Dr. Randy Wykoff is the Dean of the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, and the founding director of the new Center for Rural Health Research. He is a physician trained in both pediatrics and preventive medicine. His research focuses on the inter-relationship of poverty and health, with a specific interest in how to improve the health status of people living in poor and/or rural areas.

Prior to his time at ETSU, Dr. Wykoff served as senior vice president for international operations at Project HOPE. He also spent time in the federal government as the deputy assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and worked for 11 years in the Food and Drug Administration, holding the positions of associate commissioner for AIDS and special health issues, and, later, associate commissioner for operations.

Dr. Wykoff and I spend the next hour diving into the health challenges facing the people of Appalachia, and the proven solutions that can move the needle on health outcomes in rural America.