8:15 AM - 8:45 AM | Christopher J. L. Murray, MD, DPhil, Professor, IHME; Director and Chair, Department of Health Metrics Sciences
Christopher J.L. Murray, MD, DPhil, is the Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington. A physician and health economist, Dr. Murray is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern population health measurement, and his work has helped shape public policy in countries around the world.
Dr. Murray created the concept of the Global Burden of Disease with Dr. Alan Lopez while working as a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Murray led the coordination of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, the most comprehensive assessment to date of levels and trends in health worldwide. He served as the Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s Evidence and Information for Policy Cluster, where he pioneered the groundbreaking World Health Report 2000, in collaboration with Dr. Julio Frenk. Dr. Murray played a key role in the creation of the 1993 World Development Report, considered a touchstone for all subsequent attempts to study the effects of health policy and health investment on health outcomes. He returned to Harvard to help launch the Harvard Initiative for Global Health (now the Harvard Institute for Global Health) as its first director.
Dr. Murray’s work has been cited more than 50,000 times by other researchers in published articles. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Science degrees from Harvard University, a DPhil from Oxford University, and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Murray and Dr. Frenk founded IHME in 2007. By measuring health, tracking program performance, finding ways to maximize health system impact, and developing innovative measurement systems, IHME provides a foundation for informed decision-making that ultimately will lead to better health globally.
