Lu Ann Aday, Ph.D., is Lorne D. Bain Distinguished Professor in Public Health and Medicine at the University of Texas School of Public Health-Houston. She received her bachelors degree in economics (agricultural economics, with high honors) from Texas Tech University, and her masters and doctoral degrees in sociology from Purdue University. Dr. Aday was formerly Associate Director for Research at the Center for Health Administration Studies of the University of Chicago. Dr. Aday's principal research interests have focused on equity of access to health and health care for vulnerable populations. She has conducted major national and community surveys and evaluations of national demonstrations and published extensively, including numerous books dealing with conceptual or empirical aspects of research in this area. Recent books, a number of which have been published in second or third editions, include Reinventing Public Health: Policies and Practices for a Healthy Nation (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2005); At Risk in America: The Health and Health Care Needs of Vulnerable Populations in the United States (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 1 st ed. 1993; 2 nd ed. 2001); Designing and Conducting Health Surveys: A Comprehensive Guide (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 1 st ed., 1989; 2 nd ed., 1996; 3 rd ed., 2006); and Evaluating the Healthcare System: Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Equity (Health Administration Press, 1 st ed., 1993; 2 nd ed., 1998; 3 rd ed., 2004). Dr. Aday has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and mentoring, including the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teacher Award; the Committee on the Status of Women Distinguished Professional Woman Award; the President's Award for Mentoring Women; University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center Excellence in Scholarship Award; the statewide Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching; and the Association of Schools of Public Health/Pfizer Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr. Aday's scholarship was acknowledged nationally by her receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Social Sciences, honoris causa, from Purdue University, as well as being named to membership in the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

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