National Program Office

The National Program Office (NPO) provides overall direction, technical assistance and development of core curriculum for the Clinical Scholars program. Since March 1, 2007, the NPO has been located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Social Medicine with additional resources provided by the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
 

Desmond Runyan, MD, DrPH
National Program Director
Department of Pediatrics
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Desmond.Runyan@childrenscolorado.org

Desmond Runyan, MD, DrPH is National Program Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect and as the Jack and Viki Thompson Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado. Prior to joining the University of Colorado in 2012, Runyan served as a faculty member at UNC for 30 years including 7 years as chair of the Department of Social Medicine. Runyan was a RWJF Clinical Scholar at UNC from 1979-81 after medical school and residency at the University of Minnesota. He began his research career in the area of child abuse as a Clinical Scholar.

Dr. Runyan's work involves the application of clinical epidemiology to the problem of violence against children. His research has focused on the impact of societal intervention on the mental health functioning of the child victims. He has examined the impact of the foster care system, court testimony, and the medical examination on the children. His work has touched on all aspects of abuse including sexual abuse, physical abuse, Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy, and Failure-to-Thrive. Dr. Runyan's current project is a 22-year study of the impact of abuse. Information about this study can be found at www.iprc.unc.edu/longscan. He participated in the UN Secretary General’s Study of Children and Violence as a member of the NGO Advisory Panel. His recent work has included prevention of shaken baby syndrome in a statewide trial and understanding the international epidemiology of child abuse.



Kristin Siebenaler, MPA
Deputy Director
ksieben@med.unc.edu

Kristin Siebenaler, MPA, is the National Program Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars program. Prior to coming to UNC in 2007, she spent seven of the last eight years as a consultant and senior health research analyst for RTI International in Research Triangle Park, NC.  At RTI, she examined federal and state funding, policies and regulations designed to support the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, particularly persons of all ages with disabilities and children.  From 2002-2003, she served as Director of Strategic Planning for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh, NC. 

Between 1994-1999, she was a policy and program analyst at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC, including two years as a Presidential Management Fellow.  Siebenaler has a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Kathy Donnald
Program Administrator
donnald@med.unc.edu

Kathy Donnald is the Program Administrator for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars program. Prior to coming to the University of North Carolina, Kathy worked as a Program Coordinator for the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Connecticut Health Center. A key role was to provide support to several initiatives involved in the elimination of health disparities within the region. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland and is currently working on obtaining her Masters in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.






Meghan Boyd
Program Assistant
mboyd@unc.edu

Resources

Clinical Scholars Brochure

Clinical Scholars Presentation - Full (PPT - 30.5 MB)

Clinical Scholars Presentation - Short (PPT - 9.3 MB)

Clinical Scholars Newsletter

Clinical Scholars Maps

The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
333 S. Columbia Street
MacNider Hall Rm. 323 CB# 7105
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7105
Tel. 919.843.1351 Fax 919.843.2666

rwjcsp_admin@med.unc.edu