26 Q&A with Ana Diez Roux Dr. Ana Diez Roux is dean and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University and a 2015 Healthy NewsWorks health leader. Here are her email responses to questions from student reporters on the staff of the William Cramp Fit Flyer. What advice would you give a fifth grader about health? Walk around a lot, don’t smoke (or eat junk food), and most importantly learn as much as you can and finish school (and college!). What is a big project you are working on? One project that I am very excited about is SALURBAL (which stands for Salud Urbana en America Latina, or Urban Health in Latin America in English). This is a big collaboration with part- ners across the U.S. and in Latin America. As part of this project we are trying to figure out what we can do to build and govern cities so that they are healthier, promote health equity, and protect the environment. What goals do you want to accomplish as dean? I hope to help the school have a greater impact on improving health for all by training the next generation of public health leaders, by producing rigorous scientific evidence, and by helping to use that knowledge to make real changes in our society to promote health and reduce inequities in health by race, income, or other factors. If you could change something about the environment to make it healthier, what would you change? Fewer cars, more walking, and more public transportation! What encourages you to do the things you do? Well, I find it interesting but challenging (in a good way), and also (mostly!) fun! I like to solve problems, and I also like to work with people and see good things emerge when people work together. Why do you like to research stuff? The world is a fascinating place and research allows you to learn about it. Through research we can see patterns that perhaps we had not seen before and learn something from them.