Elaine Morrato Named Founding Dean, Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health

Oct. 29, 2019

Dear Loyola Community,

We are pleased to announce that Elaine Morrato, DrPH, MPH, CPH, a public health expert with a diverse background in government, industry, and academia, has been appointed founding dean of the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health at Loyola University Chicago, effective February 1, 2020.

Dr. Morrato joins Loyola from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, where she was associate dean for public health practice and a tenured professor of health systems, management, and policy. Trained in epidemiology and board-certified in public health, Dr. Morrato’s research focuses on accelerating the translation of medical innovation and drug warnings into clinical practice.

In addition to her University of Colorado appointments, Dr. Morrato is currently a visiting scientist with the Food and Drug Administration in the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. She also serves on the Executive Leadership Team for the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute funded by the National Institutes of Health, where she directs the Innovation Ecosystem and Dissemination programs. She is a site principal investigator on two multi-institutional initiatives to disseminate nationally a novel electronic health data informatics platform and the I-Corps™ business model training program across the Clinical and Translational Science Award Consortium.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Morrato was a product development manager and section head in Procter & Gamble’s global health care division, where she led Phase 3 (efficacy) and Phase 3b/4 (effectiveness) drug development programs and over-the-counter and prescription drug product launches.

We are grateful to Kathy Bobay, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, for her leadership as interim dean during the development and launch of the Parkinson School, and to the faculty and staff (and inaugural class of students) for their hard work and dedication throughout the start-up process. Dr. Bobay will return full time to the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, where she is a professor of leadership and nursing informatics. We also would like to thank the Search Committee and its chair, François Modave, MS, PhD, director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Informatics Research, for its work filling this important position.

We are confident that Dr. Morrato’s experiences and background will enable her to lead the growth of the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health as its founding dean.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Morrato to the Loyola community.

Sincerely,

Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD
President

Margaret Faut Callahan, CRNA, PhD, FNAP, FAAN
Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Innovation