Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy [Associate Professor ]

Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy is an Associate Professor in the Division of Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Associate Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE), where he leads global health initiatives. He is also a Research Associate at Penn’s Population Studies Center and Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI). Dr. Thirumurthy’s research interests lie at the intersection of behavioral economics and public health. His research examines the decision making of individuals, households, and health care providers in low- and middle-income countries. He has nearly 20 years of research experience in east Africa, southern Africa, and South Asia, having led numerous randomized trials of behavioral interventions to promote improved health and economic outcomes. Dr. Thirumurthy has published in leading journals in economics, public health, and medicine. His projects have routinely included inter-disciplinary teams of scientists and practitioners, while being supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and several other funding agencies. Dr. Thirumurthy completed a Ph.D. in economics at Yale University. Prior to joining the University of Pennsylvania, he was on the faculty at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to research activities, Dr. Thirumurthy is a member of the Population Sciences review panel at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.