USC professor selected for Health Innovators Fellowship
July 23, 2017
GREENVILLE, SC – Jennifer Trilk, PhD, FACSM, assistant professor of physiology and exercise science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, was named to the third class of the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovators Fellowship.
Dr. Trilk and the other 20 Health Innovator Fellows will spend four weeks over the course of two years exploring their leadership, core values, desired legacies, and their vision for the healthcare system. Each Fellow commits to launching a leadership venture that will stretch and challenge them and have a positive impact on health care in the U.S. The Health Innovator Fellows join more than 2,200 other entrepreneurial leaders from 49 countries to become members of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
In her role at the USC School of Medicine Greenville, Dr. Trilk is responsible for leading the lifestyle medicine curriculum, which includes nutrition, physical activity/exercise, behavior change, self-care and resiliency for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cancer. In addition, she is co-founder and co-director of the Lifestyle Medicine Education Collaborative, which provides leadership, guidance and resources surrounding lifestyle medicine curriculum to medical schools across the globe.
Dr. Trilk is also program director of Exercise is Medicine® Greenville, a first-in-nation coalition that brings together medical school-based research with doctors, community resources and exercise professionals to slow the progression of chronic disease. The program goes beyond prescribing exercise to also tracking it as part of the patient’s electronic medical record – as a vital sign comparable to blood pressure or cholesterol – so that the clinician and fitness team has nearly real-time access to exercise programs and can intervene with the patient to get them back on track as needed. Program partners include the USC School of Medicine Greenville, Greenville Health System, YMCA of Greenville and the American College of Sports Medicine.
The Health Innovators Fellowship Program was created in 2015 in partnership with Greenville Health System to strengthen the leadership of innovators across the U.S. healthcare ecosystem and to connect, inspire and challenge them to create new approaches that will improve the health and well-being of all Americans. This two-year program is modeled on both the highly successful Henry Crown Fellowship and the Liberty Fellowship, using the time-tested method of text-based dialogue and building upon the Aspen Institute’s commitment to values-based, action-oriented leadership. The Aspen Institute controls the content of the Fellowship and the selection of the Fellows.
“The Health Innovators Fellowship challenges leaders to create meaningful change in health care,” said Spence Taylor, president of GHS. “As an academic health center with a vision to transform health care, we are excited to continue our partnership with the Aspen Institute and witness the power of the Fellows’ collective ability to innovate care.”
About the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville is a partnership between the state’s largest university, the University of South Carolina (USC), and one of the largest health systems in the Southeast, Greenville Health System (GHS). Located near GHS’ flagship tertiary hospital Greenville Memorial Hospital, the medical school graduated its first physician class in spring 2016. This “different school of thought” is dedicated to providing exceptional training for new physicians in transforming healthcare delivery. Learn more at greenvillemed.sc.edu.
About Greenville Health System
Greenville Health System (GHS) — an academic health system that is the largest not-for-profit healthcare delivery system in South Carolina — is committed to medical excellence through research, patient care and education. GHS offers patients an innovative network of clinical integration, expertise and technologies through its eight medical campuses, tertiary medical center, research and education facilities, community hospitals, physician practices and numerous specialty services throughout the Upstate. The 1,358-bed system is home to 15 medical residency and fellowship programs. GHS is also home to the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, a joint effort of USC and GHS.Visit ghs.org for more information.
About the Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit aspeninstitute.org.
