Andjela Drincic has been named the Wahl Presidential Endowed Chair and the inaugural director of the Center for Excellence in Diabetes Care, Research, and Education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Alongside her extensive research on diabetes, Dr. Drincic specializes in pituitary and hypothalamic disorders, men’s health issues, transgender issues, and helping patients with hormonal issues related to radiation cancer treatments.
Dr. Drincic received her medical degree from the University of Belgrade in Serbia.
Alison Barkoff has been named the Harold and Jane Hirsh Association Professor of Health Law and Policy in the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. A faculty member since October 2024, she also serves as the director of the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program. Her legal expertise centers on disability rights, federal policy, and public health law.
Professor Barkoff is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia.
Gillian Hadfield has been named the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of AI Alignment and Governance at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She comes to Johns Hopkins from the University of Toronto in Canada, where she was a faculty member in the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. In her research, she aims to reimagine how systems can evolve to meet the demands of a changing world and emerging technologies.
Dr. Hadfield received her bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. She holds a juris doctorate and a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in California.
Tamara Taggart has been named the inaugural Perry N. Halkitis Endowed Chair for Advancing LGBTQ+ Public Health at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She will also hold an appointment as an associate professor of urban-global public health. She has been serving as an associate professor at George Washington University. Her research focuses on developing and implementing interventions to improve HIV-related outcomes and reduce substance use and abuse.
A graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Dr. Taggart holds a master of public health degree from Columbia University in New York City and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Rhesa Ledbetter has been named the Waldean C. McIntire Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences at Hastings College in Nebraska. Prior to joining the Hastings faculty, she taught at Idaho State University. As an environmental microbiologist, she has conducted research on science communication, thermal systems, and microorganisms that transform nitrogen.
Dr. Ledbetter received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in microbiology from Idaho State University. She holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Utah State University.