Joia Mukherjee

On a trip to India at the age of eight, Dr. Joia Mukherjee found herself outraged by the state of poverty she observed. She decided then that she would dedicate her life to combating inequity and injustice. The subsequent breadth of her influence has touched every corner of the globe, including Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Mexico, Russia, and the United States. After Dr. Mukherjee completed her residency in Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics at the Massachusetts General Hospital, she went on to receive a masters degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Mukherjee’s work has focused on cholera, tuberculosis and, in particular, AIDS. In 1995, after antiretroviral therapy had proven its ability to impede the progress of AIDS and HIV, Dr. Mukaherjee found that the therapy was not available to the world’s most impoverished populations. Once her efforts to find likeminded organizations focused on diminishing health care disparities were frustrated, Dr. Mukaherjee came into contact with Partners in Health. Because of her work with the organization, nearly six million people today are on antiretroviral therapy—for free. Dr. Mukherjee has served as the Chief Medical Director of Partners in Health since 2001 where she has helped the organization realize and advance its founding belief in health as a basic human right. She is also an Associate Professor with Harvard Medical School and the Division of Global Health Equity at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In between these ventures, Dr. Mukherjee consults for the World Health Organization on disease prevention, vaccination and treatment in developing countries and has spoken at many universities and major medical conferences internationally.

Lives and works in Boston, MA