Adnan Ali Hyder began his tenure as Dean of Boston University School of Public Health in August 2025, succeeding Sandro Galea. His appointment marks a return to Boston for the Pakistani-born public health leader, following a period as Senior Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Global Health at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Hyder’s family background is deeply rooted in medicine. He has described a lineage of practitioners of Unani medicine, a traditional system of healing prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, stretching back eleven generations on his mother’s side. His father’s side also boasts a history of physicians spanning three or four generations. “There’s a particular form of medicine in the Indian subcontinent called Unani, which my grandfathers, and my great-grandfathers, on my mother’s side, practised, for 11 generations. They were called hakims,” Hyder stated.
Prior to his role at George Washington University, Hyder spent two decades on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. During his time at Johns Hopkins, he directed the Health Systems Program and served as Associate Chair in the Department of International Health. He also held the position of Associate Director for Global Programs at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. In 2010, he founded the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU), which later became a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Injuries, Violence and Accident Prevention.
Hyder’s research focuses on health systems and policy, with a particular emphasis on improving global health in low- and middle-income countries. His work encompasses areas such as system design, biomedical ethics, and injury prevention. He has authored over 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 30 book chapters, and contributed to numerous reports on road safety, child injuries, and health systems. He is currently chair of the Lancet Commission on Global Gun Violence and Health.
He received his medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan in 1990, followed by a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Johns Hopkins University in 1993 and 1998, respectively. His doctoral advisor was Richard H. Morrow, and he was mentored by Timothy D. Baker, a founding leader in international health.
At GWU, Hyder led the nation’s first center dedicated to the commercial determinants of health, examining how business practices impact health outcomes both in the United States and globally. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and has contributed to understanding the epidemiological burden, risk factors, and economic impact of non-communicable diseases and injuries worldwide.
