August 18, 2025 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
Dean Tara Sabo-Attwood has appointed Daniela Friedman, a professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB), as the Associate Dean for Research and Leadership Development for the Arnold School of Public Health. The announcement comes just over a year after Friedman took on the interim associate dean of research position in conjunction with her role as chair for the HPEB department.
“Dr. Friedman has demonstrated an exceptional ability to lead with vision, collaboration, and a deep commitment to advancing public health research,” Sabo-Attwood says. “By expanding this role to include leadership development, we recognize her unique capacity to not only drive innovative science but also to mentor and inspire the next generation of public health leaders. Her proven track record, both in research excellence and in building strong, interdisciplinary teams, makes her the ideal choice to guide the Arnold School in these critical areas.”
Friedman moves into the newly created position after nearly a decade as chair and following numerous other leadership roles across the school and the public health field. She joined the Arnold School in 2006 after studying health and gerontology (M.Sc. and Ph.D.) at the University of Waterloo in Canada and has been building her research and leadership expertise ever since.
In the past 19 years, Friedman has led or co-led more than 70 funded research projects and published nearly 250 peer-reviewed journal articles. Much of this work is related to her expertise, health and risk communication among older populations in the areas of cancer prevention and Alzheimer’s disease, but she has also contributed to studies on a variety of topics as a mentor and collaborator.
Several of her major research initiatives resulted in Friedman leading interdisciplinary centers, including the South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network Collaborating Center, the Carolina Center on Alzheimer’s Disease and Minority Research, and the Healthy Brain Research Network Collaborating Center. She also co-led the Community Engagement Core for USC’s Center for Oceans and Human Health. From 2016 until 2022, she served as co-director for the Arnold School’s Office for the Study of Aging, which is home to the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Registry and the Dementia Dialogues® program, and currently, she is co-lead of USC’s state-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Friedman has also been editor for the Journal of Women and Aging since 2021, previously serving in an associate editor role.
Most recently, Friedman was awarded a National Institute on Aging K07 Academic Leadership Career Award to establish a mentoring program and mentor network for early-career faculty members. The comprehensive program integrates community engagement, health communication, and implementation science frameworks to strengthen research training in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Friedman has been recognized with the Arnold School’s James A. Keith Excellence in Teaching and Faculty Service Awards and USC’s Breakthrough Leadership in Research Award. She brings nearly two decades of teaching, research, service, and leadership experience to her new role as Associate Dean for Research and Leadership Development and is looking forward to this new phase of her career and of the school.
“I am deeply honored to serve as the Arnold School’s Associate Dean for Research and Leadership Development,” Friedman says. “My work has always been about more than conducting the next study. It’s been about lifting others up, building capacity, and coming back to the ‘why’ that drew us to public health in the first place. Right now, that ‘why’ has never been more important. When we help people stay grounded in their purpose while equipping them with the tools and confidence to lead, we’re not only advancing the science and growing effective leaders but we’re also contributing to a healthier future for the communities we serve.”