School of Public Health
Dr. Elena Savoia Joins SPH Public Health Diplomacy Working Group
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Elena Savoia, MD, MPH, has joined the University of Memphis SPH Public Health Diplomacy Working Group, which brings together global health leaders, diplomats and policy experts dedicated to advancing the intersection of public health and international relations.
Dr. Savoia is co-director of the Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation & Practice (EPREP) Program, where for the past two decades she has led U.S. and international projects on emergency risk communication and preparedness for public health and security crises. She has been funded by the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop and deliver emergency risk communication guidance and training used across multiple countries. Dr. Savoia has also led three NATO-sponsored projects focused on international security and crisis communication, and she is currently directing a NATO initiative to strengthen international collaboration on the integration of AI solutions into emergency preparedness.
She is the founder of the Community Safety Evaluation Lab, where she directs research on school-based interventions to prevent youth violence and on the evaluation of anti-trafficking programs and campaigns. Throughout her career, Dr. Savoia has advanced evaluation science to measure and improve systems’ capabilities to respond to large-scale emergencies, with particular attention to population-based factors and workforce training. In recent years, her work has increasingly focused on the practical application of agentic AI in public health practice to enhance the resilience and responsiveness of public health systems and communities worldwide.
To learn more about the UofM SPH Public Health Diplomacy Lab, click here.
Dr. Elena Savoia, MD, MPH
The Office of Communications at The University of Memphis School of Public Health