Pushing for fearless approaches to improve health in Peru
Patricia, better known as Patty, is the first Peruvian professional ever elected to the United States’ National Academy of Medicine, and among nine international members elected in 2016. A recognized leader in global health policy implementation, Patty served as Minister of Health of Peru and as dean of the country’s top school of public health in Lima. Under her leadership, Peru saw the rollout of numerous notable public health policies, including food labeling, the expansion of electronic health records in hospitals and the countrywide implementation of point-of-care syphilis testing, among others.
Patty spent years on the research front lines, building the evidence base for the policies she would later spearhead, particularly those around sexual and reproductive health, cervical cancer and HPV vaccination. She also served as chief of the Peruvian National Institute of Health, where she introduced the first information system for the country’s network of public health laboratories. Patty is a sought after mentor to young researchers and a trusted adviser for intergovernmental and collegiate organizations.
Affiliations: Research Professor and Former Dean, School of Public Health, Cayetano Heredia University; Affiliate Professor, Department of Global Health, UW Schools of Public Health and Medicine; Affiliate Professor, School of Public Health, Tulane University; 2018 Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Member, Pan American Health Organization Foundation Technical Advisory Group; Board Member, Consortium of Universities in Global Health; President, Latin American Association Against STDs