For Immediate Release

AAP Contact: Debbie Linchesky, 847-434-7084

Photo available in the AAP online newsroom

CHICAGO – The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) welcomes Jonathan D. Klein, MD, MPH, FAAP, to join the AAP as an associate executive director and director of the Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, effective August 2009. The AAP is the nation’s largest pediatric organization, with a membership of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists.

Dr. Klein is the founding director of the AAP Julius B. Richmond Center for Excellence, a national center dedicated to the elimination of children’s exposure to tobacco and secondhand smoke, funded by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute and the American Legacy Foundation, which began in 2006. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed research papers addressing tobacco prevention and control as well as access and quality of care for youth, child and adolescent preventive services. He has served on numerous federal and private sector advisory and review committees, and is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

In his new role, Dr. Klein will oversee the Richmond Center and direct the development and management of AAP policies and programs in research and specified areas of public health. In addition, Dr. Klein will work to expand the Academy’s international presence to enhance child health care globally. “I am proud to join the staff of the AAP, an organization that has an outstanding track record for setting today’s pediatric health standards,” said Dr. Klein. “I look forward to working on AAP initiatives in the field of child health research in areas to improve public health.”

Dr. Klein joined the faculty of the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y., in 1992. He is currently a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, and served as associate chair for community affairs in the Department of Pediatrics from 2006 to 2009, and as Interim Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine from 2007 to 2009.

###

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.