September 5, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Society for Public Health Education’s (SOPHE) Board of Trustees announce the appointment of Cheryl R. Merzel, DrPH, MPH, as the next editor-in-chief of SOPHE’s peer-reviewed quarterly journal, Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (PHP). She succeeds Stephen F. Gambescia, PhD, MBA, MCHES®, founding editor-in-chief starting with the sixth volume in January 2020.

Dr. Merzel is a clinical associate professor of Global Public Health at New York University (NYU) College of Global Public Health, and  NYU’s director, Educational Advancement and Assessment. A seasoned PHP author and reviewer, Dr. Merzel has chaired the MPH Council for the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) and been a member of the ASPPH Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Task Force since 2018.  She has pursued scholarly work in this area for close to a decade as shown by the peer-reviewed publications and numerous presentations.

“My vision for the journal is that it serves as an essential resource for promoting pedagogical scholarship and improved teaching practice in health promotion and public health,” said Dr. Merzel. “I hope to extend the journal’s focus, visibility, and value by addressing important issues such as diversity in the classroom and educational institutions, and by supporting learning communities dedicated to preparing the next generation of professionals.”

Launched in 2015, PHP is the first major journal dedicated to the broad topic of pre-service and continuing education of health professionals involved in health promotion and public health.  “SOPHE is grateful to Dr. Gambescia for bringing the journal from vision to reality and establishing its respected footprint in pedagogical scholarship among public health faculty,” says Jean M. Breny, PhD, MPH, SOPHE President.  “With this five-year appointment, we look forward to Dr. Merzel’s contributions to the next stage of the journal’s growth in advancing the quality and effectiveness of our educational programs.”

As the only public health journal exclusively dedicated to education, PHP plays a unique role in helping to develop the capacity of educators and educational institutions to pursue greater excellence and innovation in pedagogy and pedagogical scholarship.  PHP complements SOPHE’s other two bimonthly peer-reviewed journals, Health Education & Behavior and Health Promotion Practice, all published by SAGE Publications of Thousand Oaks, California.

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