April 30, 2018

Alumna Latonya Riddle-Jones wins spot in health policy fellowship and Harvard public health program

Wayne State University School of Medicine faculty member and alumna Latonya Riddle-Jones, M.D., '08, was accepted to the Society of General Internal Medicine's Leadership in Health Policy program for the 2018-2019 year. The LEAHP fellowship is a competitive program designed to develop faculty leaders in health policy and advocacy.

Additionally, she was accepted to the Master of Public Health program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Epidemiology. In June, she will start the two-year program, a mix of online and on campus classes in Boston.

Dr. Riddle-Jones is an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She also is medical director for Corktown Health Center in Detroit, Michigan's first nonprofit medical home dedicated to serving adult LGBTQ patients and their families. The center is a collaboration of Health Emergency Lifeline Programs, WSU and the Wayne State University Physician Group.

"Being a LEAHP Scholar for just a short period of time, I have learned so much about how health policy is created and pushed through or stalled in Congress and the Senate, advocacy, graduate medical education spending and appropriations," she said. "It has affirmed for me that I need to do more as an educator, clinician and American to improve public health in this country, and I believe I will have a greater impact using health policy as my vehicle."

She is a member of the SGIM's Health Policy Committee and that committee's Education and Clinical Subcommittees.

Dr. Riddle-Jones also is associate medical director for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute's Tri-County Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, which provides breast, cervical and colon cancer screenings for uninsured and underinsured woman 40 to 65 years old. The program is funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"She is committed to improving the health of the underserved and advocating on their behalf," said Professor and Vice Chair of Education for Internal Medicine Diane Levine, M.D. "She is a star."

Dr. Riddle-Jones completed her Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency at the School of Medicine in 2012. She is board certified in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. She is a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, Academic Pediatrics Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, Michigan State Medical Society, Wayne County Medical Society, Detroit Medical Society, American Medical Association and the Student National Medical Association/Black Medical Association.

She was named Community Service Resident of the Year in 2011 and Resident of the Year in 2012. She received the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Faculty Teaching Award, chosen by residents, in 2015 and 2016.

Subscribe to Today@Wayne

Direct to your inbox twice a week