Honoring an Outstanding Health Professional

Dr. Leonardo Trasande, M.D., M.P.P., is an internationally renowned leader in children’s environmental health. His research focuses on identifying the role of environmental exposures in childhood obesity and cardiovascular risks, and documenting the economic costs for policy makers of failing to prevent diseases of environmental origin in children proactively. Dr. Trasande holds appointments at New York University (NYU) as an associate professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Environmental Medicine, and Population Health. He is also director of NYU’s Division of Environmental Pediatrics and vice chair for research in the Department of Pediatrics, and he leads one of 35 centers across the country as part of the National Institute of Health’s Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes program. 

Dr. Trasande has served as a member of numerous scientific committees and expert panels, including: the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Executive Committee of the Council for Environmental Health; the Science and Technical Advisory Committee for the World Trade Center Health Program; the National Children’s Study Methodological Review Panel of the National Academy of Sciences; the United Nations Environment Programme Steering Committee on a Global Outlook for Chemicals; and the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
 

The Bettie Kettell Award for Medical-Professional Leadership goes to a nurse, physician, or other health professional who embodies the spirit of Bettie Cornise Detjen Kettell, R.N. (1947-2015), an operating-room nurse for more than 40 years and longtime resident of Durham whose outstanding leadership, compassion, intelligence, and insight made her a fierce advocate for environmental health in Maine and nationally.