José Szapocznik, Ph.D., has been named chairman of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Miller School of Medicine. Szapocznik also serves as associate dean for community development and director of the Center for Family Studies at the Miller School. He is considered a pioneer in the national effort to prevent and treat adolescent drug abuse and other behavior problems among Hispanic youth. Szapoczniks Brief Strategic Family Therapy has received national and international recognition for its success as a family-based intervention. Moreover, he leads a broadly interdisciplinary program of research on the impact of the built environment on behavior and health which brings together architects, behavioral scientists, statistical methodologists, endocrinologists, exercise physiologists, nutritionists and genomics.
