Garth N. Graham, MD, MPH '96

Garth N. Graham, MD, MPH '96

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health

US Department of Health and Human Services


Hall of Fame: 2011

Dr. Garth N. Graham obtained his Bachelor of Science from Florida International University in 1996. He earned an MD from the Yale School of Medicine, where he graduated cum laude. He was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and named a Yale President Public Service Fellow. He also earned an MPH from the Yale School of Epidemiology and Public Health with a focus in health policy administration. 

Dr. Graham is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health in the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Office of Minority Health develops and coordinates Federal health policy that addresses minority health concerns and ensures that Federal, State and local health programs take into account the needs of disadvantaged, racial and ethnic populations. He is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School where he trained in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and serves as a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has authored scientific articles and presentations on cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS and community medicine. Dr. Graham was previously appointed a White House Fellow and special assistant to former Secretary Tommy G. Thompson at the Department of Health and Human Services. He founded the Boston Men's Cardiovascular Health Project, which was designed to identify behavioral explanations for decreased adherence to adequate diet and exercise by African American men. He was the Founding Senior Editorial Board Member of the Yale Journal of Health, Law, Policy, and Ethics, served on the Editorial Board of the Yale Journal of Biology and Science, Public Health Reports and a number of other guest editorial boards. He also served on the Public Health Executive Council of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Board of Directors of Physicians for Human Rights, Chairman of the American Medical Association/MSS National Minority Issues Committee and on the Steering Committee of the Boston Men's Health Coalition.

Dr. Graham has received numerous accolades for his leadership and service in promoting health, including the 2002 American Medical Association Leadership Awards the Partners in Excellence Award, the Miriam Kathleen Dasey Award from Yale Medical School and the 2005 Reginald Hawkins award. The Business Network Journal also named him one of the Forty Leaders Under Forty.