ANTONIA COELLO NOVELLO
Antonia C. Novello (1990-1993)
Antonia Novello was born Antonia Coello in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on August 23,
1944. She received her B.S. degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio
Piedras in 1965 and her M.D. degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of
Medicine at San Juan in 1970. She then completed her internship and residency in
nephrology at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Novello
remained at Michigan in 1973-1974 on a fellowship in the Department of Internal
Medicine, and spent the following year on a fellowship in the Department of
Pediatrics at Georgetown University. From 1976 to 1978, she was in private
practice in pediatrics in Springfield, Virginia.
In 1978, Novello joined the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, her first
assignment being as a project officer at the National Institute of Arthritis,
Metabolism and Digestive Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
She held various positions at NIH, rising to the job of Deputy Director of the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 1986. She
also served as Coordinator for AIDS Research for NICHD from September, 1987. In
this role, she developed a particular interest in pediatric AIDS.
During her years at NIH, Novello earned an M.P.H. degree from the John Hopkins
School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1982. From 1976, she also held a clinical
appointment in pediatrics at Georgetown University Hospital. Novello also made
major contributions to the drafting and enactment of the Organ Transplantation
Procurement Act of 1984 while assigned to the Senate Committee on Labor and
Human Resources.
Antonia Novello was appointed Surgeon General by President Bush, beginning her
tenure on March 9, 1990. She was the first woman and the first Hispanic to hold
the position.
During her tenure as Surgeon General, Novello focused her attention on the
health of women, children and minorities, as well as on underage drinking,
smoking, and AIDS. She played an important role in launching the Healthy
Children Ready to Learn Initiative. She was actively involved in working with
other organizations to promote immunization of children and childhood injury
prevention efforts. She spoke out often and forcefully about illegal underage
drinking, and called upon the Health and Human Services Inspector General to
issue a series of eight reports on the subject. Novello also similarly worked to
discourage illegal tobacco use by young people, and repeatedly criticized the
tobacco industry for appealing to the youth market through the use of cartoon
characters such as "Joe Camel." A workshop that she convened led to the
emergence of a National Hispanic/Latino Health Initiative.
Novello remained in the post of Surgeon General through June 30, 1993. She then
served as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Special Representative for
Health and Nutrition from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, she became Visiting Professor
of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and
Public Health. Dr. Novello became Commissioner of Health for the State of New
York in 1999.
Antonia C. Novello (1990-1993)
Antonia Novello was born Antonia Coello in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on August 23,
1944. She received her B.S. degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio
Piedras in 1965 and her M.D. degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of
Medicine at San Juan in 1970. She then completed her internship and residency in
nephrology at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Novello
remained at Michigan in 1973-1974 on a fellowship in the Department of Internal
Medicine, and spent the following year on a fellowship in the Department of
Pediatrics at Georgetown University. From 1976 to 1978, she was in private
practice in pediatrics in Springfield, Virginia.
In 1978, Novello joined the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, her first
assignment being as a project officer at the National Institute of Arthritis,
Metabolism and Digestive Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
She held various positions at NIH, rising to the job of Deputy Director of the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 1986. She
also served as Coordinator for AIDS Research for NICHD from September, 1987. In
this role, she developed a particular interest in pediatric AIDS.
During her years at NIH, Novello earned an M.P.H. degree from the John Hopkins
School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1982. From 1976, she also held a clinical
appointment in pediatrics at Georgetown University Hospital. Novello also made
major contributions to the drafting and enactment of the Organ Transplantation
Procurement Act of 1984 while assigned to the Senate Committee on Labor and
Human Resources.
Antonia Novello was appointed Surgeon General by President Bush, beginning her
tenure on March 9, 1990. She was the first woman and the first Hispanic to hold
the position.
During her tenure as Surgeon General, Novello focused her attention on the
health of women, children and minorities, as well as on underage drinking,
smoking, and AIDS. She played an important role in launching the Healthy
Children Ready to Learn Initiative. She was actively involved in working with
other organizations to promote immunization of children and childhood injury
prevention efforts. She spoke out often and forcefully about illegal underage
drinking, and called upon the Health and Human Services Inspector General to
issue a series of eight reports on the subject. Novello also similarly worked to
discourage illegal tobacco use by young people, and repeatedly criticized the
tobacco industry for appealing to the youth market through the use of cartoon
characters such as "Joe Camel." A workshop that she convened led to the
emergence of a National Hispanic/Latino Health Initiative.
Novello remained in the post of Surgeon General through June 30, 1993. She then
served as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Special Representative for
Health and Nutrition from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, she became Visiting Professor
of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and
Public Health. Dr. Novello became Commissioner of Health for the State of New
York in 1999.