Distinguished Speaker Series

The Distinguished Speaker Series is a free virtual event open to the public on the first Tuesday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. U.S. EST. The series consists of nationally and internationally renowned experts and leaders invited to share their perspectives on health services research, population health and public health.

2026 – 2027 Speakers

Nabarun Dasgupta, MPH, PhD
September 1, 2026
Nabarun Dasgupta, MPH, PhD

Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta is an internationally recognized epidemiologist, public health innovator, and Senior Scientist at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, whose work has transformed opioid overdose prevention and harm reduction. He is renowned for pioneering community-based overdose prevention strategies, including co-founding Project Lazarus, and for developing data-driven approaches that translate public health research into real-world interventions. His contributions have been recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship (“Genius Grant”) in 2025, and he was named to the TIME100 Health list in 2026 and the TIME100 Next list in 2023 for his leadership in public health innovation. His work focuses on substance use, overdose prevention, infectious disease surveillance, health technology, and translating public health evidence into actionable solutions.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Vikram Patel, MBBS, PhD
October 6, 2026
Vikram Patel, MBBS, PhD

Dr. Vikram Patel is an internationally recognized psychiatrist, global mental health leader, and Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, whose work has transformed access to mental healthcare in underserved communities worldwide. As co-founder of Sangath and the Movement for Global Mental Health, he has pioneered community-based approaches to mental healthcare in low-resource settings and expanded access to care globally. Elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2022, he has received numerous international honors, including the John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award (2019), an Honorary OBE (2017), and the Chalmers Medal (2016), and was named to TIME 100 Most Influential People in 2015. His work focuses on mental health equity, social determinants of health, community-based care, and health systems strengthening.

Harvard University
Robert Wachter, MD
November 3, 2026
Robert Wachter, MD

Dr. Robert Wachter is an internationally recognized physician, healthcare leader, and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, whose work has transformed patient safety, hospital medicine, and healthcare delivery. Widely regarded as the founder of the hospitalist movement, he coined the term “hospitalist” and helped establish one of the fastest-growing medical specialties in modern medicine. Elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2020, he was named Modern Healthcare's #1 Most Influential Physician-Executive in 2015 and previously received the John M. Eisenberg Award, the nation's highest honor in patient safety. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book The Digital Doctor and the recent book A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future. His work focuses on healthcare delivery innovation, patient safety, digital transformation, and the responsible integration of AI into clinical care.

University of California, San Francisco
Peter Halkitis, MPH, MS, PhD
December 1, 2026
Peter Halkitis, MPH, MS, PhD

Dr. Perry Halkitis is an internationally recognized epidemiologist, psychologist, public health leader, and Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, whose work has transformed understanding of HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ+ health, and health equity. He is renowned for combining rigorous science with advocacy and community engagement to improve the health and well-being of marginalized populations and is the author of influential books including Out in Time and The AIDS Generation, both recipients of the American Psychological Association Distinguished Book Award in LGBT Psychology. His contributions have also been recognized with the American Public Health Association’s Carl S. Shultz Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), and he is an elected Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and multiple leading scientific societies. His work focuses on HIV prevention, infectious diseases, behavioral health, minority health, and LGBTQ+ health equity.

Rutgers University
Rosalind Wright, MD, MPH
January 5, 2027
Rosalind Wright, MD, MPH

Dr. Rosalind Wright is an internationally recognized physician-scientist, life-course epidemiologist, and Dean for Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai whose work has transformed understanding of how environmental and social exposures shape health across the lifespan. She also serves as Chair of the Department of Public Health and Co-Director of the Institute for Exposomic Research. She is renowned for groundbreaking research examining how social, environmental, and biological exposures interact across the lifespan to influence chronic disease risk and health inequities while advancing the emerging science of exposomics and its application to precision public health. Her work focuses on exposomics, environmental health, health disparities, child health, and chronic disease prevention.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Bernadette Boden-Albala, MPH, DrPH
February 2, 2027
Bernadette Boden-Albala, MPH, DrPH

Dr. Bernadette Boden-Albala is an internationally recognized public health leader, social epidemiologist, and Founding Dean of the UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, whose work has transformed understanding of stroke disparities and cardiovascular health equity. She is renowned for advancing research on social determinants of health and translating evidence into community-based interventions that improve population health outcomes. Her leadership in neurologic and cardiovascular health equity research has been recognized by the American Academy of Neurology as the 2024 Cheryl A. Jay Lecture Awardee and by the American Heart Association as the 2024 Edgar J. Kenton Lecture Awardee. Her work focuses on population health, stroke prevention, cardiovascular disease, social determinants of health, and health equity.

University of California, Irvine
Francesca Beaudoin, MD, MS, PhD
March 2, 2027
Francesca Beaudoin MD, MS, PhD

Dr. Francesca Beaudoin is an internationally recognized physician-scientist and Dean of Brown University's School of Public Health whose work has transformed approaches to addiction medicine, pain management, and overdose prevention. She is renowned for pioneering innovative, community-based approaches to overdose prevention and recovery care, including helping establish one of the nation’s earliest mobile treatment programs for individuals with opioid use disorder. Through leadership in research, clinical care, and public health practice, she has helped shape evidence-based approaches to addiction treatment, pain management, and overdose prevention and has served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee. Her work focuses on addiction medicine, substance use disorders, epidemiology, health policy, and overdose prevention.

Brown University
Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD
April 6, 2027
Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD

Dr. Kari Nadeau is an internationally recognized physician-scientist and Dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, whose work has transformed understanding of allergy, immunology, environmental exposures, and climate-related health risks. She is renowned for pioneering advances in allergy prevention and treatment and for helping establish exposomics as a critical framework for understanding the health impacts of environmental exposures. Elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2022, she has advised national and international organizations on environmental health, climate-related health risks, and disease prevention. Her work focuses on environmental exposures, climate and health, allergy and asthma, immunology, and prevention of environmentally mediated diseases.

University of California, Los Angeles
Michael Lu, MD, MS, MPH
May 4, 2027
Michael Lu, MD, MS, MPH

Dr. Michael Lu is an internationally recognized public health leader, physician, and Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health whose work has transformed maternal and child health practice and policy. He is widely known for advancing the life-course approach to health and for his leadership as former Associate Administrator for Maternal and Child Health at the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2025, he has been a leading advocate for integrating health equity, prevention, and population health across generations. His work focuses on maternal and child health, health equity, population health, prevention, and public health policy.

University of California, Berkeley
Marcella Alsan, MD, MPH, PhD
June 1, 2027
Marcella Alsan, MD, MPH, PhD

Dr. Marcella Alsan is an internationally recognized physician-economist, Annie and Ned Lamont Professor of International Studies at Stanford University, whose work has transformed understanding of the relationships among health, inequality, and economic opportunity. She is renowned for groundbreaking research on health disparities, trust in healthcare systems, and the long-term impacts of structural inequities on health and social outcomes. Elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2022 and awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (“Genius Grant”) in 2021, she is among the leading voices examining how public policy shapes population health and economic mobility. Her work focuses on health equity, public policy, global development, economic mobility, and the social determinants of health.

Stanford University

Previous Distinguished Speaker Series Presentations