11TH Annual Chanchlani Global Health Research Award Lecture

The Chanchlani Global Health Research Award was created by the Chanchlani Family and McMaster University, Canada in 2012, to recognize a leading scholar in the area of Global Health. Each year a Scholar within the broad Global Health domain (i.e. Determinants of Health, Policy Development, and Innovative Solutions) is chosen from nominations we receive from inside and outside of McMaster University, and an internal review committee selects the awardee. In previous years, we have had the pleasure of hosting leading scholars including Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones former President of American Public Health Association (Racism in society and healthcare), the late Hans Rosling from Sweden (GAP MINDER), Prof Vikram Patel from India (Depression), Prof John Ioannidis, from Stanford University (Biostatistics research), Prof Dariush Mozzafarian from Tufts (Nutrition and Health), Dr. Jonathan Patz from University of Wisconsin (Climate Change and Health), Dr. Nadine Caron from University of British Columbia (Indigenous Health) and most recently, Professor Dean Karlan from Northwestern University (Economics). https://fhs.mcmaster.ca/chanchlani

This year's awardee is Michelle A. Williams, SM ’88, ScD ’91, a renowned epidemiologist, an award-winning educator, and a widely recognized academic leader. She recently stepped down as Dean of the Faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health after seven years, and is currently spending a sabbatical year as a Visiting Professor at Stanford University. Following her sabbatical, she will return to the Harvard Chan School as the Joan and Julius Jacobson Professor in Public Health. Prior to becoming Dean, she was Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School and Program Leader of the Population Health and Health Disparities Research Programs at Harvard’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Center.

Dr. Williams previously had a distinguished career at the University of Washington School of Public Health. Her research places special emphasis in the areas of reproductive, perinatal, pediatric, and molecular epidemiology. Dr. Williams has published more than 520 scientific articles and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016. In 2020, she was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and recognized by PR Week as one of the top 50 health influencers of the year. Dr. Williams has an undergraduate degree in biology and genetics from Princeton University, a master’s in civil engineering from Tufts University, and master’s and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from the Harvard Chan School.