Sanchez named chairman of SRPH board

(COLLEGE STATION, TX) — Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., vice president and chief medical officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, will serve as the new chairman of the External Advisory Board for the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) School of Rural Public Health. Dr. Sanchez was commissioner of the Texas Department of Health from 2001 to 2004 and the Texas Department of State Health Services from 2004 to 2006.

“The School of Rural Public Health is fortunate to have enjoyed Jack Buckley’s leadership on our advisory board for nearly 10 years,” said Craig Blakely, Ph.D., M.P.H., dean of the TAMHSC-School of Rural Public Health. “I feel blessed to have a second leader of this magnitude following in Jack’s role.”

“Dr. Sanchez brings extensive experience in public health leadership to the board at a time when our population faces many new health-related challenges and during times of great resource restraint,” Dr. Blakely continued. “A leader of this caliber will contribute dramatically to our capacity to prepare tomorrow’s public health leaders. The school and every one of our students are very fortunate to have Dr. Sanchez contribute to our mission in this role.”

Dr. Sanchez said, “I am honored to follow Jack Buckley and to have the opportunity to serve the School of Rural Public Health. I will be but one of many who bring diverse experiences and perspectives to advise Dean Blakely and the school.”

Dr. Sanchez currently is chair of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chair of the National Commission on Prevention Priorities, and member of the Institute of Medicine Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity.

Dr. Sanchez received his M.D. degree from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in 1988 and completed his family medicine residency in San Antonio, Texas. He holds an M.P.H. from the UT School of Public Health, an M.S. in biomedical engineering from Duke University, and a B.S. in biomedical engineering and a B.A. in chemistry from Boston University.