Effective July, Chari Cohen, DrPH, MPH, is the new president of the Hepatitis B Foundation. She previously held the role of senior vice president of the foundation.

Timothy M. Block, PhD, president, CEO and cofounder of the organization first announced the promotion back in September 2021.

Block had been president since the organization’s inception in 1991. He will now serve as executive chair of the foundation’s board of directors and continue to conduct research and to teach at Yale University.

“Stepping away from the presidency of the Foundation is much easier for me knowing that Chari will be my successor,” Block said in a Hepatitis B Foundation news release. “She brings amazing passion and commitment to our mission. Her energy and enthusiasm make her a natural leader and a global authority on hepatitis B, hepatitis D and liver cancer public health research, policy and advocacy. The programs she has led and launched at the Foundation have done enormous good for our organization and the people we serve. The Hepatitis B Foundation and people affected by viral hepatitis and liver cancer will be in good hands.”

Cohen joined the foundation in 2001 and worked alongside Block’s wife, Joan Block, to develop its public health, policy and advocacy program for international operations. She earned a master’s degree in public health at Temple University in 2001 and a doctorate in community health and prevention from Drexel University in 2015, where she received the Leadership Excellence Award and Outstanding Promise Doctoral Award.

“I’m honored and humbled by the opportunity to build on the legacy of Joan and Tim Block, who created this wonderful organization and brought it to global prominence,” Cohen said. “Their leadership has positioned the Foundation to continue expanding on our strengths and uniquely collaborate with patients, providers, advocates and other stakeholders to help us prepare the world for a functional cure for hepatitis B. It will be a privilege to lead this team of world-changers toward the next step in our mission to bring a cure to everyone.”