The Department of Global Health and Social Medicine is delighted to announce that Megan Murray, DPH, MD, has been named as the first Ronda Stryker and William Johnston Professor of Global Health. Dr. Murray exemplifies the goal of this chair, which is to link research and training to complementary efforts designed to improve the health and well-being of people and communities struggling against both poverty and disease.

Dr. Murray, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist, is an internationally-renowned expert on tuberculosis. She has, over the past two decades, made important contributions to the understanding of epidemic disease. She founded and directs the Department’s Research Core, and serves as Director of Research for both Brigham’s Division of Global Health Equity and Partners In Health. In these roles, she has built the premier research and training unit in the emerging field of global health equity. As an educator, Dr. Murray fosters the next generation of global health leaders through co-authorship of scientific publications and mentoring of student and faculty research. She and her team work with clinicians and others in Peru, Haiti, Rwanda, and other countries to enhance their capacity for conducting research and evaluating health care interventions. Their efforts to develop infrastructure and research capacity in resource-poor settings create a foundation for producing knowledge to improve health-care delivery, and have already provided colleagues there and at Harvard with opportunities for disrupting the cycle of poverty and disease.

Dr. Murray’s expertise is highly sought after in forums around the world. She is frequently invited to speak on topics related to tuberculosis transmission, including the evolution of drug resistance, genetic and other determinants of drug resistance, pathogenesis, and the dynamics of complex epidemics. She is on the editorial board for the European Journal of Epidemiology and serves as associate editor of the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and of PLOS Medicine. She is a permanent member of the NIH Center for Scientific Review/NIH Study Section on Clinical Research and Field Studies of Infectious Diseases, and has also served as an ad hoc reviewer for other NIH study sections, the Wellcome Trust, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Ronda Stryker and William Johnston Professorship was established to catalyze and accelerate the Department’s work in building capacity for research in global health by training and educating future leaders in this field. It is the keystone of our departmental plans to permanently secure the academic foundation of this department and to consolidate HMS’ standing as the world’s leading institution in scholarly excellence and innovation in global health. We nominated Megan for this endowed chair as the best candidate—not just at HMS, but in the world. I am proud and grateful to have this opportunity to recognize Megan Murray’s extraordinary contributions to global health. Join us in congratulating her on this richly-deserved honor.