Introduction
Ans Irfan, MD, EdD, DrPH, MPH, MRPL (he/him; they/them) is a multidisciplinary global public health expert with over a decade and a half of experience as a health equity strategist both domestically and globally. As a pracademic, he has worked across cultures, continents, and countries, including Pakistan, China, and the United States, since the early 2000s. As of 2017, he has been serving as a faculty member and researcher at George Washington University. He also serves as the founding director of the Climate & Health Equity Practice Fellowship. He is a fellow with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholars program. He also serves in various roles with major national and international organizations, including the American Public Health Association, Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science, and the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth. Some of his recent roles include serving on the advisory board with the American Public Health Association’s Center for Climate, Health & Equity; APHA Governing Council; Subject Matter Expert (systems-thinking approach to climate justice) with the Environmental Protection Agency and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the founding director of Center for Social Impact & Leadership with the DC Public Health Association. He has previously served as a fellow with the prestigious Christine Mirzayan Science Policy Fellowship at the National Academy of Sciences, the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice Fellowship, and a founding member and Policy Director with the DrPH Coalition, Inc.
As a critical public health scholar, he combines multiple disciplines — including global health; environmental and occupational health; health policy; migrant health; climate change; sociocultural anthropology; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); organizational change management; program development, management, and evaluation; and implementation sciences — through a mixed-methods approach to provide innovative interdisciplinary public policy and programmatic solutions geared towards ameliorating social and health inequities. Select recent projects include: COVID-19 & Black transit workers health; farmworkers health equity; global health implications of US foreign policy; the intersection of religion and public health; traffic wardens and climate adaptation in Pakistan; evaluation of physicians’ training on climate change and health; and social equity implications of climate innovation at the intersection of technology and climate entrepreneurship.
He is currently based at Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, where he explores the complex intersection of religious moral philosophy, social ethics, and public health policies, focusing on conceptualizing religion as a structural determinant of health and its implications for public health and climate action. In addition, he is also an inducted member of Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs’ Circle. He can be contacted at ansirfan@gwu.edu. Twitter: @PHScientist
Expert
Ans Irfan, MD, EdD, DrPH, MPH, MRPL (he/him; they/them) is a multidisciplinary global public health expert with over a decade and a half of experience as a health equity strategist both domestically and globally. As a pracademic, he has worked across cultures, continents, and countries, including Pakistan, China, and the United States, since the early 2000s. As of 2017, he has been serving as a faculty member and researcher at George Washington University. He also serves as the founding director of the Climate & Health Equity Practice Fellowship. He is a fellow with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholars program. He also serves in various roles with major national and international organizations, including the American Public Health Association, Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science, and the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth. Some of his recent roles include serving on the advisory board with the American Public Health Association’s Center for Climate, Health & Equity; APHA Governing Council; Subject Matter Expert (systems-thinking approach to climate justice) with the Environmental Protection Agency and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the founding director of Center for Social Impact & Leadership with the DC Public Health Association. He has previously served as a fellow with the prestigious Christine Mirzayan Science Policy Fellowship at the National Academy of Sciences, the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice Fellowship, and a founding member and Policy Director with the DrPH Coalition, Inc.
As a critical public health scholar, he combines multiple disciplines — including global health; environmental and occupational health; health policy; migrant health; climate change; sociocultural anthropology; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); organizational change management; program development, management, and evaluation; and implementation sciences — through a mixed-methods approach to provide innovative interdisciplinary public policy and programmatic solutions geared towards ameliorating social and health inequities. Select recent projects include: COVID-19 & Black transit workers health; farmworkers health equity; global health implications of US foreign policy; the intersection of religion and public health; traffic wardens and climate adaptation in Pakistan; evaluation of physicians’ training on climate change and health; and social equity implications of climate innovation at the intersection of technology and climate entrepreneurship.
He is currently based at Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, where he explores the complex intersection of religious moral philosophy, social ethics, and public health policies, focusing on conceptualizing religion as a structural determinant of health and its implications for public health and climate action. In addition, he is also an inducted member of Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs’ Circle. He can be contacted at ansirfan@gwu.edu. Twitter: @PHScientist
Fields of expertise: Education, Environmental policy / climate change, Inclusive social development / inclusive societies / social inclusion, Policy design and delivery, Science policy, technology and innovation policy, Social change / social transformations, Social innovation / public sector innovation / policy innovation, Social policy