Jody Heymann is the Founding Director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy, the WORLD Global Data Centre, and the Project on Global Working Families. An internationally renowned researcher on health and social policy, Dr. Heymann holds a Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy. She has authored and edited over 150 publications, including Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder (Harvard Business Press, forthcoming), Raising the Global Floor (Stanford University Press, 2009), Trade and Health (McGill Queens University Press, 2007), Forgotten Families (Oxford University Press, 2006), Healthier Societies (Oxford University Press, 2006) and Unfinished Work (New Press, 2005). Heymann has led the development of a unique graduate and undergraduate multidisciplinary training program that bridges research and policy development with students gaining experience in 18 countries.

Dr. Heymann established and leads the first global initiative to examine social policy in all 192 UN nations. This initiative provides an in-depth look at how social policies affect the ability of individuals, families and communities to meet their health needs across the political, economic and social spectrum worldwide. In addition to carrying out award-winning global social policy research, Heymann carried out some of the original studies of the risk of HIV transmission via breast milk to infants in Africa, the impact of HIV/AIDS on tuberculosis rates in Africa, and how labor conditions impact the health and welfare of families globally.

Deeply committed to translating research into policies and programs that will improve individual and population health, Dr. Heymann has worked with leaders in North American, European, African, and Latin American governments as well as a wide range of intergovernmental organizations including the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and UNESCO. Central to her efforts are bridging the gap between research and policymakers, and Dr. Heymann’s research has been presented to heads of state and senior policymakers around the world. She has worked closely on the development of legislation with the US Congress as well as with UN agencies on the implications of her team’s results for global policy. Dr. Heymann’s findings have been featured on CNN Headline News, MSNBC, Good Morning America, Fox News, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, Fresh Air and Marketplace, in The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today among other internationally and nationally syndicated programs and press.

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