Fireside Chat with Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA
Loneliness and Public Health: A Conversation with Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD
Open to Penn affiliates
Co-hosted with HCMG2500/HCMG8500/BIOE5750: “American Health Care and the Future of the American Health Care System” and Penn’s Master of Health Care Innovation program.
Supported by the Charles C. Leighton, MD Memorial Lecture Fund.
Speakers
Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA
19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD (moderator)
Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, Medical Ethics & Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine; Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, Health Care Management, The Wharton School
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, served as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States from December 15, 2014 to April 21, 2017 and as 21st Surgeon General of the United States from March 23, 2021 to January 20, 2025. In his first term as America’s Doctor, Dr. Murthy created initiatives to tackle our country’s most urgent public health issues. In 2017, Dr. Murthy focused his attention on chronic stress and isolation as prevalent problems that have profound implications for health, productivity, and happiness. Partnering with the Veterans Health Administration, he led a convening that brought together leading thinkers, researchers, and practitioners to identify scientifically proven ways we can cultivate emotional well-being and fitness to help us thrive among the most challenging circumstances.
In addition to his role as America’s Doctor, as the Vice Admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Murthy commanded a uniformed service of 6,600 public health officers, serving the most underserved and vulnerable populations in over 800 locations domestically and abroad. He worked with thousands of Commissioned Corps officers to strengthen the Corps and protect the nation from Ebola and Zika and to respond to the Flint water crisis, major hurricanes, and frequent health care shortages in rural communities. Dr. Murthy received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard and his MD and MBA degrees from Yale. He completed his internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and later joined Harvard Medical School as faculty in internal medicine.