Global Health Leader Dr. Charles Holmes Joins Georgetown

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WASHINGTON (Sept. 27, 2017) — Georgetown University Medical Center has named Charles B. Holmes, MD, MPH (new window), as faculty co-director of its Center for Global Health and Quality (new window).

Holmes, an infectious disease physician, is a visiting associate professor of medicine at Georgetown’s School of Medicine. He has held senior global health leadership roles in government, academia, and non-governmental organizations.

The mission of the Center for Global Health and Quality (GHQ) that Holmes will lead with fellow faculty co-director Mark Dybul, MD, is to transform the financing and delivery of health care in low-resource settings by combining evidence-based strategies with world-class data, business, and management practices.

“Charles’ depth and breadth of experience and remarkable impact on the HIV epidemic response and global health more broadly makes him an unmatched partner for this work,” said Dybul. “He has led the transformation of large scale public health and research programs in the field, has an outstanding track record of scholarship and organizational leadership, and has made important and lasting contributions to policy development at the highest levels of the US government over the last two administrations.”

Holmes adds, “It’s a great honor to join Georgetown and to have the opportunity to build this center with Mark. I am more convinced than ever that substantial improvements in health and development will emerge from the intersection of profound improvements in our capacity for data generation and use, greater responsiveness and accountability of national health systems, and country-driven approaches to policy development and implementation. I look forward to advancing this vision, while continuing to advocate for new tools and sufficient resources to improve health for those most in need.”

Prior to joining Georgetown, Holmes served a four-year tenure as CEO of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), where he led a successful financial, governance and programmatic turnaround of the 1,000 person, $35 million organization. This work resulted in measurable gains in the national responses to the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics in Zambia, innovative new programs and studies aimed at improving health system performance, maternal child and newborn health, cholera control and non-communicable diseases, and expanded scientific and public health training pathways for local trainees.

Holmes was previously chief medical officer and deputy U.S. global AIDS coordinator for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in the Department of State, where he was also founding director of the office of research and science.

Holmes is internationally recognized for his technical and policy leadership within PEPFAR during both the Obama and Bush administrations, leading efforts to expand access to HIV treatment and broader health services and improve the effectiveness, resource allocation and accountability of US government investments. He has extensive diplomatic experience working with government finance and health officials and civil society in many countries, is a frequent advisor to the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and numerous other organizations, and is a member of the Board of Directors of CIDRZ in Lusaka, Zambia.

Holmes is currently on leave from Johns Hopkins University, where he is Associate Professor of Medicine and International Health. He continues to lead a multi-disciplinary policy-focused research group testing large-scale strategies to improve information for public health decision-making and the development of more effective and efficient models of healthcare delivery in low resource settings, and practices medicine as an attending physician on the infectious disease service at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Holmes obtained a BA from Kalamazoo College, an MD from Wayne State University and a Master of Public Health degree (epidemiology and international health) from the University of Michigan.

He trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, and served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School as part of a health policy group studying the cost-effectiveness of health interventions.

About Georgetown University Medical Center (new window)
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 (new window) (Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate (new window)), Twitter (new window) (@gumedcenter (new window)) and Instagram (new window) (@gumedcenter (new window)).