UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health: Prestigious fellowship goes to UW Health pediatrician

CONTACT: Toni Morrissey,(608) 263-3223,(608) 576-6456, tmorrissey@uwhealth.org

MADISON- The Aspen Institute announced today that Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, assistant professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, has been selected to join the 2015 class of Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows.

The Ascend Fellowship invests in diverse leaders from different walks of life. Each of the 21 leaders named today have breakthrough ideas to build economic security, educational success and health and well-being for low-income families.

“I am honored to be part of the 2015 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows. I look forward to learning more from my colleagues in other fields about how we can transform the lives of families in order to better our society as a whole, “said Navsaria.
“The Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows are diverse, entrepreneurial leaders implementing bold ideas to change the trajectory of low-income families’ lives,” said Anne Mosle, vice president and executive director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute.

The fellows will work on individual projects during the 18-month fellowship. The projects emphasize a two-generation approach that considers the needs of both children and their parents. Navsaria said it’s an opportunity to create a project that makes a meaningful difference.

“I’ll be looking at innovative two-generation approaches to working with families in poverty by integrating principles of early brain and child development together with clinical practice. We have so many opportunities in primary care, given the access we have to families and the trust they place in their health care providers,” said Navsaria. “This also aligns well with what we train students to do in thinking about both individual and population health,” speaking of the MD–Masters in Public Health program which he directs.

Navsaria, who holds master’s degrees in public health and children’s librarianship in addition to his medical degree, leads the innovative Reach Out and Read program at UW Health and is the medical director for Reach Out and Read Wisconsin. The program trains and supports medical providers who give books to children at well-child visits. The providers also observe the family interactions around books and give advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud to children.

Ascend at the Aspen Institute is the national hub for breakthrough ideas and collaborations that move vulnerable children and their parents toward educational success and economic security.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues.