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Contact: Jennifer Forbes
Communication and Public Affairs
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
732-235-6356 or jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu
Chair of Family Medicine and Community Health Named to
NJBIZ “50 Most Powerful People in Health Care in New Jersey” List
New Brunswick, N.J. – The chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, has been named by the weekly business journal NJBIZ as one the “50 Most Powerful People in Health Care in New Jersey.” Dr. Tallia, professor of family medicine and community health, and a resident of Pottersville, N.J., is a recognized leader and advocate in quality improvement initiatives for primary care and the health system.
NJBIZ, with a specific focus on New Jersey, identifies itself as the only weekly business journal of its kind in the state. Looking to identify the next generation of movers and shakers in New Jersey’s health care industry, NJBIZ editors targeted the medical, insurance, pharmaceutical, biotech and policy fields and spoke to insiders about who will influence and shape future health care policy.
Dr. Tallia is a board certified family physician and founding director of the school’s health policy fellowship. His research focuses on the organization and quality of the healthcare system. In the article that accompanies its list, NJBIZ highlights Dr. Tallia’s research of the organization and quality of primary care, as well as his leadership in the movement to improve the practice of medicine. The article also notes that Dr. Tallia led the flagship New Brunswick-based family medicine residency, widely recognized for providing innovative community-based training for family physicians. During that time, he won the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine research award for the landmark study (Academic Medicine, 1994) that demonstrated that family medicine residencies actually reduce costs for hospitals and the healthcare system. Dr. Tallia also chaired the national committee charged with evaluating the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), leading a movement that is transforming the licensing process for physicians, and also heavily influencing medical education in the United States.
Dr. Tallia, named chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health in 2007 after having served as interim chair for two years; has been a faculty member of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School since 1981. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Fordham University, New York, N.Y., and his medical degree at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed his residency and fellowship in family medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa. Dr. Tallia earned his master’s in public health degree through a joint program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
In 2003, Dr. Tallia was selected as a member of the UMDNJ Master Educators’ Guild, for demonstrating exceptional teaching, creativity and innovation in the delivery of education. He is a member of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, a Center of Excellence of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; the American Academy of Family Physicians Center for Research in Family Medicine and Primary Care; and the executive committee of the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, based in Washington, D.C., the coalition of Fortune 500 companies, primary care groups, insurers, and consumers advancing health care reform. He has served for many years as a member of the board and several committees of the National Board of Medical Examiners. The editor and primary author of a popular medical review textbook and multiple abstracts, book chapters, and publications, he is currently the principal or co-principal investigator on studies funded by the National Diabetes, Digestive Disorders and Kidney Diseases Institute; Public Health Service; National Cancer Institute; National Heart Lung Blood Institute; and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, all of which focus on practice quality of care, organization, and function.
About UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey’s premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, log on to rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find our fan page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @UMDNJ_RWJMS.
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