Late Somerville Doctor's Legacy Lives On In Malden

MALDEN, MA — A new center focused on advancing economic and health justice for immigrants has opened in Malden.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday at the Leah Zallman Center for Immigrant Health Research, located at the Institute for Community Health on Main Street. The center is named after Leah Zallman, the late director of research at the ICH, who died in an accident in 2020.

"I would like to welcome Dr. Jessica Santos, the inaugural Director, who brings with her over a decade of experience in participatory, community-engaged research methods to advance immigrant, economic and health justice," City Councillor At-Large Karen Colón Hayes said. "I am looking forward to working together in Malden to elevate the voices and contributions immigrants have made to the fabric of American culture."

Zallman, a Somerville resident, was also a primary care physician at the East Cambridge Care Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She was fatally struck by a pickup truck driven by an on-duty Somerville city employee in November 2020.

The center named in her memory will officially launch at a virtual event on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Its address is 350 Main Street, Malden.