Associate Director for Science

Staff Bio

Aun Lor, PhD, MPH, MA

Global Health Center (GHC)

Dr. Lor is the Acting Associate Director for Science at GHC. In this role, he oversees science quality, integrity, ethics, health equity science, extramural research programs, and regulatory compliance.

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CDC role

Dr. Lor oversees science quality, integrity, ethics, health equity science, extramural research programs, and regulatory compliance for the Global Health Center's divisions and CDC country offices. In this role, Dr. Lor leads extramural research programs, health equity science efforts, human subjects protection, and PRA/OMB determination for the Global Health Center.

Dr. Lor also serves as the primary focal point on global public health ethics. He is an active co-founding member of the CDC Public Health Ethics Committee (PHEC) since 2005. He is co-chair of GHC's Title-42 hiring board for scientists.

Previous experience

Dr. Lor joined the Global Health Center in 2010 and serve as the Deputy Associate Director for Science, Senior Science Advisor since 2016. He has served on multiple extended terms as GHC Acting ADS.

Prior to joining GHC he was the senior science and policy advisor for the Scientific Education and Professional Development Program Office (SEPDPO), now known as Epidemiology and Laboratory Workforce Branch. Dr. Lor provided scientific and policy guidance to CDC fellows and conducted manuscript clearance, protocol review and trainings to CDC fellows including the Epidemic Intelligence Service fellows. Dr. Lor led the integration of health equity in global health science and program activities, which resulted in the formation of the CGH Health Equity Team and the development of the Global Health Equity Strategy.

He joined CDC in the inaugural class of the Public Health Prevention Service (PHPS) in 1997, working on various topical assignments, including a two-year assignment at the Florida Department of Health working on HIV prevention with African American youths in South Florida and the Florida Panhandle.

Upon returning to CDC headquarters in 2000, he founded and served as first chair of the CDC Health and Human Rights Workgroup (HHRW), an officially recognized CDC science workgroup, collaborating with the CDC Social Determinants of Health and Measures of Racism Workgroups to promote the integration of human rights-based approach to public health for over a decade. CDC's HHRW led efforts in co-sponsoring the Third International Conference on Health and Human Rights in 2005.

In 2005 he was invited by CDC Associate Director for Science to serve on a small committee that culminated in the formation of CDC Public Health Ethics Committee (PHEC). He served as the first chair of the PHEC education subcommittee, coordinating and implementing public health ethics trainings for CDC staff for several years.

Prior to joining CDC, Dr. Lor worked collaboratively with multiple Atlanta-based institutions, including CDC, CARE-USA, the Carter Center, Emory University. He also works with other institutions on issues related to health, human rights, and social justice and played a minor role in the global campaign to ban anti-personal landmines. While a student at Emory University, he co-founded the International Students Association for Health and Human Rights, co-developed the first cross-disciplinary course on health and social justice at Emory and co-found the Atlanta Alliance for Health and Human Rights, a coalition of Atlanta-based organizations.

Areas of expertise

Dr. Lor brings a holistic scientific approach to promoting health that draws on his training and experiences in epidemiology, medical anthropology, health equity science, regulatory ethics, public health ethics, and human rights.

Education

Dr. Lor received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in medical anthropology, Master of Public Health (MPH), focused on global health and epidemiology, Master of Art, medical anthropology, and a Bachelor of Science, biology. He received all of his degrees from Emory University, Atlanta, GA.