Robert Wm. Blum

ROBERT WM. BLUM, MD, PhD, MPH, the inaugural holder of the William H. Gates Sr. Chair in Population and Family Health Sciences, is a leading authority in adolescent health. He joined the Bloomberg School of Public Health in January 2004 and heads up the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health. He has edited two books, and has written nearly 250 journal articles, book chapters and special reports.

In July 2007, Dr. Blum was named the Director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute. He is a Past-President of the Society for Adolescent Medicine; has served on the American Board of Pediatrics; was a charter member of the Sub-Board of Adolescent Medicine is a past chair of the Alan Guttmacher Institute Board of Directors and served as chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Adolescent Health and Development. In 2006, The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine elected Dr. Blum into membership. He is a consultant to The World Bank and UNICEF as well as the World Health Organization where he has served on the Technical Advisory Group of the Child and Adolescent Health Department as well as the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group of the Human Reproductive Program. He has been awarded the Society for Adolescent Medicine’s Outstanding Achievement Award (1993); and in 1998 was the recipient of the American Public Health Association’s Herbert Needleman Award “for scientific achievement and courageous advocacy” on behalf of children and youth. His research interests include adolescent sexuality, chronic illness, and international adolescent health care issues.