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Harvard appoints Ashwin Vasan as Menschel Fellow
Indian-American Dr. Ashwin Vasan, former NYC Health Commissioner, joins Harvard as a Menschel Fellow to teach health policy and mentor students.
Dr. Ashwin Vasan / LinkedIn
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, an Indian-American physician and public health leader, has been appointed as a Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for the spring term.
In this role, he will teach a course on "Health Policy and Leadership" and mentor students pursuing leadership roles in public health.
Expressing his gratitude in a LinkedIn post, Vasan stated, “Honored to be named a Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at @Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard University this spring and to return to my alma mater to teach and learn from the fantastic students and community.”
He further said, “Public health and health leadership are evolving quickly, and I’m eager to share what I’ve learned and experienced over 20 years as we tackle a rapidly changing world and pressing health and social challenges. Honored to be appointed alongside Marcia Fudge, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a leader for decades in Congress and beyond in housing as health and as a human right.”
Vasan most recently served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from March 2022 to October 2024. During his tenure, he spearheaded initiatives to improve life expectancy, reform the mental health system, reduce medical debt, and expand access to reproductive healthcare.
He also led the city's response to major public health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the mpox outbreak.
Before this role, he was the President and CEO of Fountain House, a national nonprofit dedicated to addressing mental health challenges, and he founded New York City’s Health Access Equity Unit, which integrated clinical and social services for vulnerable communities.
A Harvard T.H. Chan School alumnus (Sc.M. in Epidemiology, 2004), Vasan also holds degrees from UCLA, the University of Michigan Medical School, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
He has worked extensively in global health, particularly in HIV/AIDS treatment, with organizations such as Partners In Health and the World Health Organization. His ongoing areas of focus include mental health, climate change, biodefense, and pandemic preparedness.
Since 2014, Vasan has been on the faculty at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and practices as a primary care physician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where he serves low-income and uninsured patients.
Along with Vasan, Marcia Fudge, former U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 11th Congressional District and former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has also been named a Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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