Dr. Gretchen Piatt announced as new DLHS Chair

The formal announcement came from Michigan Medicine Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dr. Marschall Runge, and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Steven Kunkel. Dr. Piatt’s Chair appointment began on September 1, 2024. The provost has provided interim approval of Dr. Piatt's appointment, which will be reported at the September Board of Regents meeting.

Dr. Piatt told DLHS communications that she looks forward to “fostering a departmental environment that encourages cutting-edge research, innovative teaching methodologies, and impactful service. She emphasized, “We are in an era of rapid advancement in higher education, and I am honored to lead DLHS through the inevitable changes that will occur, ensuring our curricula remain current with pedagogical advancements and our research responds effectively to scholarly trends and societal needs.”

Dr. Piatt is also a health behavior and equity professor in the School of Public Health. She serves as the Director of the Health Infrastructures and Learning Systems (HILS) Graduate Education Program, which is focused on transforming health through learning health system approaches. Dr. Piatt is also a member of the Precision Health Initiative, the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), and the Caswell Diabetes Institute.

Dr. Piatt has been involved extensively in committee, educational, administrative, and scholarly activities during her time at the University of Michigan. She was the director of the LHS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative from 2016-20, the associate director of the Health Infrastructure and Learning Systems M.S. and Ph.D. Program from 2017-19, Director of the Precision Health Certificate, Associate Chair for Education in DLHS, and Vice-Chair of the department 

Dr. Piatt earned her Ph.D. and Master of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh before joining the faculty as a research instructor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. She joined the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor in 2011 and ascended to professor in 2023.

Dr. Piatt is a highly successful scholar, recognized nationally and internationally. She is an expert in designing, implementing, and evaluating community interventions to improve healthcare delivery in ethnic minority and underserved populations with diabetes. She has been continuously federally funded in this area for over 18 years, and her research portfolio exceeds $25 million. She co-directs the Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research, one of seven diabetes translational science centers in the United States.