Jaime Sepúlveda

Sepúlveda spent over 20 years in public service in Mexico, including service as Director-General of Epidemiology and later as Vice-Minister of Health from 1991 to 1994. During this period, he was involved in the design and implementation of Mexico's Universal Vaccination Program, which achieved universal childhood immunization coverage and contributed to the elimination of polio, measles, and diphtheria in the country.^[2] He also helped establish the National Health Surveys System,^[3] and was involved in the founding of Mexico's National AIDS Council.^[4] From 1995 to 2003, he served as the Director-General of the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP) and Dean of the School of Public Health of Mexico.^[5]

In 2007, Sepúlveda joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as Director of Integrated Health Solutions.^[6] He later became part of the foundation's Leadership Team as Director of Special Initiatives in Global Health.^[7][8] He represented the foundation on the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, where he served as vice-chair of the Board and chair of its executive committee.^[9]

In 2011, he was appointed executive director of the Institute for Global Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), succeeding Haile Debas.^[10] During this period, the institute expanded its research activities and academic offerings, including the establishment of Master of Science and PhD programs in Global Health Sciences.^[11][12] He stepped down from the position in 2023.^[13]

In 2014, he was honored as the first Haile T. Debas Distinguished Professor of Global Health.^[1]

• Member, Mexican Academy of Sciences (1991)^[14]
• Elected member, Harvard Board of Overseers (2002)
• Award of Merit (Gold Medal), Ministry of Health of Mexico (2003)^[15]
• Elected member, National Academy of Medicine (2004)^[16]
• Elected member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2014)^[17]
• HIV clinic in Mexico City was named the “Jaime Sepúlveda-Amor HIV Specialized Clinic” by the Government of Mexico City in recognition of his contributions to public health in 2015^[18][19]