Susan Blumenthal
Susan Jane Blumenthal (born June 29, 1952) is an American physician, global health expert, psychiatrist and public health advocate.[2] With more than two decades of service as a senior government health leader in the administrations of four U.S. presidents, Blumenthal served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health and director of the Office on Women's Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and senior global health advisor within the HHS.[2][3] She also was a research branch chief at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the chair of the NIH Health and Behavior Coordinating Committee.[4][5] As of 2016, she has served as the senior medical and policy advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, a senior fellow in health policy at New America, and a clinical professor at Tufts and Georgetown Schools of Medicine.[6][7] Blumenthal is the Public Health Editor of the Huffington Post.[8][9] She is married to United States Senator Ed Markey.
Susan Blumenthal
Education[edit]
Blumenthal is of Jewish heritage.[10] Her mother was afflicted by cancer while Blumenthal was a child, strongly influencing her decision to become a medical professional.[11] Blumenthal received her undergraduate degree from Reed College and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She completed a residency program at Stanford University School of Medicine and a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. Blumenthal attended medical school at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, completing clinical clerkships at Stanford University School of Medicine.[12]
Awards[edit]
Blumenthal has received numerous honorary doctorates and medals, and has been named a top doctor by The New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal, and The Medical Herald.[12] In 2006, Blumenthal was decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal of the United States 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”.[2] She has been awarded other medals for her contributions to advancing health, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the Outstanding Service Medal, the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal, and the Commendation Medal.[5] In 2009, she received the Health Leader of the Year Award from the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, its highest honor.[2][30] Additionally, Blumenthal was the recipient of the Abram Sachar Silver Medallion from Brandeis University, in recognition of her pioneering leadership in women's health.[31] She is the recipient of the Dr. Rosalind Franklin Centennial Life in Discovery Award[8] and the Women's Leadership Award from Save the Children. She was honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Association of American University Women, and named a “Rock Star of Science” by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation.[5][22] Blumenthal has served as the commencement speaker and received honorary degrees and doctorates from universities in the United States and around the world in recognition of her contributions to improving national and global health, and for “her innovative work in identifying and championing understudied public health problems, and marshaling the resources of the government to address them."[2][5][9]