WASHINGTON, DC—The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services is pleased to announce that Loretta DiPietro, PhD, MPH, will serve as the new chair of GW’s Department of Exercise Science. Dr. DiPietro comes to GW from The John B. Pierce Laboratory, where she serves as an associate fellow, and from Yale University School of Medicine, where she serves as an associate professor of Epidemiology and Public Health. 

“We are extremely excited that Loretta DiPietro is joining the GW School of Public Health and Health Services Exercise Science department. She brings the skills to bridge the clinical and physiological domains of exercise science with population-based public health approaches. Many of today’s critical public health problems can be addressed through improved nutrition and physical activity and, under Dr. DiPietro’s leadership, the department’s students and faculty will contribute significantly to the solutions,” said Ruth J. Katz, JD, MPH, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Services.

Dr. DiPietro is an accomplished researcher, with much of her recent work focusing on physical activity and health in older adults. She is the recipient of many distinguished awards and honors and serves on a host of expert committees which advise organizations ranging from the American Heart Association to the American College of Sports Medicine. She is also a dedicated teacher and coach. 

Dr. DiPietro holds a BS degree in Health Education and an MS degree in Health Education/Exercise Science, both from Southern Connecticut University. She earned her MPH from Yale University, and also her PhD in Epidemiology. Dr. DiPietro completed her postdoctoral work at the John B. Pierce Laboratory, Yale University and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she served as an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). 

Dr. DiPietro’s introduction to students and faculty took place on Dec. 14, 2007. She emphasized the extraordinary collaborative opportunities for exercise science education and research that exist across numerous SPHHS and Medical Center departments, and expressed her enthusiasm for meeting the challenges that lie ahead. 

Dr. DiPietro, second from right, with
Exercise Science faculty members

About The George Washington University Medical Center

The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high-quality medical care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for 176 years. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11^th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation’s capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on GWUMC, visit www.gwumc.edu.