The Bush administration has tapped a UNM doctor and Health Sciences Center administrator for a top-level post within the federal government.
Dr. Cristina Beato, Health Sciences Center medical director and an associate dean for clinical affairs at the UNM School of Medicine, will be assistant secretary for health in the Office of Public Health and Science, pending Senate confirmation. The office oversees the Centers for Disease Control, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies.
As assistant secretary, Beato will work as the senior adviser for public health and science issues to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.
"Basically, I will assist the secretary on creating new public health policy and evaluating current policy," she said.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., nominated Beato for the position Feb. 14. His office reported the Bush administration's decision Aug. 21.
Beato said she was sad to leave her current position at UNM, but hopes the knowledge she gains from the position will benefit her when she returns. She plans to move to Washington, D.C., soon, she said.
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"I'm very excited about moving," she said. "But I'm leaving my family behind. I've been in the School of Medicine since 1987, before that I was a resident, before that I was an intern and before that I was a medical student, so this is home to me."
She said New Mexico's position as a leader in technology industries gives her a unique perspective on public health issues.
"New Mexico is a shining star of technical advances occurring in science," she said. "But I want to look at how we can marry that with an ethical approach."
Beato, originally from Havana, Cuba, moved to New Mexico in the late 1970s at the age of 14. She received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology from UNM and her doctorate from the School of Medicine in 1984.
She said she hopes to return to a job at UNM when her appointment ends.
"This is a presidential appointment, so it lasts as long as he wants to have me around," she said.
School of Medicine Dean Dr. Paul Roth said Beato will be sorely missed.
"We're all very proud," he said. "I've worked alongside her for many many years. It was a great privilege working with such a great physician and patient advocate. Those principals and ethics are going to be carried into Washington and used when health policy is considered in the Bush administration."
Roth said assistant dean, Dr. Mark Hauswald, will fill Beato's vacancy. He said Dr. Hauswald will have big shoes to fill.
Beato called it an honor to be chosen for the position, for which she competed with doctors from around the nation.
"My attitude has always been teamwork and problem solving," she said. "The folks I met in the Bush administration had the same motto, so this is a good match."
