Rob Lyerla, Ph.D, MGIS

Position

Advisory Board

Files

Biography

Rob Lyerla, Ph.D, MGIS joined the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy advisory board in November 2022 to provide statistical support and expertise for research articles. Dr. Lyerla is a professor in the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Ph.D. program at Western Michigan University (WMU). Prior to joining the faculty at WMU, Dr. Lyerla had a 20-plus-year career in the US Department of Health and Human Services. After joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service, Dr. Lyerla worked as a staff epidemiologist in viral hepatitis at the CDC. He then was seconded for 5 years to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Geneva, Switzerland, to help monitor the global HIV epidemic in Asia and the former Soviet Union. He returned to the US and worked as a senior scientist with the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator. Dr. Lyerla retired from government service after serving as the associate director for science at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Dr. Lyerla has published over 30 scholarly journals and maintains an active research portfolio in public health and epidemiology.