Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, the Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the 2026 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award from the CDC Foundation. The award honors a leader who has made significant contributions to health education and health promotion through program development or delivery, policy, advocacy or research. Galea is being recognized for advancing a comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape health through his writing, speaking and research.
Galea, who is also the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health and the vice provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at WashU, is a population health scientist, physician and author. A highly respected researcher and communicator, he has published 24 books, 75 chapters, more than 1,000 journal articles and countless public pieces about the underlying forces that shape human health and how to create a healthier world for all.
His scholarship lies at the intersection of social and psychiatric epidemiology, with a focus on the behavioral health consequences of trauma. He is the editor-in-chief of JAMA Health Forum and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Galea will receive the award at the Society for Public Health Education meeting in Portland, Ore., in April. The CDC Foundation manages and administers the award in partnership with the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation, which established and funds the award.
