Director, CSPC Health and Medicine Program
Former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. (ret) is the Director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), a non-profit organization. She leads a Commission on Charting Future Directions in Health and Medicine in concert with Center’s 2008-2009 Strengthening America’s Future Initiative. Dr. Blumenthal also directs a Palestinian/Israeli health initiative that has brought together medical experts in the region using health diplomacy as a bridge for peace. Additionally, she is the Chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center and Senior Policy and Medical Advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. Dr. Blumenthal serves as a Clinical Professor at Georgetown and Tufts Schools of Medicine.
As a top government health leader with over 20 years of Federal service, Dr. Blumenthal was decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service, its highest honor, "for distinguished and pioneering leadership, groundbreaking contributions, and dedicated public service that has improved the health of women, our Nation, and the world." Dr. Blumenthal served as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, as the first ever Deputy Assistant Secretary of Women’s Health and as Senior Global Health Advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Blumenthal has also been a White House advisor on health issues and the top medical advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Dr. Blumenthal began her career in the Federal government, serving for 12 years as a Branch Chief of major national research programs at the National Institutes of Health and was Chair of the NIH Health and Behavior Coordinating Committee. She has chaired numerous Federal committees as well as national and international conferences and commissions.
Dr. Blumenthal has done pioneering work on women’s health, establishing many innovative initiatives including the National Centers of Excellence on Women’s Health, the National Women’s Health Information Center, and the “Missiles to Mammograms” program that transferred imaging technology used for space exploration and intelligence purposes to improve the early detection of breast cancer. Additionally, she has been an international leader in global health, the response to terrorism, emergency preparedness including pandemic flu, obesity, mental illness, AIDS, suicide, violence and disease prevention. She also fostered numerous international collaborations on health issues including establishing a Middle East Health Initiative and was the U.S. representative to the World Health Organization’s Global Commission on Women’s Health. Dr. Blumenthal has been at the forefront of applying technology to improve health, providing national leadership in digital medicine and telehealth as one of the first in the government to use the internet for health education, envisioning and establishing several award-winning health websites including 4woman.gov, safeyouth.org, nutrition.gov, globalhealth.gov, and 4collegewomen.org. She has served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Women's Studies at Brandeis University, Bundy Visiting Professor at the Mayo Clinic, the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Women’s Health at Cornell School of Medicine, a Visiting Professor at Stanford University in Washington, and a Fellow at Harvard University School of Government.
As a leading advocate, policymaker, and national spokesperson on health, Dr. Blumenthal has briefed heads of state and health ministers, testified before Congress, and often appeared as a medical expert on national television and radio news programs. Admiral Blumenthal has authored many scientific articles, edited books, and been the health columnist for U.S. News and World Report and several women’s magazines. She has served as the Chief Medical Advisor to a PBS Health Initiative and the Medical Director of a Discovery Channel/American Film Institute Global Health Film Series. Dr. Blumenthal was Host and the Medical Director for an award-winning television series on health. She serves on the Board of Directors of several philanthropic and educational institutions including Save the Children, Stanford University in Washington and the Meridian International Center. Admiral Blumenthal is the recipient of numerous awards including honorary doctorates and has been decorated with the highest medals of the United States Public Health Service for her global leadership and landmark contributions to improving health. She was recently awarded the 2009 Health Leader of the Year by the Commissioned Officers Association of the United States.
Staff Contact
Please contact Susan Blumenthal via
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