March 7, 2016

Paul Spiegel Named New Director of Center for Humanitarian Health*

Paul Spiegel, MD, MPH ’96, a high-ranking official at the United Nations Refugee Agency, has been named the new director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health.

Spiegel, a physician by training, is internationally recognized for his research on preventing and responding to complex humanitarian emergencies. He comes to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, where he serves as deputy director of the Division of Programme Management and Support Services and as the Agency’s Global Coordinator at UNAIDS. He was previously chief of the Public Health and HIV Section at the UN Refugee Agency.

“Paul’s leadership experience is matched only by his technical and research knowledge, gained from more than two decades of managing humanitarian crisis responses in more than 30 countries around the world,” says David Peters, MD, DrPH ‘93, MPH ’89, the Edgar Bergman Professor and Chair of the Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health, which hosts the center. “I’m happy to welcome such an esteemed scholar and leader to our faculty.”

"After many years of responding to and managing emergencies, I am excited to return to Hopkins, my alma mater, to teach future humanitarians, undertake research that will help move the field forward and work with such talented and dedicated professionals at the Center,” Spiegel says.

Before joining the United Nations in 2002, Spiegel worked as a medical epidemiologist in the International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He also worked as a medical coordinator with Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde in refugee emergencies, as well as a consultant for numerous organizations. He received his medical degree at the University of Toronto and his Master of Public Health and specialty in Preventive Medicine at the Bloomberg School. He has won numerous awards, including the CDC’s Charles C. Shepard Science Award for outstanding research in assessment and epidemiology.

Spiegel joins the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on July 1.

Founded in 1998 as the Johns Hopkins Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, the Center for Humanitarian Health builds capacity to improve the lives of refugees, displaced persons and populations affected by disasters and conflicts worldwide. The Center trains leaders, conducts the research and collaborates with partners to promote best practices in preparedness, response and recovery. To learn more, visit the Center’s website.

* This news release was updated on Sept. 1, 2017 to reflect the Center's name change from the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response to the Center for Humanitarian Health.

# # # 

Media contacts for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Brandon Howard at 410-502-9059 or brandonhoward@jhu.edu and Stephanie Desmon at 410-955-7619 or sdesmon1@jhu.edu.