There’s new leadership of UB’s COVID-19 Health Guidelines Committee now that Allison Brashear has arrived on campus.

Brashear joined UB this week, succeeding Michael Cain as vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She also takes over for Cain as chair of UB’s Health Guidelines Committee, a group comprising two-dozen faculty and staff with expertise in infectious diseases, public health, and environmental health and safety, among other key areas across the university.

The group has steered the university’s response to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

“Dr. Cain and the committee have done an excellent job guiding UB’s response throughout the pandemic,” Brashear said. “As chair of the committee, I will work closely with my colleagues and UB’s leadership to continue to keep the university community as safe as possible.”  

Prior to UB, Brashear served as dean of the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. At UC Davis, she was very active in the university’s response to the pandemic, leading public discussions about the fight against COVID-19 and serving as an expert source for news media worldwide.