Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, the opening keynote speaker for Internal Medicine Meeting 2026, will discuss “Clinical Leadership and Trust in the Age of Information Chaos” at today's Opening Ceremony at 9:15 a.m. PT in Hall F. The Opening Ceremony is open to all meeting attendees, with livestream available. No tickets are required.
A global leader driving public health research, policy, and practice, Dr. Jha serves as dean of the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, R.I.
An accomplished and practicing physician, Dr. Jha is recognized globally as a trusted expert on major issues facing the nation’s health and a catalyst for new thinking and approaches. A long-time leader on pandemic preparedness and response, from directing groundbreaking research on Ebola to serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, he has led national and international analyses of key issues and advised policymakers around the world.
President Joe Biden appointed Dr. Jha as White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator in March 2022, describing him as “one of the leading public health experts in America.” From the White House, Dr. Jha led the work that increased the development of and access to treatments and newly formulated vaccines, dramatically improved testing and surveillance, rebuilt the Strategic National Stockpile, facilitated major investments in improving indoor air quality, and put in place an infrastructure to respond to current and future disease outbreaks more effectively. He has received bipartisan praise for his pragmatic approach to public health that, in the words of President Biden, “translates ... complex scientific challenges into concrete actions” that help improve millions of lives.
Dr. Jha is one of the most highly cited researchers in the nation, with more than 300 publications in prestigious medical journals. He is also a frequent contributor to a range of public media. His work has focused on how to improve the quality and costs of care that people receive, studying the impact of local and national policy efforts both in the U.S. and around the world. Before joining Brown University, Dr. Jha was the K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston and served as director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. ■