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Indian-origin Ashish Jha to leave Brown University
The public health dean departs Brown to lead national biosecurity and pandemic preparedness initiative.
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Pranavi Sharma - Sat, 13, Dec 2025
- 02:44 EST
- 13
After serving five years as dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish K. Jha will depart Brown to lead an initiative that aims to bolster the nation’s defenses against emerging pandemic and biological threats. / Kenneth Zirkel
Bihar-born, Indian-origin public health expert Dr. Ashish K. Jha will leave Brown University at the end of the year to lead a new initiative focused on strengthening the United States’ defenses against pandemics and biological threats, the university said.
Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told Brown he will depart on Dec. 31, 2025, to take on the role, which builds on work he began while serving in the White House in 2022 and continued during his tenure at Brown.
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Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III said Jha’s departure marks the close of a significant chapter for the university’s public health school. “As the U.S. and other nations have continued to witness the impact of avian flu, mpox, COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, Ashish’s work can bring scientists, policymakers and organizations together to develop solutions to confront a new era of biological threats,” Doyle said.
Jha was appointed to lead the School of Public Health in February 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 escalated into a national crisis, and formally began his term as dean in September 2020. During his tenure, the school expanded its physical footprint, opened a Washington, D.C., office in 2024, and increased its national policy engagement through initiatives such as the Pandemic Center, launched in 2022.
Graduate enrollment more than doubled during Jha’s time as dean, reaching more than 660 students, the highest in the school’s history. Undergraduate enrollment in public health also grew, with more than 150 students currently pursuing the concentration.
“Helping lead and build this school has been an extraordinary privilege,” Jha said, according to Brown. He added that the school has become a leading institution on issues ranging from biological threats to climate change and health systems reform.
Brown President Christina H. Paxson said Jha’s work has had lasting impact. “Ashish’s dedication to serving the nation and the world has been the hallmark of his work at the School of Public Health,” she said.
Dr. Francesca L. Beaudoin, academic dean of the School of Public Health, will serve as interim dean beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the university said.
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