René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH, FCPP

René Najera was born and raised in Mexico, immigrating to the United States at the age of 10. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso, earning a BS in medical technology. He worked as a medical technologist at a small rural hospital in Pennsylvania. From 2003 to 2007, he attended George Washington University, earning MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics. From 2007 to 2013, he worked as an epidemiologist at the Maryland Department of Health, working in disease surveillance and aiding in outbreak response. From 2013 to 2018, he attended the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, earning a DrPH in epidemiology. During his doctoral studies, Najera worked as a consultant to local health departments and with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Ebola and Zika outbreak responses. From 2019 to 2022, Najera worked as the substance use and mental health programs manager at the Fairfax County Health Department. Since 2022, Najera has been the director of public health at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. He teaches public health courses at George Mason University and at Johns Hopkins University.

Research

Research Interests

• Infectious diseases
• Social determinants of health
• Gun violence

Select Publications

• Schwartz B, Brewer J, Budigan H, et al. Factors Affecting SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Intent and Decision Making Among African American, Native American, and Hispanic Participants in a Qualitative Study. Public Health Reports®. 2023;138(3):422-427. doi:10.1177/00333549231160871
• Najera, R. F., & Reiss, D. R. (2016). FIRST Do No HARM: PROTECTING PATIENTS THROUGH IMMUNIZING HEALTH CARE WORKERS. Health matrix (Cleveland, Ohio: 1991), 26, 363–402.

Professional Affiliations

• Fellow, College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Degrees

• DrPH, Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
• MPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, George Washington University
• BS, Medical Technology, University of Texas at El Paso