Center for Adolescent Health Appoints New Director

The Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, one of 28 prevention research centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control, appointed Freya Lund Sonenstein, PhD, as its new director. Dr. Sonenstein replaces Cheryl Alexander, RN, PhD, who is stepping down to resume teaching full time in the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences.

Dr. Sonenstein formerly directed the Population Studies Center at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC, where she conducted applied research related to family and children's policy. Dr. Sonenstein completed several landmark behavioral studies that address the lack of information about men, which is a major gap in reproductive health. She directs the National Survey of Adolescent Males, which is funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development to study fertility behavior and reproductive health among a national sample of young men ages 15-19.

Dr. Sonenstein worked with the National Center for Health Statistics to design the expansion of the National Survey of Family Growth to include male respondents. Dr. Sonenstein has also written a popular guide for program planners about how to involve males in teenage pregnancy prevention and a blueprint for a national agenda highlighting the sexual and reproductive health needs of young men.

Dr. Sonenstein said, “The Center, with its strong ties to academia and the Baltimore community, offers a unique opportunity to conduct research that can contribute to improved health among teenagers and their families in this city. I’m looking forward to working with the Center’s faculty and staff and our Community and Youth Advisory Boards to develop projects that will make a difference as the Center moves into its second decade.”