Sandro Galea, MD, MPH, DrPH, the Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award by the CDC Foundation. The award honors a leader who makes significant contributions to health education and health promotion through program development or delivery, policy, advocacy or research. Galea is recognized for his achievements advancing a comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape health through his writing, speaking and research.
Galea, also the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health and the vice provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at Washington University, 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 what can be done to promote a healthier world for all.
His scholarship lives 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 be presented with 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.