Published: December 23, 2024
Ted Witek, professor and chair of the doctor of public health program in U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, has received the from the Yale School of Public Health.
Presented since 1988, the annual award celebrates Yale alumni who have demonstrated leadership in public health as outstanding teachers, researchers or practitioners; exceptional contributions to public health practice; and sustained contributions to community and society.
Witek, who graduated from Yale's master of public health program in 1982, was honoured for his "extraordinary level of achievement in all these areas and a very distinguished career in public health."
Witek's research on the health impacts of sulfur dioxide, which he initiated at Yale, played a pivotal role in shaping revisions of the Clean Air Act administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He later wrote a textbook on pharmacology and therapeutics in respiratory care, and has published more than a hundred manuscripts and chapters. He was named director of Dalla Lana's doctor of public health program 鈥 the first such degree offering in Canada 鈥 in 2020.
鈥淭he ability of public health to make an impact is what drove me to that discipline,鈥 says Witek.
