Core

Bruce B. Bragg, MPH, is the Public Health Liaison for the program and maintains responsibility for the practicum/field placements for students enrolled in the degree program. He also works as an Outreach Specialist in the Institute for Health Care Studies. Mr. Bragg has a BS in Economics from the University of Oregon and an MPH in Public Health Administration from the University of Michigan. For 30 years, Mr. Bragg served as the Director of the Ingham County Health Department (ICHD) in Michigan. The ICHD operates a network of community health centers and has Federally Qualified Health Center status. The ICHD is responsible traditional public health functions including preparedness, environmental health, and disease control services. It serves as the administrative agent for a network of county health plans throughout Michigan that enroll more than 50,000 uninsured persons in a basic health benefit product. Mr. Bragg was a long serving member of the National Association for County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), serving on many of its advisory committees and representing NACCHO on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality. He is currently a member of the Ingham Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees.

Kathleen Oberst, RN, PhD, works with the program as Assistant Director and is responsible for the administrative operations and academic affairs. She also works with the Institute for Health Care Studies supporting the Institute’s research and outreach activities. She holds undergraduate degrees in Microbiology and Nursing, and master’s and doctoral degrees in Epidemiology. Dr. Oberst has a clinical background in medical-surgical care, emergency nursing, and pre-hospital emergency care. She has more than ten years of experience in health care quality improvement in both the acute inpatient and managed care settings. Dr. Oberst is a Professional Emergency Manager and has also earned Professional certification from the Academy for Healthcare Management. She successfully completed the International Committee of the Red Cross’ Health Emergencies in Large Populations course sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health along with an internship with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Disaster Epidemiology team. Dr. Oberst is a board member for the Michigan Public Health Association and the Michigan Journal of Public Heath. She participates with the Membership Committee for the American College of Epidemiology and is also a member of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, the American Public Health Association, and the Michigan Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.

Michael R. Rip, MSc(Comm Health), PhD, serves as Director of the PPH. He is responsible for overseeing the operations of the program as well as positioning the program for future expansion and development of specialty tracts and directing the accreditation efforts of the program. Dr. Rip is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Criminal Justice. He directs various public health programs and is a dedicated undergraduate and postgraduate teacher of epidemiology and public health. He is interested in integrating the core concepts of public health and epidemiology into strategic intelligence analyst training programs, and into third-year medical students’ curriculum. Dr. Rip is a spatial epidemiologist and medical geographer interested in exploring the role of geography in reproductive and perinatal epidemiology. He has a long history of such research in Southern Africa. He is the author of two books and numerous articles in reproductive and perinatal epidemiology, and the regionalization of perinatal care, particularly the tension between regionalized health care and managed care services. Dr. Rip is currently researching a third book: “Blunt Scalpel: Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Proliferation, and the U.S. Military.”