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John Westhoff, M.D., MPH

Dr. John Westhoff is an associate professor at the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health, where he also serves as Assistant Dean for Student Research. He directs the Evidence and Systems-Based Practice curriculum, focusing on clinical epidemiology, biostatistics and health systems science, teaching students to apply evidence-based thinking in healthcare.

With a career combining clinical medicine and public health, Dr. Westhoff earned his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, completed an emergency medicine residency and earned an MPH in epidemiology from the University of Washington. His 25-year Army career included leadership roles in public health, overseeing operations in the Pacific and Europe while practicing emergency medicine. He is triple board-certified in emergency medicine, public health and preventive medicine.

His academic interests include physician communication, the impact of online misinformation on healthcare, using media and AI to improve health literacy, issues with Electronic Medical Records and mountaineering injury epidemiology.

Outside work, Dr. Westhoff is an avid skier and FC Bayern Munich fan, having lived in Munich during high school. After retiring in 2020, he and his wife Rachel moved to Reno, where they enjoy the Sierra Â鶹ӳ»­ mountains and staying connected with their five children and growing number of grandchildren in Boston and Dallas.

Max Coppes, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, FAAP

Dr. Max Coppes is the Director of the William N. Pennington Cancer Institute (PCI) at Renown Health, a Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Internal Medicine at Â鶹ӳ»­'s Med and a Clinical Professor of Public Health. After he received is medical training at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, he served in the Dutch Air Force, completed his Pediatric Residency at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital in Utrecht in the Netherlands, then continued with pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif in France and at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He obtained his PhD from the University of Amsterdam and an MBA from the Haskayne School of Business in Calgary. Dr. Coppes is an experienced academic healthcare leader and skilled in program expansion. Currently, he is focused on establishing an NCI designated Cancer Center in Reno. 

Dr. Coppes has published over 150 manuscripts. He has been actively involved in translational research (he worked in one of the 3 labs that discovered the Wilms tumor gene WT1) as well as clinical trials research. His areas of interest have included pediatric tumors (primarily but not exclusively pediatric renal tumors), antiemetic treatments and bone marrow transplantation. He has also contributed to epidemiologic studies. Currently, Dr. Coppes is interested in helping to elucidate what can be learned from patterns derived from ‘big data’, including health record data, environmental data, genetic background and socioeconomic factors. He is also actively involved with Â鶹ӳ»­'s School of Public Health in determining the effects of healthcare related media messages on different audiences. 

Justin Coran, Ph.D., MPH

Justin Coran is an executive, data scientist and applied medical sociologist with research interests in AI /ML applications within healthcare, innovative reporting systems, advanced analytic product development, medical decision-making, health care organizations, culturally competent medical care, physician-patient interaction and healthcare quality. Coran is the Chief Analytics Officer of , Reno’s only not-for-profit, charitable health care network, is one of 100 senior leaders in data science to be nationally recognized and the only expert from Â鶹ӳ»­ to win an AI100 Award celebrating the achievements of those making significant advancements in the field of Analytics, Data Science amd AI. Prior to joining Renown Health, Coran worked at NOMS Healthcare and University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland, OH. In both companies, Coran led the development of data science and analytics while serving as each company's first analytics leader and C-Suite whisperer.

Nancy Diao, Sc.D.

Dr. Nancy Diao is the current Division Director of Epidemiology and Public Health Preparedness at , where she works with expert teams in communicable disease surveillance, vital statistics, public health preparedness and emergency medical services oversight. Prior to joining Northern Â鶹ӳ»­ Public Health, Nancy worked on overdose mitigation efforts and prescription drug monitoring at the Rhode Island Department of Health. She also spent a large part of her public health tenure working with multi-omics data on respiratory diseases risk factors with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health.

Nancy received her Doctor of Science degree from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health concentrating in Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, with minors in Biostatistics and Exposure Assessment. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University in Biomedical Engineering.

Ernesto Molmenti, M.D., Ph.D., MBA

Dr. Ernesto P. Molmenti (EPM) graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University, was a Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha member, and completed his residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University. He did a fellowship in abdominal organ transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh and later worked at Baylor University and Children's Medical Center in Dallas. EPM joined Johns Hopkins University as Associate Professor of Surgery and Surgical Director of Kidney/Pancreas Transplantation, where he also earned an MBA. Before joining Hofstra-Northwell, he was Professor of Surgery and Director of Abdominal Transplantation at the University of Arizona.

At Northwell Health, EPM founded the adult (2007) and pediatric (2016) kidney transplant programs, achieving top rankings for transplant survival rates. In 2024, he became Chief of Transplantation at Renown Health and Executive Vice President and Director of the Â鶹ӳ»­ Transplant Institute, overseeing the state’s transplant programs.

Kelly Morgan

Morgan’s work focuses on the intersection of the traditional healthcare and public health system around substance use disorders. She aims to help create system-based changes that help address stigma around people who use drugs, as well as innovative integrations of evidence-based practices into the emergency department and EMS systems for this population. She teaches medical students, residents and colleagues about best practices for substance use disorders and is a advocate for breaking down barriers and the silos within healthcare.

Kristle Muessle

Kristle Muessle serves as the Public Information Officer for the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services and is responsible for communicating changes within the agency to the media and the public the agency serves. She is the Legislative Liaison for the division.