Dr. Joanne Liu, a veteran humanitarian aid worker, is a Canadian practicing pediatric emergency physician at University of Montreal and professor at McGill University’s School of Population & Global Health where she focuses on pandemic and health emergencies at the Pandemics and Health Emergencies Readiness Lab (PERL). Prior to joining McGill, Dr. Liu began her career with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as a field doctor in 1996 and completed close to 30 field assignments. She went on to serve as the International President of MSF for over six years from 2013–2019. Through her leadership, she spearheaded the emergency responses to humanitarian and health emergencies including outbreaks/epidemics in West (Ebola 2014–2016) and Central Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean & Central America. She denounced the attacks on hospitals at the UNSC on May 2016 which led to the UNSC resolution 2286 on the Protection of the Medical Mission in conflict zones.
Dr. Liu graduated from the McGill University School of Medicine in Montreal in 1991 and did her pediatric specialty training at University of Montreal. She holds a Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine from New York University School of Medicine as well as an International Master’s in Health Leadership from McGill University. Dr. Liu is former a member of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide an evidence-based path for the future to ensure countries and global institutions effectively address health threats. She is the chair of the board of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. She is a board member of the New Humanitarian. She is on the international advisory board of two Lancet Commissions: NUS-Lancet Pandemic Readiness, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation (PRIME) Commission and Health, Conflict and Displacement CHH-Lancet Commission.
