In November of 2020, Dr. Leah Zallman was weeks away from launching and directing a new immigrant health research center at the Institute for Community Health when she died suddenly and tragically from a traffic accident.  At the time she held multiple roles as ICH’s Director of Research, a primary care physician at East Cambridge Care Center at Cambridge Health Alliance, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  Leah was a generous, kind, and compassionate person whose life’s work was dedicated to social justice and caring for the most vulnerable in our community.  After Leah’s death, her family, friends, and colleagues worked together to raise funds and establish this research center in her name. 

Dr. Zallman’s research (see below) provides a strong intellectual foundation for the Leah Zallman Center’s ongoing research agenda.  Leah contributed evidence to a growing set of practices and insights nationally to improve care for immigrants and strengthen the communities in which they live.  Her research helped to improve health systems, and address the social determinants of health in clinical and non-clinical settings. She also conducted inquiry to highlight the myriad contributions of immigrants to U.S. society and the healthcare system, and examined the effects of immigration policies on the health of immigrants and all US residents.

Dr. Zallman completed her MD at New York University School of Medicine, her residency in Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center, her MPH at the Harvard School of Public Health, and her fellowship in General Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance.