The board brings together a diverse group of leading public health, environmental and medical experts. The WellAir MAB will study and advise upon the advancement of indoor air and surface quality with an emphasis on improving respiratory, immunological, oncological, and general public health outcomes.
Board Chair
Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA
Fmr. U.S. Surgeon General
Dr. Benjamin is a former vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who served as the 18th U.S. Surgeon General from 2009 to 2013. She also served as chair of the National Prevention Council, a group of 17 cabinet-level federal agencies that developed the road map for health in the U.S. She is the Founder and CEO of BayouClinic, Inc., a nonprofit primary care medical center in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. and the Gulf States Health Policy Center. Aside from her clinical duties, she is also an operating partner at Revival Healthcare Capital.
Among her numerous accolades, Dr. Benjamin received a MacArthur Genius Award Fellowship in 2008, the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1998 and was recognized with the Papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. Dr. Benjamin is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She has been chosen as a Kellogg National Fellow and Rockefeller Next Generation Leader.
Board Member
David J. Weber, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Department of Infection Prevention, UNC Medical Center
Associate Chief Medical Officer, UNC Medical Center
Dr. David J. Weber is a world-renowned leader in the treatment of infectious diseases. He is the Charles Addison and Elizabeth Ann Sanders Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Associate Chief Medical Officer for UNC Medical Center and serves as Medical Director, Department of Infection Prevention, UNC Medical Center.
Dr. Weber is cited as an author in >440 scientific publications by PubMed.
Board Member
Daniel E. Dawes, JD
Executive Director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute
Morehouse School of Medicine
Daniel E. Dawes, JD, is the Executive Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and is a professor in the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine. His passion for addressing disparate health outcomes is exemplified in his unyielding commitment to building collaboratives, including the United States Department of Health and Human Services grant-funded National COVID-19 Resiliency Network, the Health Equity Leadership & Exchange Network, and the Health Equity Tracker, which all exist to leverage evidence-based research, data, and solutions to advance health equity.
A globally respected leader in the advancement of health equity, Professor Dawes is the recipient of several national awards. These include the American Public Health Association's Award for Significant Contributions to Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Health Equity Champion Award, and the National Medical Association’s Louis Stokes Health Policy Award.
Board Member
Thomas Caranasos, MD
Director, Adult Cardiac Surgery, UNC School of Medicine
Medical Director, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Program, UNC School of Medicine
Dr. Thomas Caranasos is an adult cardiac and thoracic surgeon at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine. His expertise includes heart and lung transplantation, ventricular assist device implantation, and minimally invasive approaches to cardiac surgery. In addition to his role of Director of Adult Cardiac Surgery and Assistant Professor of Surgery, Dr. Caranasos leads the structural heart program focusing on transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
