Alumni News: Dr. Margaret Chan appointed inaugural Dean of Tsinghua University’s new public health school
Dr. Margaret Chan, BA'73, MD’77, DSc'99, has been appointed the inaugural Dean of the Vanke School of Public Health at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Tsinghua University announced plans for the new school on April 2.
The School’s focus will be on research and graduate education in four fields: preventative medicine; comprehensive health care; big data in health care; and public health policy and management.
In a press release, Tsinghua University says the School will work closely with the World Health Organization and will “provide support to China’s epidemic control, vaccine development and decisive think tanks related to major public health policymaking” during the next five to 10 years.
Dr. Chan is the former Director-General of the WHO, a position she held from 2006 to 2017. Acclaimed for her strategic direction in the face of public health crises, Dr. Chan served on the frontlines of the global fight against H1N1, SARS and avian influenza. She has also been instrumental in championing improvements to maternal care, HIV and AIDs care and malaria.
