Image of Rifat Atun, MD, BS

Rifat Atun, M.B.,B.S.

Vice Dean for Non-Degree Education and Innovation, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Temporary Academic, Harvard Medical School
Julio Frenk Professor of Public Health Leadership, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr Rifat Atun is Professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard University and the Faculty Chair for the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.

From 2006- to 2013, Dr Atun was Professor of International Health Management and Head of the Health Management Group at Imperial College London. From 2008 to 2012 he served as a member of the Executive Management Team of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as the Director of Strategy, Performance and Evaluation Cluster, where he chaired the panel that oversaw investments of around $4billion each year in more than 100 countries.

Dr Atun has published more than 400 papers in leading journals including the Lancet, NEJM, Academy of Management Journal, Lancet Global Health, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Lancet Oncology, and Lancet Psychiatry and PLoS Medicine. He has led or has been a commissioner in 12 Lancet Commissions and was a co-author and member of the Advisory Committee for the Editors for Disease Control Priorities (DCP) 3. In 2020, he was recognized by the Web of Science as one of the World’s Highly Cited Researchers.

Prof. Atun has worked with more than 30 governments globally and with the World Bank, World Health Organization, and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) to design, implement and evaluate health system reform initiatives. In 1999-2006 he was a member of the UK DfID Resource Centre for Health Systems.

Dr Atun has led executive education programs and undertaken assignments for major organizations including Novartis, Medtronic, GSK, Pfizer Inc., the Vodafone Group, and Hofmann-La Roche.

Professor Atun’s research has two major strands. The first examines health systems performance and how design and implementation of health system reforms impact on outcomes. The second strand of research explores adoption and diffusion of innovations in health systems (e.g. new health technologies, disease control programmes, and primary healthcare reforms), and innovative financing in global health. Prof. Atun is a co-Investigator and the joint lead for the innovation work stream at the National Centre for Infection Prevention and Management at Imperial College.

He is also a co-Investigator and the Theme Lead for ‘Organisational Change, Health Economics and Evaluation’ at the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit for Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection.

Estimating the burden of antimicrobial resistance: a systematic literature review.
Authors: Authors: Naylor NR, Atun R, Zhu N, Kulasabanathan K, Silva S, Chatterjee A, Knight GM, Robotham JV.
Antimicrob Resist Infect Control
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Transition to universal primary health care coverage in Brazil: Analysis of uptake and expansion patterns of Brazil's Family Health Strategy (1998-2012).
Authors: Authors: Andrade MV, Coelho AQ, Xavier Neto M, de Carvalho LR, Atun R, Castro MC.
PLoS One
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Dynamic modeling approaches to characterize the functioning of health systems: A systematic review of the literature.
Authors: Authors: Chang AY, Ogbuoji O, Atun R, Verguet S.
Soc Sci Med
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Health system barriers and enablers to early access to breast cancer screening, detection, and diagnosis: a global analysis applied to the MENA region.
Authors: Authors: Bowser D, Marqusee H, El Koussa M, Atun R.
Public Health
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Towards population-based health care: students as public health ambassadors.
Authors: Authors: Ahmed F, Ahmed N, Atwell S, Selbie D, Atun R.
Lancet Public Health
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Brexit: Severe Risks to Britain's National Health Service.
Authors: Authors: Park JJ, McKee M, Atun R.
Am J Public Health
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Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 4: uses and value.
Authors: Authors: Bärnighausen T, Tugwell P, Røttingen JA, Shemilt I, Rockers P, Geldsetzer P, Lavis J, Grimshaw J, Daniels K, Brown A, Bor J, Tanner J, Rashidian A, Barreto M, Vollmer S, Atun R.
J Clin Epidemiol
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Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 7: assessing the assumptions.
Authors: Authors: Bärnighausen T, Oldenburg C, Tugwell P, Bommer C, Ebert C, Barreto M, Djimeu E, Haber N, Waddington H, Rockers P, Sianesi B, Bor J, Fink G, Valentine J, Tanner J, Stanley T, Sierra E, Tchetgen ET, Atun R, Vollmer S.
J Clin Epidemiol
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Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 12: strengthening global capacity for evidence synthesis of quasi-experimental health systems research.
Authors: Authors: Rockers PC, Tugwell P, Grimshaw J, Oliver S, Atun R, Røttingen JA, Fretheim A, Ranson MK, Daniels K, Luiza VL, Bärnighausen T.
J Clin Epidemiol
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Smart cities: health and safety for all.
Authors: Authors: Ahmed F, Ahmed N, Heitmueller A, Gray M, Atun R.
Lancet Public Health
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