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Michael Eriksen, Sc.M., Sc.D.

Michael EriksenCo-Principal Investigator for the Global Health Institute - China Tobacco Control Partnership

Dr. Michael Eriksen is an international public health expert and educator with more than 30 years of experience. He is the Co-Principal Investigator for the Global Health Institute - China Tobacco Control Partnership at Emory University.  He is also Professor and Founding Director of the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University.  He serves as Director of Georgia State University’s Partnership for Urban Health Research and Center of Excellence in Health Disparities Research.

Prior to his current positions, Dr. Eriksen served as a Senior Advisor to the World Health Organization in Geneva and was the longest-serving Director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (1992-2000).  In that role, he led in developing tobacco control policy for the United States while also expanding the Office to include international efforts. Dr. Eriksen has been Director of Behavioral Research at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.  He has recently served as an advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Legacy Foundation and the CDC Foundation.

Dr. Eriksen has published extensively on tobacco prevention and control and has served as an expert witness of behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission in litigation against the tobacco industry. He is Editor-in-Chief of Health Education Research, co-authored the first edition of The Tobacco Atlas, and been designated as a Distinguished Cancer Scholar by the Georgia Cancer Coalition. He was the first health official to formally participate in tobacco trade negotiations, both with Taiwan and Korea, and he was also a member of the U.S. Working Group to plan for negotiations for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Dr. Eriksen is a recipient of the WHO Commemorative Medal on Tobacco or Health and a Presidential Citation for Meritorious Service by former President Bill Clinton. He is Past President and Distinguished Fellow of the Society for Public Health Education, and has been a member of the American Public Health Association for over 35 years.

Dr. Eriksen received a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Johns Hopkins University, and both a Master and a Doctor of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Hygiene and Public Health.