Ann Arbor, Mich. (August 30, 2019) ­– The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at the University of Michigan announces the appointment of Laura Rozek, associate professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Global Public Health and Nutritional Sciences, as its new director starting July 1, 2019.

“It is an honor to direct this center that has played an important role in my professional life. My work in Southeast Asia began after joining the faculty at the University of Michigan in the School of Public Health in 2004. It was through educational and professional opportunities offered by CSEAS that I was able to sustain my work and offer training opportunities to students. I look forward to bringing these opportunities to the broader faculty and students at the University of Michigan, and continuing the inclusive culture and welcoming spirit fostered by the center’s past directors, especially Christi-Anne Castro” says Professor Rozek.

Prior to her appointment as CSEAS director, Professor Rozek was the center’s associate director in 2018. She has also served as the associate director of the Office of Global Public Health and as the director of the Global Cancer Initiative in the School of Public Health. Professor Rozek received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, her MS in Epidemiology from the University of Washington, and her MA in Statistics and PhD in Epidemiologic Sciences from the University of Michigan. 

Professor Rozek’s work focuses on using population-level statistical and molecular approaches to address the environmental and epidemiological risk factors for cancer, with an emphasis on US minority and global populations. Together with her colleagues at academic institutions in Thailand, she has established bidirectional collaborative projects that address the temporal changes in cancer incidence for the purpose of informing cancer prevention and health policy decisions in the country. She has also developed community-based studies of unique cancer risk factors and predictors of cancer survival in northeast and southern Thailand. Partnering with colleagues in Thailand, Indonesia, and Myanmar, Professor Rozek has established internship programs for the School of Public Health students that offer training opportunities in cancer prevention and control in Southeast Asia.