I am a global health physician and academic working on primary health systems in low-income settings and epidemic response.

I am in the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. I previously served as a Senior Health Advisor with the Earth Institute at Columbia University, adjunct faculty at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and associate faculty at Ariadne Labs, a joint center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

I have worked on health systems in several countries including India, Rwanda, Liberia and Nigeria and also served as Special Advisor to the President of Guinea on Ebola and helped manage the country’s response to the 2013-2016 epidemic. I have over 70 publications in The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Harvard Business Review, Washington Post and other academic and journalistic outlets.

Major Positions

Founder and CEO, Optimize Health (2016-present)

Senior Health Advisor, Earth Institute, Columbia University (2012-2016)

Special Advisor to the President on Ebola, Government of Guinea (2014-2016)

Chief Health Advisor, Conditional Grants Scheme to LGAs, Office of the President, Nigeria (2011-2014)

Technical Director, Model Districts Health Project, National Rural Health Mission, India (2011-2014)

Chief Advisor, Village Health Workers’ Initiative, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Nigeria (2011-2012)

Lead Health Strategist, Nigeria MDG Information System, Office of the President, Nigeria (2011-2014)

Post-earthquake Response, Partners in Health Haiti/Zanmi Lasante (2009)

Health Systems Advisor, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Liberia (2008-2010)

Health Advisor, Millennium Villages Project (2006-2009)

Co-Founder, Health Coordinator and Leadership Team, Millennium Villages Project Rwanda (2005-2006)

Founding Director, Roses from the Concrete (2002-2005)

Publications

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D. Getting farmworkers to use PPE is hard, but it’s the best way to stop an H5N1 bird flu epidemic. STAT. June 12, 2024.

Srikrishna D, Dhillon R. Indoor air targets must account for overdispersion and mixing. Science. June 5, 2024.

Srikrishna D, Karan A, Dhillon RS. Making the air in the office cleaner. Harvard Business Review. July 5, 2023.

Karan A, Srikrishna D, Dhillon R. Air quality disasters aren’t going away. Here’s how we should protect ourselves. Los Angeles Times. June 16, 2023.

Srikrishna D, Karan A, Dhillon RS. SARS-CoV-2 reduction in shared indoor air. JAMA 2022 Dec 6;328(21):2162. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.18028.

Sosin A, Dhillon R. CDC promises to end disruption; it’s new guidance won’t do it. The Hill. August 17, 2022.

Karan A, Srikrishna D, Dhillon R. We’re not back to normal. Covid fight must continue. Mercury News. April 30, 2022.

Karan A, Srikrishna D, Dhillon R. Don’t pretend we’re ‘back to normal.’ Fight for cleaner air to prevent COVID. Los Angeles Times. April 24, 2022.

Dhillon RS, Karan A. Overcoming ‘failures of imagination’ - rethinking the US covid-19 pandemic response. BMJ 2022 Oct 5;379:o2397. doi: 10.1136/bmj.o2397.

Bachynski K, Castrucci BC, Choo EK, Dhillon R, Downs J, Ganapathi L, Gonsalves G, Karan A, Keller RC, Kominers SD, Levy J, Lincoln M, Prins S, Raifman J, Sosin A. It’s time to redouble and refocus our efforts to fight covid, not retreat. BMJ 2022;379:o2423

Karan A, Srikrishna D, Dhillon R. The Biden administration is wrong. Many N95 masks are comfortable - and they work. Washington Post. January 11, 2022.

Bhadra A, Karan A, Srikrishna D, Dhillon RS. The pandemic is out of control in India. These quick interventions would help. Washington Post. May 3, 2021.

Karan A, Dhillon RS. Vaccines are great, but testing and tracing will stamp out transmission. Washington Post. March 29, 2021.

Dhillon RS, Karan A, Beier D, Srikrishna D. The government can - and should - send high-quality masks to every American. Washington Post. February 17, 2021.

Karan A, Dhillon R, Srikrishna D. America needs better masks to fight Covid-19. CNN. February 1, 2021.

Karan A, Dhillon R, Srikrishna D. Along the vaccine rollouts, the US needs a National Hi-Fi Mask Initiative. STAT. January 7, 2021.

Dhillon RS, Karan A. The responsibility and potential of public health. Lancet 2020;395(10217):29. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31911-7.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Chowell G. Getting to zero in the DR Congo Ebola outbreak. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2020;20(4):395-397. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30056-6. Epub 2020 Mar 9.

Karan A, Dhillon R, Walton D, Katz I. To solve the pandemic, Biden must focus on equity. NPR. November 13, 2020.

Srikrishna D, Karan A, Beier D, Dhillon RS. Essential workers need better masks. Harvard Business Review. October 20, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Karan A. We can’t stop covid-19 if we don’t know where and why it’s spreading. Washington Post. September 15, 2020.

Karan A, Dhillon R. It’s easy to say ‘wear a mask.’ But people need more advice on managing the risk of COVID-19. WBUR Cognoscenti. September 15, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Karan A, Srikrishna D. We could control the coronavirus by winter if we start using rapid tests. Washington Post. August 17, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Karan A. The US needs smarter lockdowns. Now. Harvard Business Review. August 12, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Karan A, Beier D, Srikrishna D. We need better masks. Harvard Business Review. June 18, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Karan A, Beier D, Sullivan A, Chowell G, Chowell D, Srikrishna D. A plan to safely reopen the US despite inadequate testing. Harvard Business Review. May 1, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Beier D, Srikrishna D. What the US needs to do - right now - to fight coronavirus. Harvard Business Review. March 11, 2020.

Srikrishna D, Dhillon RS, Beier D. We need a cheap way to diagnose coronavirus. Harvard Business Review. February 26, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D. What will it take to stop coronavirus? Harvard Business Review. January 28, 2020.

Dhillon RS, Karan A, Marten R. A perpendicular framing for global health. Lancet 2019;394(10210):1708. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32464-X. Epub 2019 Oct 17.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Beier D. Are countries ready for the increasing threat of engineered bioweapons? Harvard Business Review. June 18, 2018.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D. Containing the latest Ebola outbreak. Harvard Business Review. November 13, 2018.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D. Two data points for gauging outbreak control. Lancet 2018;392(10163):2439. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32755-7.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Garry RF. Early detection of Lassa fever: the need for point-of-care diagnostics. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2018;18:601-602.

Palazuelos D, Dhillon R, Nelson AK, Savage KP, Conover R, Katz JT, Rhatigan JJ. Training toward a movement: career development insights from the first 7 years of a global health equity residency. Journal of Graduate Medical Education 2018;10(5):509-516. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-18-00213.1.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D. An Ebola outbreak has just been stopped. Here’s what it tells us about containing epidemics. Harvard Business Review. July 13, 2018.

Kelly JD, Mukadi P, Dhillon RS. Beyond vaccines: improving survival rates in the DRC Ebola outbreak. Lancet 2018; pii: S0140-6736(18)31212-1. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31212-1.

Dhillon RS, Karan A. The blind men and the elephant: aligning efforts in global health. New England Journal of Medicine 2018;378:1374-1375.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D. When is contact tracing not enough to stop an outbreak? Lancet Infectious Diseases 2018;18(12):1302-1304. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30656-X.

Gandhi NA, Dhillon RS. What Harvey is teaching the health care sector about managing disasters. Harvard Business Review. September 12, 2017.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Beier D. The world is completely unprepared for a global pandemic. Harvard Business Review. March 15, 2017.

Negin J, Dhillon RS. Authors’ response: WHO must prioritize its roles and then be positioned and supported to execute effectively. BMJ Global Health 2017;25:5.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Beier D. Halting Zika’s resurgence with new rapid tests for the virus. BMJ 2017;357:j2657.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Jha AK. Containing Zika while awaiting a vaccine. BMJ 2017;356:j379.

Dhillon RS, Kelly JD, Srikrishna D, Garry RF. Overlooking the importance of immunoassays. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2016;16:1109-1110.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Beier D. The fight against Zika can’t wait for a vaccine. Harvard Business Review. August 18, 2016.

Negin J, Dhillon RS. Outsourcing: how to reform WHO for the 21st century. BMJ Global Health 2016;DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2016-000047

Dhillon RS, Nadella P. A framework for assessing responsibility in intergovernmental partnerships. AMA Journal of Ethics 2016;18:676-680.

Perry HB, Dhillon RS, Liu A, Chitnis K, Panjabi R, Palazuelos D, Koffi AK, Kandeh JN, Camara M, Camara R, Nyenswah T. Community health worker programs after the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2016;94:551-553.

Dhillon RS, Glatter R, Srikrishna D. To fight the Zika pandemic, learn from Ebola. Harvard Business Review. February 4, 2016.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Garry RF. Testing for Ebola. New York Times. February 9, 2016.

Palazuelos D, Dhillon R. In reply to Lukolyo and Haq and to Loh. Academic Medicine 2016;91:162-3.

Sacks JA, Zehe E, Redick C, Bah A, Cowger K, Camara M, Diallo A, Gigo AN, Dhillon RS, Liu A. Introduction of mobile health tools to support Ebola surveillance and contact tracing in Guinea. Glob Health Sci Pract 2015;3:646-659.

Gupta V, Dhillon R, Yates R. Fossil-fuel subsidies and health – Authors’ reply. Lancet Global Health 2015;3:e675.

Palazuelos D, Dhillon RS. Addressing the “Global Health Tax” and “Wild Cards”: practical challenges to building academic careers in global health. Academic Medicine 2015; doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000845.

Dhillon RS, Yates R. Health financing reforms for non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Lancet Global Health Blog. June 22, 2015.

Dhillon RS, Kelly JD. Community trust and the Ebola endgame. New England Journal of Medicine 2015;doi:10.1056/NEJMp1508413.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D. What we’ve learned from fighting Ebola. Harvard Business Review. July 16, 2015.

Dhillon RS, Yates R. Building back better: initial priorities for Ebola-affected countries. Lancet Global Health 2015;3:e435-e436.

Dhillon RS, Phillips J. State capability and Rwanda’s health gains. Lancet Global Health 2015;3:e308-e310.

Gupta V, Dhillon R, Yates R. Financing universal health coverage by cutting fossil-fuel subsidies. Lancet Global Health 2015;3:e306-e307.

Heymann DL, Chen L, Takemi K, Fidler DP, Tappero JW, Thomas MJ, Kenyon TA, Frieden TR, Yach D, Nishtar S, Kalache A, Olliaro PL, Horby P, Torreele E, Gostin LO, Ndomondo-Sigonda M, Carpenter D, Rushton S, Lillywhite L, Devkota B, Koser K, Yates R, Dhillon RS, Rannan-Eliya RP. Global health security: the wider lessons from the west African Ebola virus disease epidemic. Lancet 2015;385:1884-1901.

Dhillon RS. The future of WHO: outsourcing? Lancet 2015;385:1070.

Dhillon RS. Chapter 3: National Planning for CHW Programs. In: The CHW Reference Guide. June 3, 2015.

Dhillon RS, Mandara M. Improving midwifery care worldwide. Lancet 2015;385:26.

Dhillon RS. Key data points for guiding the Ebola response. Lancet Global Health Blog. January 23, 2015.

Srikrishna D, Dhillon RS. Ebola: a slow-motion atomic bomb. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. November 25, 2014.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Garry RF, Chowell G. Ebola control: rapid diagnostic testing. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2014; doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(14)71035-7.

Dhillon RS, Srikrishna D, Sachs JD. Controlling Ebola: next steps. Lancet 2014;384:1409-1411.

Dhillon RS, Clair K, Fraden M, Abdalla M. Hypertension in populations of different ethnic origin. Lancet 2014;384:234.

Yates R, Dhillon RS. Investing in Health. Lancet 2014;383: 949-950.

Dhillon RS. America’s Other Growth Rate: What the U.S. obesity epidemic and healthcare cost crisis mean for the rest of the world. Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development 2014;11:115-123.

Coltart CEM, Dhillon RS, Whitty CJM. Neglected and other tropical diseases. In: Essential Clinical Global Health. (ed. Brett D. Nelson), 1st Edition. Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.

Palazuelos D, Ellis K, Im DD, Peckarsky M, Schwarz D, Farmer DB, Dhillon R, Johnson A, Orihuela C, Hackett J, Bazile J, Berman L, Ballard M, Panjabi R, Ternier R, Slavin S, Lee S, Selinsky S, Mitnick CD. 5-SPICE: the application of an original framework for community health worker design, quality improvement and research agenda setting. Global Health Action 2013;6:1-12.

Dhillon RS, Tripathi S. Growing Hope. BBC Focus on Africa. 2012 October-December; 52-53.

Dhillon RS, Bonds MH, Fraden M, Ndahiro D, Ruxin JN. The impact of reducing financial barriers on utilization of a primary care facility in Rwanda. Global Public Health 2012;7: 71-86.

Dhillon RS. A closer look at the role of community-based health insurance in Rwanda’s success. Global Health Check. September 16, 2011.

Dhillon RS, Rhatigan JJ. The Measles Initiative. Cases in Global Health Delivery. Boston: Harvard Business Publishing, 2011.

Miscellaneous Working and Policy Papers:

Dhillon RS, Kante M, Niang C. Overcoming community resistance to the Ebola response. Conakry: Government of Guinea, February 2015.

National Ebola Coordination Cell. Accelerated Plan for the Elimination of the Ebola Epidemic in Guinea and Reinforcing the Health System. Conakry: Government of Guinea, October 2014.

Dhillon RS, Sullivan SE, Yakubu M. Nigeria Health Sector Packages. Abuja: Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, 2013.

Dhillon RS. Removing Financial Barriers to Health Services: Experience from Millennium Villages in Rwanda, Ghana, and Tanzania. New York: Millennium Villages Project, 2011.

Dhillon RS. Proposed Model for County Health System Organization in Liberia: Vision for Bomi County Health System. Monrovia: Government of Liberia, 2009.

Aboubacar B, Sarr DCH, Coulibaly T, Kone K, Dhillon RS. Analyse des cout de fonctionnement des Centres du Sante Communautaire de la zone du Projet des Villages due Millenaire de Segou dans le cadre de l'introduction de la gratuite des soins de sante primaires. Bamako: MDG Centre West Africa, August 2009.

Dhillon RS. Proposed Framework and Sequencing for Implementation of Health Programs. New York: Earth Institute, May 2008.

Dhillon RS, Fraden M. Review of the Ghana Health Insurance Scheme in Amansie West District. New York: Earth Institute, January 2008.

Dhillon RS. Health Sector Overview. Kigali: Millennium Villages Project Rwanda, June 2007

Miscellaneous Invited Presentations:

Guest speaker. UCSF Global Health Bootcamp. 2020.

VIP Invitee. Pandemics and Epidemics: prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Chatham House. London: October 12-13, 2015.

Universal Health Coverage and Delivery (co-presented with Rob Yates). United Nations Special Envoy for Financing the MDGs and Malaria. New York: August 3, 2015.

Building the National Ebola Response in Guinea. Ariadne Labs, Harvard University. Boston: June 4, 2015.

Nutrition and the Continuum of Care: Pre-Conception to the Post-Natal Period. Wilson Center. Washington DC: October 6, 2014.

Healthcare Delivery in Rural India. Power of Education Forum Panel. Cambridge: February 22, 2014.

Global Aid and Sustainable Partnership Panel. GlobeMed at George Washington University. Washington, DC: April 5, 2014.

Millennium Development Goals: Where do we stand and where do we go from here? Hofstra University. Long Island: April 8, 2014.

From Access to Quality in Healthcare Panel. Harvard Kennedy School International Development Conference. Cambridge: April 12, 2014.

Optimizing health: Opportunities for co-innovation in delivery and technology. Invited lecture. Georgia Tech Biomedical Innovation and Development Program. Atlanta: April 18, 2014.

Innovative Measures for Mitigating the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Health in Liberia. Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Annual Health Sector Review Keynote Address. Monrovia: July 14, 2009.

Community-Based Health Insurance: Overview, Review, and Case Studies. Consultative Workshop on Health Financing. Monrovia: July 6, 2009.

Making Health Systems Work at Scale. Cornell Health International: Transforming Knowledge into Action. Ithaca: October 27, 2012.

Building National Community Health Worker Programs. Partners in Health Community Health Worker Summit. Boston: June 30, 2012.

The Other Neglected Diseases: Tackling NCDs in Developing Countries. New York University Global Health Symposium. New York: October 2011.

Addressing Neglected Diseases in Poor Countries. Forum for Social Entrepreneurship. Boston: October 30, 2010.

Design and Implementation of Health Systems in Poor Countries. Unite for Sight Conference. New Haven CT: April17, 2010.