Dr. Drew Harris is Chairman and Co-founder of the New Jersey Public Health Institute, a non-profit public health advocacy organization dedicated to advancing public health policy and research in New Jersey. He was President of the NJ Association for Biomedical Research, a nonprofit organization serving the interests of the biomedical research community.
Previously, Dr. Harris was the Assistant Director of the NJ Center for Public Health Preparedness (NJCPHP) at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ and Assistant Professor in the UMDNJ School of Public Health, where he conducted education, training and research on a variety of topics including public health law, assessment and preparedness through grants with the CDC, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, and other state and federal agencies and private foundations. At the NJCPHP, Dr. Harris conceived and managed the Public Health Leadership Initiative for Emergency Response (PHLIER)—a fellowship program for emerging public health leaders.
Dr. Harris has joint appointments as an adjunct assistant professor at the UMDNJ-NJ Medical School and UMDNJ-School of Public Health in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, respectively.
Dr. Harris is past president of the New Jersey Public Health Association, past APHA Executive Board member and current member of the APHA’s Education Board. He is a Podiatric Health Section Councilor.
As a public health activist, Dr. Harris has been involved in several statewide campaigns and coalitions to guarantee universal access to health care; control diabetes, obesity and tobacco use; and remove barriers to community-based research. Other activities include a stint as the host for “HouseCalls,” a radio talk show focusing on health care and public health topics.
Dr. Harris is a podiatric physician, with 17 years of private practice experience concentrating on the care of people with diabetes and non-healing wounds, as well as research into new wound healing modalities. He obtained his Masters of Public Health from the UMDNJ-School of Public Health. His research interests lie at the vital nexus of public health science and practice, public policy and politics.