David L. Heymann (born 1946) is an American infectious disease epidemiologist and public health expert, based in London.

Early life and education

Heymann was born in Pennsylvania, USA. He received his Bachelor of Arts from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

and later obtained an MD from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

School of Medicine. He also received a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Heymann did two years of practical epidemiology training with the Epidemic Intelligence Service, during which time Heymann was part of the international team that investigated the first outbreak of

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

in Zaire (with

Peter Piot Sir Peter Karel, Baron Piot (born 17 February 1949) is a Belgian-British microbiologist known for his research into Ebola and AIDS. After helping discover the Ebola virus in 1976 and leading efforts to contain the first-ever recorded Ebola epide ...

, Karl Johnson, Joel Breman, Joe McCormick amongst others) and the first outbreak of Legionnaire's disease, in Philadelphia.

Career

Heymann was appointed chairman of the board of the UK

Health Protection Agency The Health Protection Agency (HPA) was a non-departmental public body in England. It was set up by the UK government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards. The HPA's role w ...

in April 2009. He remained chairman of the board when HPA was merged into

Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...

in 2013. At the same time, he started and became head and senior fellow of the Centre on Global Health Security at

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

, London (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) and in 2010 joined the faculty at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

as professor of infectious disease epidemiology. Heymann was the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

's assistant director-general for health, security, and environment, and the representative of the director-general for

polio eradication Polio eradication, the goal of permanent global cessation of circulation of the poliovirus and hence elimination of the poliomyelitis (polio) it causes, is the aim of a multinational public health effort begun in 1988, led by the World Healt ...

. Previously, from 1998–2003, he was executive director of the WHO Communicable Diseases Cluster and from October 1995 to July 1998 he was director of the WHO Programme on Emerging and other Communicable Diseases. Prior to this, he was the chief of research activities in the WHO Global Programme on AIDS. Heymann was also chairman of the Strategic Advisory Group of Hilleman Laboratories. Heymann is visiting professor in the department of medicine at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

, and an associate provost (health affairs). Before joining WHO, Heymann worked for 13 years as a medical epidemiologist in sub-Saharan Africa on assignment from the US

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

. He also worked in India for two years as a medical epidemiologist in the WHO Smallpox Eradication Programme, where smallpox was eradicated in 1978. Heymann also took an active role in the first

outbreak in 1976, and led the response team during the 1995 Kikwit outbreak. In 2003, Heymann was at the forefront of the

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the ...

epidemic, working with his team to mediate international effort to halt the pandemic. For his work in public health, Heymann is regarded as one of the "disease cowboys". Heymann also served as editor of the 18th through 20th editions of the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, a publication of the

American Public Health Association The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.–based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. APHA is the largest professional organization of public health pr ...

. On 5 August 2020, Heymann was deployed as part of a WHO "surge team" in South Africa to help strengthen the national and provincial responses to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Awards

*Named

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) (2009) *Named to the United States Institute of Medicine (2004) *Named Commendador, Encomienda de Sanidad, Orden Civil de Sanidad (Spain) ( 2004) *Named Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International *Named to the United Kingdom

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

(2010) *Doctor of Science ''honoris causa'' from Sapienza-Università di Roma *Doctor of Science ''honoris causa'' from

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

(2011) *Doctor of Science ''honoris causa'' from

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

(2016) * Donald Mackay Medal by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene *

Award for Excellence *Welling Professorship at the George Washington University School of Public Health *The 13th Annual

Heinz Award The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Foundations, Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Eco ...

for the Human Condition

References

External links

WHO Profile of Dr. Heymann
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heymann, David L. 1946 births Living people World Health Organization officials Academics of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Chatham House people Pennsylvania State University alumni Wake Forest University alumni Physicians from Pennsylvania George Washington University faculty American officials of the United Nations Members of the National Academy of Medicine