Julie Morita
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julie Morita | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Education | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS, MD) |
| Awards | Member, National Academy of Medicine (2024)[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Public health |
| Institutions | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1997–1999) Chicago Department of Public Health (1999–2019) Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2019–2024) Joyce Foundation (2024-present) |
Julie Morita is an American public health expert. She is president of the Joyce Foundation and previously served as the executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She also served as a member of President Joe Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board[2][3] and as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Morita was born in Chicago to Mototsugu and Betty Morita. During World War II, her parents were uprooted from their homes in the Pacific Northwest and detained in Japanese Internment Camps in Idaho. Morita has discussed her family's history as a major influence on her interest in health equity.[4] As a young girl, she was interested in a career in medicine, inspired by the children's book "Nurse Nancy."[5]
In 1982, she began her undergraduate career at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she planned to pursue a degree in engineering.[5] Seeking a more human-to-human connection, she changed her major to biology to pursue the pre-medical track. In 1986, she received her Bachelor of Science degree. She then attended University of Illinois College of Medicine, where she received her Doctor of Medicine degree before performing her medical residency in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota from 1990 to 1993.