The Promise Armenian Institute, August 31, 2021 — Professor Alina Dorian, associate dean for public health practice, and equity, diversity and inclusion at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, was recently appointed vice chair of the Los Angeles County Public Health Commission.
The LA County Public Health Commission was established to review, study, advise and make recommendations to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Director of Public Health and Health Officer, the Chief Deputy of Public Health and Department of Public Health Programs on all matters related to public health. The body plays an integral role in the work that DPH conducts through inquiry, oversight, review and recommendations.
Professor Dorian was appointed to the commission by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger in August 2018.
Professor Dorian has nearly three decades of public health practice experience, two decades of which have been at UCLA, during which she’s held multiple key positions, including her current role as associate dean, as well as associate director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters and associate director for the MPH for Health Professionals Program. Prior to her time at UCLA, she served as the senior health associate in International Services for the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C and as a public health consultant for several international nongovernmental organizations. Most recently, Professor Dorian has been co-leading the California Connected Virtual Training Academy (VTA) for COVID-19 contact tracers and case investigators for the state of California in partnership with UC San Francisco and the California Department of Public Health.
Professor Dorian has dedicated a significant portion of her career to the betterment of the public health infrastructure in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsakh). Since the end of the first Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) war in 1994, Professor Dorian has been intimately involved in the re-organization and development of the health sector in NK. She authored its first national health plan and undertook a comprehensive review of the health sector to understand the true needs of the population, leading the first-ever large-scale national survey in the region. That survey collected information on fertility and family planning behavior, child mortality and the utilization of maternal and child health services. She was honored by a “Medal of Gratitude” by the former President of Nagorno-Karabakh for her contributions to the reconstruction and development of its healthcare system.
Professor Dorian is also the principal investigator for the National Contact Tracing and Case Investigation Program for the Republic of Armenia, a project under the auspices of the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA and in collaboration with the AUA Turpanjian School of Public Health and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia. The program aims to strengthen the COVID-19 contact tracing system in Armenia by rapidly and effectively training individuals in contact tracing, outbreak management and evidence-based public health practices. Since its launch, the initiative has expanded to establish a call center and has undertaken planning for an emergency operation center of the National Center for Disease Control of Armenia.
Professor Dorian is one of the co-leads of UCLA’s Operation Armenia, which provides immediate medical disaster relief and long-term humanitarian aid and infrastructure support to Armenia and Artsakh. Within this initiative, she leads the COVID-19 and Displaced Populations Working Groups, and has implemented a COVID-19 In-Home Management Program that helps address the urgent public health needs of Armenia and build the capacity of the public health workforce now and for the future.
The Promise Armenian Institute congratulates Professor Dorian on this appointment and is grateful for her continued service and dedication to the health and welfare of communities in Los Angeles, Armenia and Artsakh.