Howard Koh '69 HGS, 2012 Distinguished Alumnus

On Reunion Day, June 9, 2012, Hopkins School presented Dr. Howard K. Koh ’69 HGS with its 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award at the annual alumni/ae Luncheon. The Hopkins Distinguished Alumni/ae Award is given yearly to recognize excellence among its talented men and women graduates who are making outstanding contributions in their given professions or fields of endeavor. Head of School Barbara Riley introduced Howard Koh before he spoke to the gathered alumni/ae about his favorite Hopkins memories and his career in public health. Following his address, Barbara Riley presented him with the award. Koh was joined by his wife, Claudia Arrigg, brother Harold Hongju Koh '71 HGS, mother Hesung Chun Koh, Ph.D, and niece Emily Koh '04.

(The following was previously printed in the Fall 2011 Views from the Hill)

Nominated by President Obama in 2009, Dr. Koh serves as the 14th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He oversees 14 core public health offices and serves as senior public health advisor to the Secretary. As Assistant Secretary, Dr. Koh is dedicated to creating better public health systems for prevention and care so that all people can reach their highest-attainable standard of health. He concluded long ago, he says, that “the power to prevent is just as critical as the ability to heal.”

Previously, Dr. Koh served at the Harvard School of Public Health as the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health and Associate Dean for Public Health Practice. He was also Director of the Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness. Dr. Koh has published more than 200 articles in medical and public health literature on the topics of health disparities, cancer control, melanoma and skin oncology, tobacco control, public health preparedness, disease prevention and health promotion, and public health leadership.

Dr. Koh is one of a relative handful of U.S. physicians who are board certified in four specialties; his are internal medicine, hematology, medical oncology, and dermatology. From 1997 to 2003, he served as Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and headed the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which included a wide range of health services, four hospitals, and a staff of more than 3,000 professionals. In this role, he advocated for disease prevention and strengthened the state’s commitment to eliminating health disparities. During his years of service, the state saw advances in the areas of tobacco control, cancer screening, bioterrorism responsiveness, health services for the homeless, newborn screenings, organ donation, suicide prevention, and international public health partnerships.

Dr. Koh has earned numerous awards and honors for his interdisciplinary accomplishments in medicine and public health, including the Distinguished Service Award from the American Cancer Society and the Drs. Jack E. White/LaSalle D. Leffall Cancer Prevention Award from the American Association for Cancer Research and the Intercultural Cancer Council. He is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and served as a presidential appointee to the National Cancer Advisory Board from 2000 to 2002. A past Chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for a Health Future (which furthered the Commonwealth’s groundbreaking tobacco-control initiative), Dr. Koh was named by the New England Division of the American Cancer Society as “one of the most influential persons in the fight against tobacco during the last 25 years.”

In 2003, in recognition of his contributions to the fields of early detection and prevention of melanoma, the Boston Red Sox designated Dr. Koh as a “Medical All Star,” allowing him the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park. He and his wife, Dr. Claudia Arrigg, are the proud parents of three children.