Joanne Liu MDCM, FRCPC

Dr. Joanne Liu is a Canadian practicing pediatric emergency physician and professor at McGill University’s School of Population & Global Health where she focuses on pandemics and health emergencies. Prior to joining McGill, Dr. Liu began her career with Médecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in 1996, joined over 30 field assignments where she coordinated emergency medical aid and responded to humanitarian and health emergencies including outbreaks/epidemics in Central Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, South East Asia, Caribbean & Central America.

She went on to serve as the International President of MSF for over six years from 2013- 2019. At the helm of MSF, she has been a leading voice on medical humanitarian crises, namely in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, attacks on hospitals, and forced displacement crisis, and has engaged with world leaders at the highest levels.

Dr. Liu’s operational work has ranged from introducing comprehensive care for survivors of sexual violence to developing a telemedicine platform for connecting doctors in rural areas with specialists worldwide. Dr. Liu graduated from the McGill University School of Medicine in Montreal in 1991 and did her pediatric specialty training at the University of Montreal. She holds a Fellowship in Paediatric Emergency Medicine from New York University School of Medicine as well as an International Master’s in Health Leadership, also from McGill University. She remains a practicing doctor, both in the field with MSF and also through hospital shifts in her hometown of Montreal. She believes strongly in bringing and delivering high-quality, patient-centered care in all medical work contexts.

Dr. Liu is currently a member of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide an evidence-based path for the future to ensure countries and global institutions effectively address health threats. She is a board member of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the New Humanitarian. She is on the international advisory board of two Lancet Commissions: The Global Listening Project and NUS-Lancet Pandemic Readiness, Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PRIME) Commission.