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
Faculty Lead- International Health Care Systems, Harvard Medical School
Professor of Global Health Systems, 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.

Global Fund investments in harm reduction from 2002 to 2009.
Authors: Authors: Bridge J, Hunter BM, Atun R, Lazarus JV.
Int J Drug Policy
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Mobile phone messaging for communicating results of medical investigations.
Authors: Authors: Gurol-Urganci I, de Jongh T, Vodopivec-Jamsek V, Car J, Atun R.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
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Global fund financing of tuberculosis services delivery in prisons.
Authors: Authors: Lee D, Lal SS, Komatsu R, Zumla A, Atun R.
J Infect Dis
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Tuberculosis and tuberculosis/HIV/AIDS-associated mortality in Africa: the urgent need to expand and invest in routine and research autopsies.
Authors: Authors: Mudenda V, Lucas S, Shibemba A, O'Grady J, Bates M, Kapata N, Schwank S, Mwaba P, Atun R, Hoelscher M, Maeurer M, Zumla A.
J Infect Dis
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Tuberculosis diagnostics and biomarkers: needs, challenges, recent advances, and opportunities.
Authors: Authors: McNerney R, Maeurer M, Abubakar I, Marais B, McHugh TD, Ford N, Weyer K, Lawn S, Grobusch MP, Memish Z, Squire SB, Pantaleo G, Chakaya J, Casenghi M, Migliori GB, Mwaba P, Zijenah L, Hoelscher M, Cox H, Swaminathan S, Kim PS, Schito M, Harari A, Bates M, Schwank S, O'Grady J, Pletschette M, Ditui L, Atun R, Zumla A.
J Infect Dis
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Drug-resistant tuberculosis--current dilemmas, unanswered questions, challenges, and priority needs.
Authors: Authors: Zumla A, Abubakar I, Raviglione M, Hoelscher M, Ditiu L, McHugh TD, Squire SB, Cox H, Ford N, McNerney R, Marais B, Grobusch M, Lawn SD, Migliori GB, Mwaba P, O'Grady J, Pletschette M, Ramsay A, Chakaya J, Schito M, Swaminathan S, Memish Z, Maeurer M, Atun R.
J Infect Dis
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Investing in improved performance of national tuberculosis programs reduces the tuberculosis burden: analysis of 22 high-burden countries, 2002-2009.
Authors: Authors: Akachi Y, Zumla A, Atun R.
J Infect Dis
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Eliminating tuberculosis and tuberculosis-HIV co-disease in the 21st century: key perspectives, controversies, unresolved issues, and needs.
Authors: Authors: Zumla A, Atun R, Maeurer M, Kim PS, Jean-Philippe P, Hafner R, Schito M.
J Infect Dis
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Is operational research delivering the goods? The journey to success in low-income countries.
Authors: Authors: Zachariah R, Ford N, Maher D, Bissell K, Van den Bergh R, van den Boogaard W, Reid T, Castro KG, Draguez B, von Schreeb J, Chakaya J, Atun R, Lienhardt C, Enarson DA, Harries AD.
Lancet Infect Dis
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Adoption of rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of malaria, a preliminary analysis of the Global Fund program data, 2005 to 2010.
Authors: Authors: Zhao J, Lama M, Korenromp E, Aylward P, Shargie E, Filler S, Komatsu R, Atun R.
PLoS One
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