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Massetti was selected to lead the Department of Population Health Sciences following a national search
ATLANTA— Greta Massetti, one of the nation’s leading scholars on the global epidemiology of violence and its association with infectious disease, has joined the Georgia State University School of Public Health as Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences.
Massetti comes to Georgia State from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she was Principal Deputy Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing CDC’s data, science and programs to reduce overdoses, violence and suicide, and address mental health challenges. She is one of the top 30 authors of intervention research in school psychology and has published more than 130 scientific publications and reports related to adverse childhood experiences, the associations between gender-based violence and HIV, and the global epidemiology of violence.
Prior to joining CDC, Massetti was an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo with a joint appointment in the departments of psychology and pediatrics. Massetti earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She completed a post-doctoral psychology residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
“Dr. Massetti brings an exemplary record of leadership and scholarship to the School of Public Health,” said Dean Rodney Lyn. “The breadth of her experience and connections with Atlanta’s vibrant public health community make her especially well-positioned to lead the Department of Population Health Sciences as it educates promising students and addresses urgent challenges to local and global health.”
A Q&A with Massetti is below:
I am a non-traditional public health professional; I trained as a clinical psychologist and started my career doing clinical research translating evidence-based mental health interventions to urban school settings. The objectives of my research were to make mental health services accessible to all, particularly communities that had historically been underserved by the mental health service delivery system. We did important, impactful work, but one of the challenges I encountered was that what was often presented as a mental health issue among children and adolescents was in fact a series of challenges that young people, their families and their communities were experiencing as a result of economic and social disenfranchisement. That is what drew me to public health – I was seeking population-level impact. I moved from my academic position to a job as a scientist at CDC in 2007, and I never looked back. In my 18 years at CDC, I was fortunate to have many opportunities to use data and science to improve the health and well-being of communities across the world. In my transition to GSU, I am thrilled that I can continue to pursue important, impactful research, contribute to student mentorship and faculty development, and play a part in ensuring that the field of public health continues to meet the challenges and needs of the current moment.
First, I love GSU’s mission: its commitment to transforming the lives of students is closely aligned with my professional passions, to which I have dedicated my career. I have also been so impressed with the School of Public Health’s commitments to academic and research excellence while fostering a collaborative, supportive community. When I met the PHS faculty and the leadership of the School of Public Health, I knew this was an environment where people are given an opportunity to thrive.
I use the power of data to improve the health and well-being of children, women and girls around the world by informing policy and program changes. If you wanted to understand the challenges and opportunities facing young people in your community or your country, the best way would be to ask them directly. My work involves using population data – mostly from surveys – to gain deep insights about the health and life conditions that people experience, and using those data to drive impactful changes. By talking to thousands of young people in communities and countries around the world, we can hear directly about the barriers they encounter to living healthy, full lives. We can then use these insights to support policymakers and government leaders to make decisions about where to make smart investments that will directly impact young people.
I have been so fortunate to have had amazing mentors throughout my public health career. From each of my mentors, I have learned tools and strategies that have informed my approach to mentoring and leadership. My leadership philosophy is grounded in the concepts of openness, transparency and trust. I am driven to collaborate with colleagues and students so that we can build a joint vision for success. In my work with colleagues and partners in Africa, many would often quote a well-known African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” That adage has held true in many contexts for me – it highlights the value of collaboration to achieve greater impact and sustainability. And you can’t have true collaboration without honesty, transparency and trust.
My first priority is to listen. I intend to work hard to understand the challenges and opportunities facing PHS, and to create a shared agenda through faculty, staff and student engagement. I have so much to learn about the strengths and needs of the department, and the best teachers are the amazing faculty, staff and students who are part of this thriving community. Together, I know we’ll identify opportunities to advance research excellence, support student success and continue to build a thriving, engaged community.
I also want to acknowledge that the field of public health has been through a series of shocks. There are no corners of public health that have been left unaffected by the challenges and burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the changes we have encountered in the past year. It is my firm belief that the public health community does its best work when we are most in need, by coming together and leaning on each other – our common values, our empathy and our shared commitment. I look forward to finding ways for us to bring our collective resources as a School of Public Health to bear to meet public health’s challenges today and tomorrow, together.