Rollins Dean Recognized for Excellence in Epidemiology

Earlier this week, M. Daniele Fallin, PhD, dean of the Rollins School of Public Health, received the Wade Hampton Frost Lectureship award at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting. This honor, awarded by the Epidemiology Section of the APHA, recognizes excellence in epidemiologic research and scholarship.

“I’m humbled and honored to be acknowledged by my peers in this way,” says Fallin, who delivered an address during APHA about her work in autism research, the current public health environment, and what we know about autism today.

“We have made significant progress in understanding various risk factors for developing autism, as well as expanding our monitoring and reporting tools for cases,” she says. “Despite this, misinformation threatens to move us back. It has caused widespread harm to public health, including in the field of autism. Our role as academics, students, researchers, and citizens is to continue advocating for truth and sound scientific research.”

Fallin is globally recognized for her work applying genetic epidemiology methods to studies of neuropsychiatric disorders including autism, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder and to developing applications and methods for genetic and epigenetic epidemiology, as applied to mental health and development. She has published more than 250 scientific publications that have been cited more than 35,000 times, and has led multiple projects investigating the role of environmental factors in the development of psychiatric disease, including autism. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.