Former NIH Program Director Named to UC Post

UC has named Ronnie D. Horner, PhD, director of the Medical Center's

Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Dr. Horner is former program director of Health Disparities Research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), one of the 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While at NINDS, he also held a joint faculty appointment at Duke University Medical Center as a research professor of medicine. His doctorate, from Ohio State, is in health care epidemiology.

Established in 1994, the Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research strives to improve the nation's health by generating knowledge that will inform health policies and identify best health care practices at the local, regional and national level. It focuses especially on health care disparities.

"The institute's programs are by no means 'ivory tower' in nature," says Dr. Horner. "Rather, they deal with real-world health care issues. We seek practical knowledge on preferred health policies and best health care practices, and ways to implement our findings in the health care system."

"I'm confident that under Dr. Horner's leadership the Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research will play an increasing role in the Medical Center's growth as an institution of national importance," said Jane E. Henney, MD, senior vice president and provost for health affairs.

"Our vision is to educate the next generation of health care professionals, promote excellence in patient care, and develop new knowledge and new platforms of care through research," she says, "and the institute's programs are in perfect alignment with those goals."