NEWS
Milbank Memorial Fund Announces New Editor-in-Chief of The Milbank Quarterly
May 22, 2013
Howard Markel, M.D., Ph.D., will become Editor-in-Chief of The Milbank Quarterly on October 1, 2013, succeeding Bradford H. Gray, Ph.D., Editor since 2000. Announcing this appointment, Christopher F. Koller, who becomes President of the Milbank Memorial Fund on July 15, said that Dr. Markel is "superbly qualified to maintain and enhance the Quarterly's role as a leading international journal of health care policy and population health."
Dr. Markel will continue his current work as a professor, researcher, author, educator, and public health policy advisor. He serves as the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine and Director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan, where he also holds professorial appointments in psychiatry, public health, history, English literature and language, and pediatrics and communicable diseases.
A critically acclaimed historian of medicine, he has written more than 350 articles in peer-reviewed journals and the popular press. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, National Public Radio, and PBS NewsHour, and is also the author or editor of ten books. His most recent volume is the national best-seller An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug, Cocaine (Pantheon/Alfred Knopf Books, 2011), which was reviewed on the front page of The New York Times Book Review and described as "a tour-de-force of scientific and social history." An internationally known authority on the social history of epidemics and quarantine, Dr. Markel leads a research team at the University of Michigan investigating the effectiveness of public health interventions during influenza pandemics from 1918 to the present. As a result of this work, he advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on policy for preventing and containing current outbreaks of that disease. Dr. Markel was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008.
"I am deeply honored to be chosen to edit the Quarterly, a journal of distinction and excellence since its founding in 1923. With the growth of medical care expenses and the ongoing challenges to the health of populations and communities, the need for thought-provoking, peer-reviewed, and socially relevant interdisciplinary research and writing in the health services field will only grow in the coming years. The Quarterly will be one of the key places to find such critical information for health care policymakers and scholars as well as population health practitioners," Dr. Markel said. Noting that President Koller has also asked him to advise about other publications of the Fund, he added, "I look forward to the challenge of using electronic and print media to expand the audiences for the achievements of this great foundation and the stellar work of our colleagues and contributors."
For more information on this appointment and the Fund's work, please contact John R. Ball, Interim President, at 212-355-8400 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Milbank Memorial Fund Announces New President
April 18, 2013
The Board of Directors of the Milbank Memorial Fund is pleased to announce it has selected Christopher F. Koller to become the next President of the Fund. He will succeed Carmen Hooker Odom, starting July 15, 2013. Mr. Koller, currently Health Insurance Commissioner for the State of Rhode Island, is a nationally recognized leader in state health policy, Medicaid managed care, and health plan regulatory development. His experience with the Fund includes participation in the Fund’s Reforming States Group and founding membership in the Multi-State Learning Health System Collaborative.
“For over one hundred years, the Milbank Memorial Fund has been on the forefront of linking theory and practice to improve the health of populations,” said Board Chairman Samuel L. (Tony) Milbank. “As the U.S. grapples with health care challenges, including rising costs, rising obesity rates, and implementing the Affordable Care Act, the Fund is committed to disseminating research and convening leaders to address these challenges. In Mr. Koller, we have found someone to lead this effort.”
Mr. Koller was appointed the first health insurance commissioner in the country in 2005. In that role, he developed comprehensive commercial health insurance oversight strategies, led statewide insurance affordability efforts—particularly in all-payer payment reform and primary care practice revitalization—and helped Rhode Island implement the Affordable Care Act. He has served on the Institute of Medicine’s Essential Health Benefits Commission, the Executive Committee of the National Academy for State Health Policy, various committees for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and numerous national panels. Previously, he was CEO of the Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, achieving a ranking of first among Medicaid HMOs by U.S. News and World Report. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and math from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in public and private management from Yale University, and a master’s degree in religion, concentrating on social ethics, from Yale Divinity School.
“I am grateful to the Board of the Fund for extending to me this opportunity,” said Mr. Koller. “I look forward to working with the Fund’s many collaborators to build on its strong tradition of communicating high-quality interdisciplinary research on critical issues affecting the health of populations and linking it to effective practices through networks of policymakers.”
For more information on this appointment and the Fund’s work, please contact John R. Ball, Interim President, at 212-355-8400 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .