Kathleen Quinn, associate dean for rural health at the University of Missouri, is now the university’s senior program director for health and safety. This new position is a collaborative effort between the MU School of Medicine and the MU Office of Extension and Engagement.

A goal of the position is to solve rural health care challenges, a key aim of the NextGen Precision Health Institute, the university’s priority medical research project.

“Dr. Quinn is ideally positioned for this new role,” said Marshall Stewart, vice chancellor of extension and engagement in a news release. “She is deeply committed to finding ways to improve health outcomes.”

Quinn has been a leader of the MU School of Medicine’s rural health programs for almost 20 years and through her work has a deep understanding of the challenges many Missourians face in assessing health care.

“The opportunity to bring my rural health experience to the new Community Health Program Area will further maximize the great work MU is doing to address the grand challenges facing Missouri,” Quinn said in a news release.