A leading expert in global health, he is a former professor at King’s College London and the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Tokyo, and currently holds the title of Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo.

From 2001 to 2008, he served as Chief of the Health Policy Unit at the World Health Organization (WHO), where he developed methodologies for health system assessment and conducted empirical analyses.

In 2014, he led a public-private-academic research group—operating as a “Track 2” initiative—tasked with compiling evidence-based international health policy recommendations ahead of the G7 Ise-Shima Summit.

In 2015, he chaired the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s (MHLW) “Health Care 2035” Advisory Panel, which formulated a vision for health policy looking toward 2035. That same year, he also chaired the working group for the “Advisory Panel on Global Health Diplomacy,” which developed strategies for global health diplomacy in preparation for the G7 Ise-Shima Summit.

He subsequently served as Vice-Chair of the MHLW’s committee on “Work-Style Reform for Physicians” (2017) and as Vice-Chair of the “Future Innovation Working Group” established jointly by the MHLW and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (2019).

From 2019 to 2021, he served as a Senior Advisor to the WHO Director-General and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a public-private partnership for vaccine development. He also contributed to pandemic vaccination efforts as the Director of the Soma City COVID-19 Vaccination Medical Center.

His areas of expertise span data-driven healthcare policy, health system innovation, and venture investment; he is currently involved in policy advocacy as a Research Director at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research and in fostering the healthcare industry as a Venture Partner at Eight Roads Ventures Japan. 1999
Obtained a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree from Harvard University, USA

• 2001
  Coordinator, World Health Organization (WHO)
• 2008
  Professor, Department of International Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
• 2019
  Professor, King’s College London, UK; Senior Advisor to the Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)
• 2021
  Director, Soma City COVID-19 Vaccination Medical Center
  Principal Fellow, The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research
• 2023
  ppointed Executive Director, Medical Excellence JAPAN
• 2023
  Chairman, Medical Excellence JAPAN

Links

• Medical Excellence Japan
• Healthcare Challenges and Prospects toward 2040: “Reclaiming Healthcare”

Director of the Meridian Karasuma acupuncture clinic, Visiting Professor at Meiji University of Integrative Medicine, and Board Member of the Meridian Therapy Society.

After graduating from Meiji University of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (now Meiji University of Integrative Medicine)—the oldest university specializing in Oriental medicine—he studied under Meisuke Okada and Meizo Okada, the heads of the Tanba school of acupuncture and masters of Japanese meridian therapy.

Since then, he has been engaged in clinical practice in the Shijo-Karasuma area of Kyoto for over 25 years, while also training the next generation of practitioners at acupuncture schools and academic societies.

He also participated in the “Smart Camp” initiative by Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for approximately ten years, working on “Health and Productivity Management” projects.

He is involved in wellness programs for various hotel businesses, including an Oriental medicine retreat program at Hoshinoya Kyoto, a property operated by Hoshino Resorts—a leader in Japan’s resort culture.

Link

• A Book on Relieving Fatigue That Won’t Go Away Even After Sleep

Graduated from the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine in 1988.

Held positions at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, St. Luke’s International Hospital, and Mito Kyodo Hospital; served as Professor of General Medicine at the University of Tsukuba’s Mito Regional Medical Education Center and as an advisor to the Japan Community Health care Organization (JCHO) headquarters; assumed current position in 2017.

Holds an MPH from Harvard University and a Doctor of Medicine (MD/PhD) degree; served as a member of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Healthcare 2035” Advisory Panel and as a Senior Research Fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research.

Serves as a visiting, specially appointed, or clinical professor at five universities, including the University of Tsukuba and Institute of Science Tokyo.
Appointed as a Medical Ambassador for Ibaraki Prefecture.
Appeared seven times on the NHK program *General Practitioner: Doctor G*.
Author of *Lectures on Diagnostic Reasoning* (Nihon-Iji-Shinpo-Sha) and *Enhancing Assessment Skills: Vital Signs* (Igaku-Shoin), among numerous other publications.

Links

• Muribushi Okinawa Clinical Training Center
• The Barrier Faced by Medical Specialists

Dr. Robert Lewando Narrative Curriculum Vitae Bob Lewando, DDS, MBA is the Executive Director, Specialty Benefits Professional Services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). BCBSMA provides dental insurance to more than one million dental members. Bob had spent approximately twenty years at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA), a multispecialty medical and dental group practice in Boston where he combined a clinical practice and administrative responsibilities. Bob was Chief of HVMA’s largest fee for service dental practice in Boston for most of that time. Bob still maintains a practice limited to periodontology approximately one day per week with the rest of his time spent at BCBSMA. Bob has helped to develop BCBSMA’s strategy of helping to improve the overall health of its members through identification of medical conditions where dental care is particularly important for health management. This has led to the development of condition-specific, member centric dental benefits or the Total Health program. Bob graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. He then attended Columbia College of Dental Medicine and received specialty training in Periodontics from a combined program between the VA and Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Bob also received a MBA from Boston College and is the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association voting representative on the Code Maintenance Committee of the American Dental Association. Bob is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and consultant to the AAP Patient Benefits and Advocacy Committee. He maintains a clinical appointment at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and is chair of HSDM’s Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine.. Bob is a Certified Dental Consultant and Past Chair of the MDS Foundation, the charitable arm of the Massachusetts Dental Society.

Link

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts