these effects at the local and national level.
Before coming to Mailman, Rebecca worked for three years in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood at Center for Youth Wellness (CYW), an organization dedicated to improving the health of children and adolescents exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). During her time at CYW, Rebecca served as the Executive Assistant to Founder & CEO, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, working to grow CYW from a start-up nonprofit, to an organization nationally recognized as a leader in the fight against ACEs. After two years of serving as Dr. Burke Harris’ right-hand woman, Rebecca was promoted to Development Associate, assisting the Individual Giving and Communications teams in spreading awareness of the impacts of ACEs and working to secure funding for all CYW departments and programs. Rebecca received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley in 2012 and was the recipient of the H. W. Hill Prize, a faculty nominated award for undergraduate English majors who have demonstrated excellence in their fields of study and an interest in the social welfare of the United States.
Director, Community Engagement
Trauma-Free NYC, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia UniversityWanda Garcia, MPH, LMSW, is a dedicated professional with a passion for fostering meaningful connections and repairing relationships. Born in the Dominican Republic, Wanda's journey led her to New York in the 1970s, where she embarked on a remarkable path of education and service. Wanda's early life experiences in the Dominican Republic laid the foundation for her empathetic nature and cross-cultural awareness. After growing up in Inwood/Washington Heights, she pursued her academic aspirations with determination. Wanda earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Barnard College, demonstrating her commitment to the sciences.
Driven by a desire to understand the complexities of human behavior, Wanda delved into neuropsychology studies at Howard University. Her educational journey then led her to Columbia University, where she obtained both a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Master of Social Work (MSW). These dual degrees equipped her with a unique perspective that integrates psychological, sociological and systemic insights. Wanda’s career has spanned research on HIV, epilepsy, parent-child connections, child development, Alzheimer’s and in the last 14 years she has been part of the team, at Mailman’s Population and Family Health Department, where she has been working with a cohort of BIPOC families who have helped us understand the impacts of prenatal pesticide exposures. Currently, she is the Director of Community Engagement for Trauma-Free NYC and is leading efforts to train public health students, CBO’s and other institutions on Trauma-Informed Care.
In addition, Wanda's training at the Ackerman Family Institute in family therapy and couples therapy showcases her dedication to expanding her skills. Her professional portfolio reflects her commitment to helping people mend and strengthen their relationships.
Wanda Garcia possesses a deep understanding of the intricate connections between the human body, family dynamics, relationships and the social determinants of health. Her empathy, coupled with her comprehensive academic background, enables her to create a supportive and non-judgmental environment for her clients, the public health students and the community organizations she supports.
Trauma-Free NYC Co-Director
Professor of Population and Family Health
Columbia University Medical Center
Director of Child, Adolescent and Family Health Certificate
Virginia Rauh, ScD, has been a member of Columbia's faculty since 1984 and is Deputy Director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. Her postdoctoral work in psychiatric epidemiology was supported by NIMH and a career development award from NICHD. Her work focuses on the adverse impact of exposure to air pollutants, including second hand smoke and pesticides on pregnancy and child health, and the susceptibility of individuals and disadvantaged populations to environmental hazards. Dr. Rauh is a perinatal epidemiologist by training, whose expertise is in the area of low birth weight and preterm delivery, particularly with respect to socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority populations. She has been principal investigator on numerous major research projects, including studies of the impact of organophosphorus insecticides and secondhand smoke on child neurodevelopment and brain abnormalities (MRI, fMRI), a randomized intervention trial for low birth weight infants, a multi-site study of lifestyles in pregnancy, a study of developmental outcomes of children born to inner-city adolescent mothers, a multi-level analysis of the impact of Head Start on New York City school children, a study of the effects of ambient air pollutants on pregnant women and their children, and a study of links between race, stressors, and preterm birth. She has worked with other Columbia faculty to study the effects of the World Trade Center disaster on pregnant women and newborns. Dr. Rauh serves on numerous national committees, including advisory groups at NIEHS, NICHD, and the Scientific Advisory Board for the Environmental Protection Agency.Virginia Rauh, ScD, has been a member of Columbia's faculty since 1984 and is Deputy Director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. Her postdoctoral work in psychiatric epidemiology was supported by NIMH and a career development award from NICHD. Her work focuses on the adverse impact of exposure to air pollutants, including second hand smoke and pesticides on pregnancy and child health, and the susceptibility of individuals and disadvantaged populations to environmental hazards. Dr. Rauh is a perinatal epidemiologist by training, whose expertise is in the area of low birth weight and preterm delivery, particularly with respect to socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority populations. She has been principal investigator on numerous major research projects, including studies of the impact of organophosphorus insecticides and secondhand smoke on child neurodevelopment and brain abnormalities (MRI, fMRI), a randomized intervention trial for low birth weight infants, a multi-site study of lifestyles in pregnancy, a study of developmental outcomes of children born to inner-city adolescent mothers, a multi-level analysis of the impact of Head Start on New York City school children, a study of the effects of ambient air pollutants on pregnant women and their children, and a study of links between race, stressors, and preterm birth. She has worked with other Columbia faculty to study the effects of the World Trade Center disaster on pregnant women and newborns. Dr. Rauh serves on numerous national committees, including advisory groups at NIEHS, NICHD, and the Scientific Advisory Board for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr. Sonali Rajan’s research is focused on identifying patterns of risk behaviors among adolescent youth; implementing and evaluating school-based health education programs; and identifying environmental-level characteristics that influence health behaviors among urban youth and communities. In line with the approach of the “whole child”, her research embraces a comprehensive definition of “health”, recognizing that the synergy between multiple health issues and the surrounding environments together inform long-term outcomes. For the past several years, Dr. Rajan has worked on the implementation and evaluation of health education and behavioral health initiatives aimed to mitigate youth engagement in high-risk behaviors and promote positive youth development. She has an emerging line of research in the area of aggression and violence prevention in schools and is focused on supporting efforts aimed at reducing the presence of firearms in K-12 school settings.
Ms. Yanosy has been a keynote and featured speaker on trauma and organizational culture at both domestic and international conferences and has published extensively on the implementation and impact of trauma responsive practice. Ms. Yanosy’s career has integrated clinical social work, education and administration, which developed her expertise in trauma treatment, program and curriculum development as well as program evaluation and replication.
She currently serves as Director of Consulting and co-founder of Creating PRESENCE, a trauma responsive training and organizational intervention program. She also teaches at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, provides coaching through service-learning projects for students at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, consults with nonprofit human service organizations and practices psychotherapy in her home state of NY.
Ms. Yanosy has developed nationally available collegiate leadership programming, and previously served as the founding Director of the Sanctuary Institute. In her role as Director, Ms. Yanosy oversaw the development, training and implementation of a system-wide, holistic, trauma informed organizational model. The resulting social movement built around this practice grew to over 350 organizations, including residential care, addiction treatment, domestic violence, supportive housing, juvenile justice, hospital, community based and school settings across the United States and seven other countries.
Ms. Yanosy received her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Cornell University and Smith College respectively, and has completed post graduate programs at New York University, Fordham University and Columbia Business School.
Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology
Columbia University
Nim examines brain development underlying emotional behavior in humans. Her research has highlighted fundamental changes in brain circuitry across development and the powerful role that early experiences, such as caregiving and stress, have on the construction of these circuits. She has authored over 80 journal articles and book chapters. She is a frequent lecturer both nationally and internationally on human brain and emotional development.
President, Student Advocate Group
Trauma-Free NYC, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia UniversityMiho Kawanami is a first-year MPH student in the Department of Epidemiology, with a focus on mental health and the prevention of mental illness across the life course. With an educational background in nursing and public health, her academic and professional experiences have shaped her interests in trauma-informed care, workplace mental health, and health equity.
Miho’s passion for supporting mental health began during her clinical and public health nursing work in Japan, where she witnessed firsthand how childhood experiences, job-related stress, and the stigma surrounding mental illness affected both healthcare professionals and patients. She later joined a Japanese community based organization named Ichikawa Minnano Hokenshitsu focused on mental health support and improving mental health literacy in the Ichikawa city, Chiba prefecture. There, she helped create safe and welcoming spaces for open dialogue around mental health concerns, aiming to reduce stigma and increase access to care.
She is particularly interested in the long-term mental health impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), chronic stress, and social determinants of health. These interests continue to guide her graduate work, as she investigates the biological and structural factors contributing to mental illness, including the impact of cultural norms and occupational stress.
As President of the Trauma-Free NYC Student Advocate Group, Miho supports efforts to integrate trauma-informed practices into public health systems and raise awareness of trauma’s impact on individuals and communities.
Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
As a neuroscientist and board-certified pediatrician, Kim Noble directs the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development (NEED) lab, where she and her team study how socioeconomic inequality relates to in children's cognitive and brain development. Her work examines socioeconomic disparities in cognitive development, as well as brain structure and function, across infancy, childhood and adolescence. She is particularly interested in understanding how early in infancy or toddlerhood such disparities develop; the modifiable environmental differences that account for these disparities; and the ways we might harness this research to inform the design of interventions. Along with a multidisciplinary team from around the country, with funding from NIH and a consortium of foundations, she is currently planning the first clinical trial of poverty reduction to assess the causal impact of income on children’s cognitive, emotional and brain development in the first three years of life. Dr. Noble received her undergraduate, graduate and medical degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, completed postdoctoral training at the Sackler Institute of Developmental Psychobiology of Weill Cornell Medical College, and completed her residency in pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center / Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York - Presbyterian. She was awarded a 2017 Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions. Her work linking family income to brain structure across childhood and adolescence has received worldwide attention in the popular press.
Sackler Institute Professor of Developmental Psychology (in Psychiatry)
Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Gingrich and his group use a systems approach to better understand normal and abnormal brain function; in particular, the mechanisms that underlie neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety disorders. Their goal is to understand how genetic and epigenetic factors affect behavior and intervening systems such as circuitry, anatomy, and physiology. The lab exploits the ability to genetically modify mice–either to mimic known human susceptibility factors or to use conditional gene modifications–to further investigate our hypotheses regarding circuitry and physiology. Towards that end, Dr. Gingrich is pursuing several lines of research related to the role of serotonin-signaling in the cortex. These studies have demonstrated an important role for cortical influence on behaviors related to schizophrenia and anxiety. His lab also has an active program examining the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin on the development of brain circuits that modulate affective and anxiety states. Additionally, the group has developed a mouse model of epigenetic effects of paternal age on behavior and brain function.
Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor of Epidemiology
Chair, Department of EpidemiologyColumbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Dr. Branas has conducted research that extends from urban and rural areas in the US to communities across the globe, incorporating place-based interventions and human geography. He has led win-win science that generates new knowledge while simultaneously creating positive, real-world changes and providing health-enhancing resources for local communities. His pioneering work on geographic access to medical care has changed the healthcare landscape, leading to the designation of new hospitals and a series of national scientific replications in the US and other countries for many conditions: trauma, cancer, stroke, etc. His research on the geography and factors underpinning gun violence has been cited by landmark Supreme Court decisions, Congress, and the NIH Director. Dr. Branas has also led large-scale scientific work to transform thousands of vacant lots, abandoned buildings and other blighted spaces in improving the health and safety of entire communities. These are the first citywide randomized controlled trials of urban blight remediation and have shown this intervention to be a highly cost-effective solution to persistent urban health problems like gun violence. He has worked internationally on four continents and led multi-national efforts, producing extensive cohorts of developing nation scientists, national health metrics, and worldwide press coverage.
Bruce Shapiro is recipient of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies for "outstanding and fundamental contributions to the social understanding of trauma." An award-winning reporter on human rights, criminal justice and politics, Shapiro is a contributing editor at The Nation and U.S. correspondent for Late Night Live on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National. He taught ethics at Columbia Journalism School, where he was an adjunct associate professor and Senior Advisor for Academic Affairs. His books include Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America and Legal Lynching: The Death Penalty and America's Future.
Dr. Alwyn Cohall is a Professor of Public Health and Pediatrics at the Columbia University Medical Center and the Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Cohall's main areas of research interest include adolescent health; sexual and reproductive health; access to healthcare, particularly for young men of color; using media/technology to enhance health communication/health promotion; and, integrating trauma-informed care into clinical practice. In addition to his research interests, Dr. Cohall is board-certified in both pediatrics and adolescent medicine and has a private practice in adolescent and young adult health. Dr. Cohall serves as the director of the Harlem Health Promotion Center which is devoted to reducing health disparities in communities of color. He is also the director of Project Stay (Services to Assist Youth), which is a New York State Department of Health funded program that provides confidential health services to young people affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS. With support from the NYCDOHMH, he is leading an initiative to educate and link youth to care for PEP and PrEP services. Further, he is the Principal Investigator of the NYC CDC STD Prevention Training Center which focuses on enhancing the skills of primary care providers to manage patients with sexually transmitted diseases.
Additionally, in his role as Co-Principal Investigator at the New York Presbyterian site, he is involved with an NIH funded research project called “Link2Care” which designed to improve screening for STIs/HIV and substance use and subsequent linkages to health care services for Justice Involved Youth at high-risk for HIV. Dr. Cohall is Co-Director of the Washington Heights/Inwood Youth Opportunity HUB – a program funded by the NYC District Attorney’s office to reduce youth involvement in the justice system. Finally, he is a medical consultant for the Primary Care Development Corporation on projects related to HIV care.
He is a member of several professional organizations including: the American Public Health Association, the Society for Adolescent Health in Medicine, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. In recognition of his tireless efforts to improve the health of adolescents and their families, Dr. Cohall has been honored by: the New York Urban League, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Public Health Association of New York City, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Society for Adolescent Health in Medicine.