Neal Halfon, MD, MPH is founding director of the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, and also directs the Child and Family Health Leadership and Training Program in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Dr. Halfon is professor of pediatrics in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; health policy and management in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health; and public policy in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

For more than two decades Dr. Halfon has been instrumental in advancing research, policy and systems innovations focused on the healthy development of children at local, national and international levels. The Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities has created a new interdisciplinary platform at UCLA to pursue trans-disciplinary research, provided a mechanism to launch significant community-based research, and has spearheaded service and training initiatives.