Samoa’s Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri, has been re-appointed as an Associate Professor of epidemiology at Brown University's School of Public Health. 

His time at Brown will be extended for another three years it was announced this week. The position comes with no salary or terms of employment. 

“Although your appointment does not carry a salary or benefits from or constitute employment by Brown University, my colleagues and I value the services that you will provide to our programs," Nancy Barnett, PhD the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the college's Department of Epidemiology was quoted as saying in a Government statement. 

Brown University has one of the oldest medical faculties, founded in 1764, and is a member of the Ivy League, a grouping of the country's most prestigious universities. 

Based in the American state of Rhode Island, it was ranked inside America's 20 best universities for public health study according to a recent ranking released by the U.S. News and World Report magazine. 

Leausa was first appointed as an Adjunct Associate Professor on the recommendation of the Department of Epidemiology, in May, 2018. 

He has been Samoa’s Ministry of Health Chief since 2014. 

He holds a Masters in Public Health (M.P.H.) from the University of Queensland, Australia and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.) from the University of Papua New Guinea.  He started his education in Samoa before furthering his studies in New Zealand and Fiji.

Leausa is a registered practicing physician and has served in the Medical Profession for over 25 years in Samoa, American Samoa and in New Zealand in the areas of Anesthesia and I.C.U, Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Population Health.  

In 2010 he was appointed the Consultant Specialist Physician, Public Health, and Assistant Chief Executive Officer at the Ministry of Health. 

There he established and developed Samoa’s National Disease Surveillance programme and the International Health Regulations Division within the Ministry in 2012.

In 2014 he became the Director-General and C.E.O. of the Ministry of Health.

Since his appointment, he has led the implementation of a series of World Health Organisation non-communicable disease interventions, which he named P.E.N. Fa’asamoa, and adjusted the interventions to meet cultural standards. 

The initiative was recognised with the “Best Proposal” award at the Pacific Health Ministers Meeting’s 20th Anniversary meeting at Yanuca in Fiji in 2014.  

Leausa also led Samoa’s first event on non-communicable diseases on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly W.H.A. summit in 2014 and the Small Island Developing States conference, which was held in the same year.