Dr.Susan Blumenthal
American physician, global health expert, psychiatrist, public health advocate
Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. served as U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and Senior Global Health Advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Blumenthal has been involved in the national public health response to terrorism, emergency preparedness, biotechnology issues, and emerging disease threats including pandemic flu and AIDS. She was a pioneer in applying information technology to improve health and was among the first in the government to use the Internet for health education.
Dr. Blumenthal currently serves as the Director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), where she co-chairs the Center’s Commission on Future Directions in Health Care. She also directs its health diplomacy programs including a Palestinian/Israeli Health Initiative supported by USAID that has convened experts, developed recommendations for cooperative programs and used information technology to help foster information exchange. Additionally, Dr. Blumenthal serves as Senior Policy and Medical Advisor to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and is Chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center. Dr. Blumenthal is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown and Tufts School of Medicine.
Dr. Blumenthal was recently decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service, its highest honor, “for distinguished and pioneering leadership, groundbreaking contributions and dedicated public service that has improved the health of women, our Nation, and the world.”
Dr. Blumenthal has also been involved in the national public health response to terrorism, emergency pandemic preparedness, biotechnology issues, and emerging disease threats including AIDS and COVID-19. She is currently a Senior Fellow in Health Policy at New America where she is focused on a broad range of issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, applying technology to advance public health, health reform implementation, food insecurity, women’s health, and global health. Additionally, Dr. Blumenthal serves as Senior Policy and Medical Advisor to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research and is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts and Georgetown Schools of Medicine.
Dr. Blumenthal was hosted by The Common Good in 2012: Aftermath: Supreme Court & Health Care with Carl Bernstein, Jeffrey Toobin & Susan Blumenthal – July 19, 2012.
Dr. Blumenthal returned to moderated the event COVID-19: Then, Now and What’s To Come with Dr. Daniel R. Lucey from Georgetown University and a leading scholar in infectious diseases, and former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden as we learn about the origins, the spread and what the future will be like as a result of Covid-19.
