Contributor : Profile

Christopher J.L. Murray, M.D., D.Phil., is a Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington and Institute Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). A physician and health economist, his work has led to the development of a range of new methods and empirical studies to strengthen the basis for population health measurement, measure the performance of public health and medical care systems, and assess the cost effectiveness of health technologies.

Dr. Murray’s early work focused on tuberculosis control and the development with Dr Alan Lopez of the Global Burden of Disease methods and applications. In this work, they developed a new metric to compare death and disability from various diseases and the contribution of risk factors to the overall burden of disease in developing and developed countries. This pioneering effort has been hailed as a major landmark in public health and an important foundation for policy formulation and priority setting.

Dr Murray worked at the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1998 to 2003 where he served as the Executive Director of the Evidence and Information for Policy Cluster while Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland was Director-General. From 2003 until 2007, Dr Murray was the Director of the Harvard University Initiative for Global Health and the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, as well as the Richard Saltonstall Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science degrees from Harvard University, a D.Phil. in International Health Economics from Oxford University, and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School.