Presenter Details

Presenter
Edward J. Roccella PhD, MPH

Edward Roccella received his Bachelor of Science degree from East Tennessee State University. He continued his education at the University of Michigan and earned a Master of Public Health and Doctor of Philosophy degree in health education and health behavior. Former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Wilbur Cohen served as an advisor and a member of his disserta-tion committee. Dr. Roccella began his professional career as Director of Continuing Education at the University of Pittsburgh Regional Medical Program and as an Instructor in Community Medicine. Subsequently, he became an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Medi-cal School and School of Public Health. Since 1978 he has worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland as Coordinator of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP). In this position he directed the NHBPEP public, patient and professional activities, which have been cited to improve the nation’s hypertension profile and contributed to the nation’s large decline in cardiovascular disease. As NHBPEP Coordinator, he organized 45 professional, voluntary and official organizations into one body, which developed national clini-cal guidelines for prevention and treatment of hypertension, the Joint National Committee re-ports. He has led United States scientific exchange delegations regarding the prevention and treatment of hypertension to Brazil, Germany, Egypt and Jordan. Dr. Roccella has authored 107 publications in scientific journals and textbooks dealing with prevention and control of high blood pressure, patient education, public health approaches to improving cardiovascular health and evaluating large-scale public health programs. He is a past president of the Society for Public Health Education; a former member of the American Public Health Association Governing Council, and serves as a referee for several national and international scientific and medical journals. The Federal Republic of Germany, the Egyptian Ministry of health, and the Brazilian Ministry of health have recognized his contributions to hypertension prevention and control. Dr. Roccella has been awarded the National Institutes of Health Directors Award, the HealthTrac Foundation Prize, the University of Michigan John Romani Prize for lifetime achievement in public health administration, the American Society of Hypertension Presidents Award, the Inter-national Society of Hypertension in Blacks Presidential Award, the Society for Public Health Education Distinguished Fellow, and the 2008 Senator Frank Laughtenberg Award. He retired from the National Institutes of Health in 2007 and remains active in the cardiovascular disease prevention and control field and serves on the Medical/Public Health Advisory Boards of four national professional and advocacy organizations.