MISSISSIPPI STATE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist was recently reelected to the National Board of Public Health Examiners board of directors.

Initially elected in 2020, David Buys, Extension health specialist and associate professor in the MSU Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, will now serve a second two-year term.

Established in 2005, the National Board of Public Health Examiners offers certification to ensure public health professionals have a sound knowledge base and skill set relevant to today’s public health issues. The board is an independent organization.

During Buys’ first term, he initiated and has led the partnership development task force, which includes members from the U.S., Japan, and Canada who work in the United States Navy Nurse Corps, academic medical centers, governmental public health, schools and programs of public health, and other sectors. Additionally, he serves on the board’s maintenance of certification committee.

As Extension health specialist, Buys develops and coordinates educational efforts across Mississippi related to preventing and managing chronic diseases, promoting mental health and creating healthy home environments.

In the classroom, Buys teaches topics including gerontology, public health, nutritional epidemiology, health professions and social health.

Buys is an active member of the American Public Health Association, the Gerontological Society of America and the Mississippi Public Health Association. He is a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America and is past-president of the Mississippi Public Health Association.

He earned degrees from Mississippi College, Auburn University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is certified through the National Board of Public Health Examiners.