Faculty & Staff
Timothy H. Holtz, Chair
Timothy H. Holtz, M.D., M.P.H., was appointed as the Redstone Chair, and Director of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, in July 2024. A noted global health epidemiologist and leader, Dr. Holtz has devoted a majority of his career to international primary care and infectious disease prevention research, including vector borne diseases,
tuberculosis and drug-resistant tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and TB among persons with HIV.
From 2019–2024, Dr. Holtz served as the Deputy Director of the Office of AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of the NIH Director. Prior to his appointment to the NIH, Dr. Holtz served in global HIV and TB research, prevention, and control programs overseas as a country program director for both CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Division of Global HIV and TB. Dr. Holtz was also an adjunct Associate Professor of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.
In January 2020, the U.S. Commissioned Corps Headquarters, responsible for the administration and response coordination of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), announced the promotion of Dr. Holtz to the rank of Rear Admiral in the Commissioned Corps of the USPHS. As a Commissioned Corps flag officer, Dr. Holtz also had the title and responsibilities of an Assistant Surgeon General in the USPHS (2020–2024). He is the recipient of the USPHS Distinguished
Service Medal, two Outstanding Service Medals, and eleven Foreign Duty Service awards, among others.
Dr. Holtz received a B.A. in chemistry from St. Olaf College in 1986, an M.D. from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in 1991, and an M.P.H. in International Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine (Primary Care) at Harvard Medical School, a fellowship in Health and Human Rights at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Epidemic Intelligence Service fellowship training and a residency in Preventive Medicine at the CDC.
Rachel Clark, Policy Director
To encourage the enrollment of outstanding incoming pre-doctoral students who are interested in nutrition, physical activity, obesity, the Redstone Center provides a doctoral fellowship with 3 years of support at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. We attract outstanding students who are interested in solutions to the syndemic of nutrition, physical activity, obesity and climate change, including sustainability of the food supply chain, and select one student each year for this opportunity.
Our Current Fellows Are:
- Sydney Pryor, Health Policy Doctoral candidate
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Health Policy
Sydney Pryor, MPH is a third-year PhD candidate in Health Policy and Management focusing on de-siloing food policy and health policy research to achieve healthy and sustainable diets in the U.S. With a background in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, and Public Health Modeling, and long-standing interest in food policy and systems thinking, Sydney's research focuses on the U.S. agrifood system, and related policies, as drivers of the nexus between human and planetary health. For her dissertation, Sydney is using a systems approach to explore strategies to overcome policy inertia related to reducing red and processed meat production and consumption in the U.S. As a research assistant at Redstone, Sydney works on a number of policy issues at the local and federal level related to food and nutrition insecurity, diet-related chronic disease, and climate change.
- Christie St. Pierre, Exercise Physiology and Applied Nutrition Doctoral candidate
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Exercise Physiology and Applied Nutrition
Christie St. Pierre, MPH, RDN is a doctoral student in the Exercise Physiology and Applied Nutrition Program, where her research focuses on child nutrition & food security, school-based nutrition interventions, and food systems.
Her doctoral work builds on her previous experience with farming, agricultural policy, and dietetic practice in a school-based setting and has included evaluation work with nutrition and physical activity-focused organizations in Washington, DC and New Orleans, as well as a summer research position at the USDA ARS Food Systems Research Unit in Burlington, Vermont.
- Mariana Fagundes Grilo, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Doctoral candidate
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Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Mariana Fagundes Grilo, MPH, is an international PhD student from Brazil who is passionate about the many ways in which public policies can contribute to healthier food environments. Her current areas of study focus on different aspects of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) consumption: from identification of UPFs in the food supply to population exposure to UPFs and food additives. She is developing studies about the new nutrition labeling being implemented in Brazil, and participating in epidemiological, behavioral, and intervention studies related to UPF and food additives (such as artificial sweeteners) consumption and their impacts on chronic disease.
Previous experience also includes work and research on food and nutrition programs and strategies to guarantee the Human Right to Food, such as food basket and food vouchers programs, in addition to studies on the School Feeding Program in different countries.
Em Português: Mariana Fagundes Grilo, Mestre em Saúde Coletiva, é uma estudante internacional de doutorado, do Brasil, e que é apaixonada pelas várias maneiras pelas quais as políticas públicas podem contribuir para ambientes alimentares mais saudáveis.Sua área de estudo atual inclui diferentes aspectos do consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados (UPPs): desde a identificação de UPPs na oferta de alimentos até a exposição da população a UPPs e aditivos alimentares. Está desenvolvendo estudos sobre a nova rotulagem nutricional no Brasil e está participando de estudos epidemiológicos, comportamentais e de intervenção relacionados ao consumo de UPP e aditivos alimentares (como adoçantes artificiais) e seus impactos em doenças crônicas.
Experiências anteriores de pesquisa incluem trabalhos com programas e estratégias de alimentação e nutrição para garantir o Direito Humano à Alimentação, como programas de distribuição de cestas verdes e vale-alimentação, além de estudos sobre o Programa de Alimentação Escolar em diversos países.
To further deepen engagement within the Milken Institute SPH and amplify work across departments and the broader university community, the Redstone Center established an Internal Advisory Group (IAG) in 2015. Members meet annually to provide strategic support and guidance on the Center’s projects and plans.
The work of the Redstone Center is guided by an External Advisory Group (EAG), which meets on an annual basis to provide direction and recommendations. Created in December 2015, the EAG has helped to define Redstone’s scope of work and identify new opportunities, including special consideration of policy development and implementation.