Mark J. DeHaven, Ph.D.

Curriculum Vitae

Background and Experience:

Dr. DeHaven is a community medicine practitioner and researcher, and has developed three different medical school divisions dedicated to community medicine and community health science research.  His research program has received continuous federal funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and numerous foundations for improving the health of vulnerable residents in low-resource environments.  Prior to his present position as Director, Academy for Research on Community Health, Engagement and Services (ARCHES), he was Professor and Chief, Division of Community Health Sciences and Vice Chair and Chief, Division of Community Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Education:

• Ph.D. International Behavior, Areas of Specialization: Comparative Systems, Behavioral Research and Methodology, 1988
• M.A. International Relations, University of Florida – Gainesville, 1985
• B.A. Social Sciences, Marietta College, 1976

Professional Biography:

Dr. DeHaven has been building community health improvement and community-based research capacity in the United States and globally for more than two decades.  Since 1994, he has been developing a comprehensive model of community medicine combining clinical science, epidemiology, and social sciences for reducing chronic disease in underserved and high-risk communities.  While at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas he founded the Divisions of Community Medicine and Community Health Sciences, the Community Health Fellowship Program, and the Community Action Research Track.  Recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) projects include: principal investigator, The GoodNEWS (Genes, Nutrition, Exercise, Wellness, and Spiritual Growth) Trial (RO1 HL087768),  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); co-investigator and community engagement key function director, North and Central Texas Clinical and Translational Science Initiative (U54 RR023468; CTSA), National Center for Research Resources (NCRR); and research core director and principal investigator,  Reducing Obesity in African American Women through Lifestyle Enhancement (P20 MD006882), National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

Dr. DeHaven is a recipient of the President’s Award, North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG), the world’s leading primary care research organization; the Dallas Academy of Medicine Philanthropy Award; and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Professional of The Year Award.  He is a frequent speaker on sustainable models of community health improvement for reducing chronic disease in the United States, Peru, Mexico and most recently China.  He has been recognized for his community health improvement activities in Mexico with the Programa de Desarrollo Humano Oportunidades (Program of Human Development and Opportunity) and his contribution to developing community-medicine approaches in Lima and Huancavelica, Peru.  During the past decade he has supervised medical student global community health projects in twelve countries.  He is presently the founding director of the UNC Charlotte, Academy for Research on Community Health, Engagement, and Services (ARCHES), dedicated to bridging health promotion research and community well-being locally and globally, and Visiting Professor, Harbin Medical University (HMU), Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Harbin, China, where he and his Chinese collaborators are developing a large-scale community-based approach for promoting health and preventing disease among China’s 250 million rural to urban immigrants.