Steven H. Woolf, M.D., M.P.H., is a senior fellow at American Progress and professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, where he was the founding director of the Center on Society and Health and now holds the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Population Health and Health Equity. Dr. Woolf has edited three books and published more than 200 articles in a career that has focused on raising public awareness about the social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health and produce inequities. He works to address these issues through outreach to policymakers and the public, including testimony before Congress, consulting, media outreach, and speaking engagements.
Dr. Woolf received his M.D. in 1984 from Emory University and underwent residency training in family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also a clinical epidemiologist and underwent training in preventive medicine and public health at Johns Hopkins University, where he received his M.P.H. in 1987. He is board certified in family medicine and in preventive medicine and public health. Dr. Woolf began his career as a health services researcher, with a focus on evidence-based guidelines. He served on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2001.