The Yale School of Public Health’s Milbank Lecture Series continues this fall with a distinguished speaker with local ties and a national standing. On September 16, Yale alumnus and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy will deliver remarks at 11:30 a.m. in Winslow Auditorium.
Murthy, who received his M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine and an M.B.A. in Health Care Management from the Yale School of Management, will give the lecture as part of the school’s ongoing centennial celebration.
In addition to Murthy, three other public health leaders are slated to give Milbank lectures in the coming months. The speakers are:
- Lynn Goldman, M.D., M.S, M.P.H., dean of public health, George Washington University. September 9, noon, Winslow Auditorium.
- Ana Diez Roux, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., dean, Drexel University School of Public Health. October 15, noon, Winslow Auditorium.
- George Howard, Dr.Ph., professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. December 15, noon, Winslow Auditorium.
“I am very excited about the inspiring lineup of Milbank speakers that we have scheduled for this fall,” said Dean Paul Cleary. “Each lecture is a great opportunity to hear about a pressing public health issue.”
The Milbank Lecture Series’ centennial year seven-part series recognizes YSPH’s significant contribution to the understanding of public health as well as the Milbank Memorial Fund’s tradition of forward-looking public health initiatives.
The fund is an endowed operating foundation that works to improve the health of populations by connecting leaders and decision makers with the best available evidence and experience. Founded in 1905, the fund engages in nonpartisan analysis, collaboration and communication on significant issues in health policy.
Three Milbank lectures were delivered before summer vacation, including:
- Mitchell Gail, M.D., Ph.D., senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, delivered a lecture on “Risk Models, Risk-Benefit and Personalized Medicine.”
- Harold Jaffe, M.D., M.A., associate director of science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, delivered a lecture on “Learning From the Early HIV/AIDS Epidemic.”
- Pia Britto, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Child Study Center at Yale who also works with UNICEF, delivered a lecture on “Early Child Health and Development in the Context of the Sustainable Goals Era.”
Murthy’s public health experience started early and quickly grew. As a freshman at Harvard in 1995, he co-founded VISIONS Worldwide, a nonprofit organization focused on HIV/AIDS education in the United States and India. He also co-founded Swasthya Community Health Partnership to help women be health providers and educators to rural Indians. He is also founder and president of Doctors for America, a group of physicians and medical students supporting comprehensive health reform.
Murthy’s confirmation as surgeon general was delayed for more than a year after he said “guns are a health care issue.” Much of the opposition came from the National Rifle Association. Murthy also made news when he said that cannabis “can be helpful” for some medical conditions and that science should determine policy on the federally banned substance.
The Yale School of Public Health is one of the oldest accredited schools of public health in the country.