Jacob C. Warren, PhD, MBA

Biography

Dr. Jacob C. Warren serves as the director of the Center for Rural Health (CRH) at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) and is a professor of population health at SMHS.

In this position, Dr. Warren is responsible for overseeing one of the nation's most experienced rural health organizations. Since its inception in 1980, CRH has developed a full complement of programs to assist researchers, educators, policymakers, healthcare providers and, most importantly, rural residents. CRH is designated as the North Dakota State Office of Rural Health, a federal-state partnership that helps rural communities build their healthcare services through collaborations and initiatives with a wide range of partners across the state. CRH employs 80 employees with a $12 million annual budget and operates multiple state and national programs including North Dakota's Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program and Small Hospital Improvement Program, the North Dakota Area Health Education Center, the North Dakota Brain Injury Network, North Dakota Quality Service Provider Hub, the Rural Health Information Hub, the Rural Health Research Gateway, the National Resource Center on Native American Aging, and the Resource Center on Native Aging and Disability.

Dr. Warren has more than 20 years of leadership experience and has been principal investigator of over $30 million in rural health-focused funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, state agencies, and private foundations. Dr. Warren previously spent a decade at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia, in a variety of positions advocating for rural health, including being an endowed chair and director for the Center for Rural Health and Health Disparities. He was also the founding co-executive director for the Rural Health Research Institute at Georgia Southern University.

Dr. Warren was named Researcher of the Year by the National Rural Health Association and has published more than 70 journal articles and book chapters and several books, including Rural Public Health and Rural Mental Health. He has worked extensively in the area of state and federal health policy, serving on numerous state and federal committees and working groups. Dr. Warren recently served as an appointed member of the federal Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality, as well as co-chairing its Rural Health Systems subcommittee.