National Program Office

The National Program Office (NPO) provides overall direction, technical assistance and development of core curriculum for the Clinical Scholars program. Since March 1, 2007, the NPO has been located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Social Medicine.
 

Desmond Runyan, MD, DrPH
National Program Director
drunyan@med.unc.edu

Desmond Runyan, MD, DrPH is National Program Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program. He serves as a general pediatrician at the University of North Carolina Hospitals and as the Medical Director for the Center for Child and Family Health-NC. This facility, which provides prevention, evaluation, and treatment for abused and neglected children is sponsored jointly by UNC, Duke, and North Carolina Central University.

Dr. Runyan's work involves the application of clinical epidemiology to the problem of violence against children. His research has focused on the impact of societal intervention on the mental health functioning of the child victims. He has examined the impact of the foster care system, court testimony, and the medical examination on the children. His work has touched on all aspects of abuse including sexual abuse, physical abuse, Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy, and Failure-to-Thrive. Dr. Runyan's current project is a 20-year study of the impact of abuse. Information about this study can be found at www.iprc.unc.edu/longscan. He participates in the UN Secretary General’s Study of Children and Violence as a member of the NGO Advisory Panel. For that study, he convened a working group to develop a new set of survey instruments that can be used internationally to assess the epidemiology of violence against children.



Kristin Siebenaler, MPA
Deputy Director
ksieben@med.unc.edu

Kristin Siebenaler, MPA, is the National Program Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars program. Prior to coming to UNC in 2007, she spent seven of the last eight years as a consultant and senior health research analyst for RTI International in Research Triangle Park, NC.  At RTI, she examined federal and state funding, policies and regulations designed to support the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, particularly persons of all ages with disabilities and children.  From 2002-2003, she served as Director of Strategic Planning for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh, NC. 

Between 1994-1999, she was a policy and program analyst at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC, including two years as a Presidential Management Fellow.  Siebenaler has a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Terri McGowan
Administrator
tmcgowan@med.unc.edu









Allan Beckmann
Program Assistant
beckmann@med.unc.edu

The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program

Department of Social Medicine
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
333 MacNider Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7105
Phone: (919) 843-1351
Fax: (919) 843-2666

rwjcsp_admin@med.unc.edu