Susan J. Blumenthal

Susan Jane Blumenthal (born June 29, 1952) is an American physician, global health expert, psychiatrist and public health advocate. 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. 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. Blumenthal served as the Public Health Editor of the Huffington Post and as a health columnist for magazines including US News and World Report and Elle.

Currently, Blumenthal is a Visiting Professor at the MIT Media Lab, a Distinguished Provost Professor at Northeastern University, 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 University Schools of Medicine. She is also the Ambassador for the Institut Curie, France's leading cancer hospital and research center that carries forward Madame Marie Curie's legacy in the 21st century. Rear Admiral Blumenthal has received numerous awards, honorary doctorates, and medals for her significant contributions to improving health including the Distinguished Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service Her mother was afflicted by cancer while Blumenthal was a child, strongly influencing her decision to become a medical professional. Blumenthal received her undergraduate degree from Reed College and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She attended medical school at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, completing clinical clerkships and her residency at Stanford University School of Medicine and a fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. From 1993 to 1997, Blumenthal served as the first deputy assistant secretary for women's health and director of the Office on Women's Health. In this position, she oversaw a $4 billion budget of women's health research, services and education programs across HHS agencies including NIH, CDC and FDA and worked with other government departments and private sector organizations to improve women's health. Blumenthal established new initiatives to advance women's health and the study of sex differences, including the National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health Program at major academic health centers across the country, the National Women's Health Information Center, a resource hub available on the internet and through a toll free telephone number, and appointed regional women's health coordinators. During this time, she served as a White House health advisor. During her tenure, funding and attention to women's health significantly increased and women's health care became a national priority. including the “Missiles to Mammograms” initiative, partnering with the CIA, NASA, and United States Department of Defense to focus missile, space and intelligence imaging technology on the improvement of early detection of breast and other cancers. This work served as a foundation for the development of computer assisted diagnosis, 3D imaging of tumors and other advancements in the field.

Blumenthal also served as U.S. Assistant Surgeon General. Health education and mentoring of students has also been a focus of her work. to advance education, training, research, and entrepreneurship with professionals who are "bilingual" in technology and public health and to establish innovative multidisciplinary collaborative programs. She serves as the Senior Health Advisor to the President of Arizona State University, co-chairing an initiative that has established the first School of Technology for Public Health in the world. She also serves as a Provost Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University where she provides leadership establishing multidisciplinary initiatives and convening conferences in this new field. She has served as the Elizabeth Blackwell Lecturer and Bundy Visiting professor at the Mayo Clinic, the Lila Wallis Distinguished Professor of Women's Health at Weill Cornell Medical College, as a visiting professor at Stanford University in Washington, as distinguished visiting professor of women's studies at Brandeis University, and as a visiting fellow at the Harvard University School of Government.

Prior to these positions, Blumenthal was head of the Suicide Research Unit and coordinator of Project Depression, the first major public awareness campaign on this disease at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She served as a national spokesperson, increased scientific and public attention, and stimulated research and prevention efforts to address these public health problems. She also was a senior advisor to the White House Council on Youth Violence and established and served as the director of the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center at HHS and launched its website, safeyouth.org. Blumenthal edited a book, Suicide over the Life Cycle and was the editor of the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide. In 1984, she was commissioned as a medical officer in the United States Public Health Service, rising to the rank of two-star admiral. She was a member of the Global Business Network.

Later career

Currently, Blumenthal is a visiting professor at the MIT Media Lab, a Provost Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University, the senior policy and medical advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, Additionally, Blumenthal serves on the board of directors of several philanthropic and educational organizations and is a member of the Director's Circle of the MIT Media Lab. As Ambassador for the Institut Curie, France's leading cancer research institute and hospital, Blumenthal leads U.S. efforts to support the creation of the world's first Chemical Biology of Cancer Research center in Paris, focused on stopping metastasis, the cause of 90% of cancer deaths.

Awards 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. 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”. Additionally, Blumenthal was the recipient of the Abram Sachar Silver Medallion from Brandeis University, in recognition of her pioneering leadership in women's health. She is the recipient of the Dr. Rosalind Franklin Centennial Life in Discovery Award