Rajiv Chowdhury
Focus
Global health inequities. Implementation science. Lifestyle and biological basis of cardiovascular diseases. Environment, climate change, and health.
Biography
Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury, an internationally-renowned global health educator and researcher, is the inaugural chair of the Department of Global Health at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work (Stempel College). Over the past years, Dr. Chowdhury has developed this pioneering Department of Global Health for Florida that opens doors to academic and scientific opportunities that address health disparities and improve health access for people worldwide.
Before Stempel College, Dr. Chowdhury taught at the University of Cambridge and University of Exeter in England, as an Associate Professor and full Professor of Global Health, respectively. He currently serves as a country expert in the Global Burden of Disease Initiative and a member of the Expert Panel at the World Cancer Research Fund International. In addition, he serves as an adviser to the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization.
Dr. Chowdhury’s research interests involve addressing the following key questions in global health: a) how climate and environment impact disease risk, b) how local social, biological, and structural factors drive that connection, and c) how population-based novel strategies and Implementation Research can help tackle these challenges, especially in vulnerable populations. Dr. Chowdhury’s 150+ scientific publications have received >100,000 citations so far (his latest publication H-index is 83) and have informed multiple global guidelines. His work has received significant media attention, appearing in top-tier outlets like The New York Times, CNN and BBC.
Dr. Chowdhury was elected a Fellow of the UK Royal Society of Medicine in 2022, a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology in 2021, a Fellow of the UK Royal Society for Public Health in 2011, and a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology in 2016. In 2013, he received the Bill Gates Senior Award in Cambridge University for contributions to global health, and in 2023, he received the Velji/Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Faculty Award for Global Health Innovation. In 2024, he was included in the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List as one of the most influential researchers globally.
Academically, Dr. Chowdhury has received a broad range of academic training and experience in global health epidemiology, global public health and implementation science. He holds doctoral and master degrees in Public Health and Epidemiology, respectively, from the University of Cambridge, where he had the titles of Commonwealth Scholar and Gates Cambridge Scholar. Dr. Chowdhury also received advanced academic training in Global Health at the Harvard and Johns Hopkins Schools of Public Health, in Global Epidemiology at the Imperial College London, and in Clinical Trials at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.