Global Health Expert Mark Dybul to Lead New Center at Georgetown

Posted in News Release

WASHINGTON (June 28, 2017) — Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) has named Mark Dybul, MD, as the inaugural faculty director of its new Center for Global Health and Quality. Dybul, a professor of medicine at Georgetown’s School of Medicine, recently completed his tenure as executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He returns to Georgetown on July 1.

The mission of the Center for Global Health and Quality (GHQ) that Dybul will lead is to work with partners to respond to current and emerging health challenges and bring quality services to scale while maximizing resources.

“We are experiencing a remarkable time of rapid geopolitical and economic change in the world,” says Dybul, an internationally recognized global health expert with nearly three decades of experience in the field. “As a result, this is a critical time in global health, but we are in a position where if we are careful, smart, and strategic, we can take hold of a tremendous opportunity and make great progress.”

GHQ is structured as a multi-disciplinary, cross-campus enterprise that leverages the leading minds in global health, health care, big data, service delivery, economics, program design, private sector, international relations, law, and management (data and business) with a proven track record of leading, reforming, and implementing initiatives in complex settings.

The goal of the GHQ is to explore new policy and management strategies to respond to global health challenges. As part of this approach, GHQ will examine the ways in which data – such as quality metrics and private sector information – can complement existing health metrics. Its wide-ranging areas of focus will be developed in partnership with countries and other relevant stakeholders.

“Through the GHQ, we’ll bring together top critical thinkers in academia to form strategic collaborations with a focus on developing and deploying high quality and efficient strategies,” explains Dybul. “By supporting countries as they tackle major health challenges, we also contribute to economic growth and development. We can achieve our Georgetown mission of cura personalis – cure of the whole person – by taking care of global communities.”

“There is perhaps no one better to advance the work of GHQ than Mark Dybul, who has served the global community, and our Georgetown community, with extraordinary distinction for many years,” says Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia. “We are grateful to welcome him back to the Hilltop and we look forward to all he will accomplish in the time ahead.”

Dybul graduated from the Georgetown college in 1985 and earned his MD at Georgetown in 1992. He began his work in HIV research as a fellow at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the direction of its director, Dr. Anthony Fauci. There, Dybul conducted basic and clinical HIV research, and eventually conducted the first randomized, controlled trial with combination antiretroviral therapy in Africa.  

Dybul went on to lead President George W. Bush’s International Prevention of Mother and Child HIV initiative for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 2006, he was named U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.  During that time, he led the implementation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a health initiative he also helped create. Dybul later became the inaugural Global Health Fellow of the George W. Bush Institute.

In 2009, he returned to the Georgetown to serve as co-director of the Global Health Law Program at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He left to serve as executive director of the Global Fund in 2013, a tenure that ended May 31.

“We are excited about the new energy, experience and leadership Dybul brings to Georgetown,” says Edward B. Healton, MD, MPH, executive vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the Georgetown School of Medicine. “A key leader in global health, Mark joins a strong and dedicated cohort of Georgetown faculty members who have devoted their careers to global health.”

Earlier this year, Georgetown University launched a Global Health Initiative, a university-wide effort to collectively leverage the research, education and service in global health undertaken by Georgetown faculty, staff and students.

“Mark will be instrumental as we advance our work together,” Healton adds.

In 2008, Georgetown honored Dybul with a Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa and in 2012, presented him with its Timothy S. Healy S.J. Award for his “outstanding public service in support of humanitarian causes and advancements for the benefit of mankind.”

“I’m excited to be back at Georgetown to lead the GHQ,” Dybul says. 

About Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC’s mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis — or “care of the whole person.” The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. Connect with GUMC on Facebook (Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate), Twitter (@gumedcenter) and Instagram (@gumedcenter).