Prof. Daniel Cohen's letter upon conclusion of his appointment as Head of the School of Public Health- 17.9.17

Members of the academic and administrative staff of the School of Public Health-

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

On September 30, 2017, I will conclude my term, and subsequent two 1-year extentions, as Head of the School of Public Health after serving for a cumulative 6 years. Prof. Yehuda Lerman has been appointed as Head of School for the coming years.

I would like to thank you all for the collaborative work that has brought our school to such a respectable position at Tel Aviv University and beyond.

Together, we had quite a few accomplishments. The school has grown in recent years, the number of students accepted into the school's programs nearly tripled with a record amount of new students beginning this coming school year. We have recruited new faculty members to various tracks and there has been great progress among the academic staff. We opened two new MPH tracks, Health System Administration, and the unique MD-MPH, both of which are thriving. We increased our involvement in the medical school curriculum in order to strengthen the approach and aspiration towards preventive medicine, evidence-based medicine, and the methodological abilities of future physicians in planning and conducting quality clinical research. We have established forums for students, young and experienced researchers to present research papers, which have attracted interest and participation at a national level.

Academic connections and joint activities have been established with universities and research institutes around the world, such as Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, Northwestern University, University of Miami, Harvard, Vienna, Pasteur Institute and others.

Together with Johns Hopkins University, we established the International Summer Institute for Advanced Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, which has made a name for itself and has attracted hundreds of students from Israel and abroad in the six years since its inception. The Summer Institute brings together renowned faculty members, with courses being taught by international lecturers from leading universities around the world as well as from our school.

We have also been able to demonstrate the strength of what we do, and received a generous donation from the remaining Jewish community in Zambia in order to improve our work environment, help establish a MPH program at Copperbelt University in Zambia and student exchanges in public health research.

Recently, we successfully stood before an international professional committee appointed by the Commission of Higher Education to examine the school's teaching programs. It was evident that our school excels in teaching based on research, and the knowledge and experience of our faculty members in public health and health policy in Israel.

I would like to thank the department heads from the past 6 years, committee chairs, the school and departmental secretariat, all the junior and senior faculty members and the research staff at the school.

Special thanks to the two deans I had the privilege of working with, Prof. Yossi Mekori and Prof. Ehud Grossman, who supported the development of the school all along the way. An additional thanks to all the Faculty administrative staff who helped me carry out the necessary tasks.

Upon completion of this position, I will continue the research in my laboratory, teaching, membership on Faculty committees and the University Senate Executive Committee to which I was recently appointed.

I wish great success to my successor, Prof. Yehuda Lerman, who will undoubtedly lead the school to new achievements.

I also wish much luck to the incoming department heads, Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari (Department of Health Promotion) and Dr. Yehudit Shaham (Department of Occupational and Environmental Health).

Wishing you and your families a sweet new year, a year of health and happiness, a year of peace and success.

Sincerely,

Prof. Daniel Cohen

Head, School of Public Health