Joining Environmental and Health Advocacy to Reduce Tobacco's Burden on People and Ecosystems

Dr. Novotny is Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the San Diego State University (SDSU) School of Public Health. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (MD 1973) and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (MPH Epidemiology 1992). The University of Nebraska awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2015. Previously, he served as an epidemiologist in the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services. He co-directed the Joint PhD program in Global Health at SDSU/UCSD from 2009-2015, and he has done extensive research on tobacco and the environment. In 2010, he founded the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project, a research, educational, and advocacy non-profit organization that addresses tobacco’s impact on the environment. He is a member of the American Public Health Association, the American College of Preventive Medicine, the US Public Health Service Commissioned Officers Association, and the Council on Foreign Relations.