Executive Director, Mark Dybul
Mark Dybul became Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on 21 January 2013.
A passionate advocate of global health, Dr. Dybul believes that by working with partners, we can defeat AIDS, TB and Malaria in the next ten years. As an immunologist, as an administrator, as a teacher and as a leader, Dybul has worked for more than 25 years to help prevent and treat infectious diseases, especially among people most in need.
Dybul is a quick-thinking, compassionate and insightful leader. People who meet him often notice his energetic, open and down-to-earth nature. Raised in Wisconsin, in the mid-Western part of the United States, Dybul is naturally informal, prefers not to wear a tie, and talks easily with people from all stations of life. He often says that his parents raised him to believe in the core values of excellence, humility and service.
Dybul studied philosophy and poetry as a university student. One day he saw a magazine article about global HIV and AIDS, and was struck so deeply by the seriousness of the emergency and the challenge that he decided to shift his focus to science. After running the office of the President of Georgetown University, he entered Georgetown Medical School in Washington, D.C.
As a doctoral student, he developed a specialty in immunology. He spent his fourth year of medical school in San Francisco, just as the AIDS epidemic was reaching a peak in that city. “It was an awful time,” Dybul recalled. “I held teenagers as they died in my arms alone, abandoned by their friends and family because of fear and stigma. There was a lot of despair. It turned me into a determined advocate, and I experienced the wonderful beauty of community. I learned that when people really come together, the world can change.”
Dybul later joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Washington, D.C., where he was inspired by and worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the renowned immunologist and tireless advocate for understanding, preventing and treating infectious diseases.
In 2003 and 2004, Dybul was a founding architect and driving force in the formation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, better known as PEPFAR, a special vehicle for addressing the AIDS emergency in countries where treatment was almost unavailable ten years ago.
He led efforts to expand PEPFAR’s reach, and helped dramatically increase accessibility and lower the costs of treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS. In 2006, Dybul was formally appointed as its leader, becoming U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, with the rank of Ambassador. He served until 2009.
Before coming to the Global Fund, Dybul was co-director of the Global Health Law Program at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, where he was also a Distinguished Scholar.
Dybul has written extensively in scientific and policy literature, and has received several Honorary Degrees, including an Honorary Doctorate from Georgetown University.