Jeanette H. Magnus, MD, PhD
Director of Tulane Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women's Health
Head of Maternal and Child Health Section
Clinical Professor in Department of Medicine
Contact Information
Tulane University Health Sciences Center
School of Medicine
Section of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, SL-16
1430 Tulane Avenue, Suite M012
New Orleans, LA 70112
E-mail: jmagnus@tulane.edu
Phone: 504-988-7518
Fax: 504-988-8252
Education
MD, University of Tromsø, Norway
PhD, University of Tromsø, Norway
Biography
Dr. Jeanette Magnus is the Director of Tulane Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women's Health. She is a Professor in Public Health, the Head of Maternal and Child Health Section in the Department of Community Health Sciences in Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine.
Dr. Magnus earned both her Medical Doctorate and her Philosophy Doctorate in from University of Tromsø in Norway. Through her background and experience, she bridges bedside clinical medicine, clinical basic science, epidemiology, and public health and community research. This makes her uniquely positioned to serve as the Director of the Tulane Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women's Health. This Center is one of the few United States Health Services designated Centers of Excellence in Women's Health, and, the first one in the South of the United States. The mission of the Center is to facilitate access to health care services; to foster an interdisciplinary research agenda; to promote a Women's Health curriculum in conjunction with professional training and leadership of women in academic medicine; and to advance the knowledge of women's health issues in the community.
Dr. Magnus has extensive clinical experience in rheumatology and internal medicine. She has a keen interest and experience in clinical research and is currently the Co-PI and Program Director of the NIH-funded Tulane Building Interdisciplinary Career in Women's Health Program. Dr. Magnus has extensive experience in network building and coordination of research projects that involve scientists with different backgrounds. In 1992, she developed and initiated a large population-based study on osteoporosis and fracture risk in 8,000 men and women, where all eligible inhabitants of the community older than 50 years were included. In connection with this study, she worked with a team of researchers from rheumatology, radiology, endocrinology, geriatrics, clinical biochemistry, epidemiology, preventive medicine, biostatistics, clinical pathology, and gynecology. The study evolved with several clinic arms as well; a random sample representing fifteen percent of the community population was analyzed and serum bone markers studied; a fracture register was established at the hospital and linked to survey data for 21,441 community subjects; forty consecutive stroke patients got their bone mineral density (BMD) measured and were followed for twelve months, to mention a few.
Upon her 1999 arrival in the United States, Dr. Magnus put her energy into integrating Tulane Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women's Health with the pertinent activities within the Tulane University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Magnus developed and established the Tulane Total Woman Health Care Center in 2000, a primary and specialty care women's clinic that provides unique opportunities for clinical trials across the lifespan of women and across the medical spectrum. She was also recently able to secure a major endowment from the Frost Foundation to name the Mary-Amelia Douglas-Withed Community Women's Health Education Center for which she also serves as director. This Center provides culturally and age appropriate health communication and education to community women in Louisiana. Dr. Magnus has also initiated research studies and programs related to breastfeeding. She has been involved in the preparation of the National Breastfeeding AdCouncil campaign and has also had support from the U.S. Health and Human Services to conduct a community demonstration project using lay health educators in breastfeeding promotion. Dr. Magnus' many years of clinical service, research expertise, as well as her proven dedication to generating excellence in future Women's Health researchers, makes her a sought after as a collaborator.
Research Interests
Her research interests are in rheumatology, internal medicine, women's health, and breastfeeding.
