François Sainfort Named Head of Division of Health Policy and Management in the U of M School of Public Health

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Nov. 1, 2007)--François Sainfort, Ph.D., has been named head of the Division of Health Policy and Management in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH). In recognition of his scholarly achievements, he also has been named a Mayo Professor of Public Health.

“Dr. Sainfort is highly regarded for his leadership skills and commitment to interdisciplinary research,” says John Finnegan, Ph.D, dean of the School of Public Health. “His work in medical decision-making will add to the school’s scope of expertise. His vision for attracting endowments and large, multi-investigator grants will bolster our reputation and create new opportunities for faculty and students.”

Prior to coming to Minnesota, Sainfort was the senior associate dean for interdisciplinary research in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech, director of the Health Systems Institute, a collaborative initiative at Georgia Tech and Emory University, and the William W. George professor of health systems in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University School of Medicine. He also held appointments as a professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the College of Management at Georgia Tech.

“I’m looking forward to working with my very forward-thinking colleagues in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health,” said Sainfort. “The researchers within the school are known for combining traditional public health with new techniques and for working across disciplines. This approach is key to addressing public health issues in the United States and globally.”

Sainfort’s research and expertise focus on medical decision making under risk and uncertainty, health outcomes modeling and measurement, health risk perception and assessment, health status assessment and monitoring, and health-related performance measurement and analysis. Examples of these issues include patients facing choices about cancer treatment, health care administrators deciding whether to invest in costly medical technology, and policymakers weighing issues of how to best invest taxpayer money for prevention strategies.

Sainfort has published more than 130 refereed publications and has served as principal investigator on more than $13 million in contracts and grants. He is an editorial board member for several leading journals and periodically reviews manuscripts for many other journals. He has served as chair of several conferences and has served on numerous scientific and/or organizing committees for several professional societies. He also is an expert consultant for the health care industry. His clients include health care delivery organizations, medical devices companies, clinical laboratories, and pharmaceutical, insurance, and information technology companies.

Sainfort received a doctorate in industrial engineering and management from the Ecole Centrale in Paris in 1987. Prior to his tenure at Georgia Tech, he was a professor of industrial engineering and center director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with joint appointments in the Department of Preventive Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

For more than 60 years, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health has been among the top accredited schools of public health in the nation.  With a mission focused on research, teaching, and service, the school attracts nearly $70 million in sponsored research each year, has more than 100 faculty members and more than 1,300 students, and is engaged in community outreach activities locally, nationally and in dozens of countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.sph.umn.edu. The School’s Centers for Public Health Education and Outreach promotes lifelong learning to bridge academic and public health practice communities.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

Contact: Kris Stouffer, School  of Public Health, 612-624-4460, stouffer@umn.edu
Molly Portz, Academic Health Center, 612-625-2640, mportz@umn.edu