ATLANTA, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The CDC Foundation today announced the recipients of two esteemed awards recognizing outstanding contributions to public health and health education. This year’s James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health award recipient is Christopher J.L. Murray, MD, DPhil, and the 2026 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award recipient is Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Both Murray and Galea were chosen by the Fries Awards Selection Jury, a panel made up of health and public health luminaries.
The James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health recognizes an outstanding leader who has done the most to improve health for the greatest number of people. Murray is honored for his pioneering work as a physician and health economist, which has transformed public health by developing new analytic methods for identifying and prioritizing health issues, resulting in more impactful policies and interventions globally.
The Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award recognizes a distinguished leader who makes significant contributions to health education and health promotion through program development or delivery, policy, advocacy or research. Galea is recognized for epitomizing how a public health academician can communicate widely and effectively, by reaching out through multiple and powerful channels.
“Through their visionary work, Drs. Murray and Galea have set powerful examples of innovation and dedication that the Fries Awards are proud to recognize,” said Judy Monroe, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “Dr. Murray’s pioneering efforts to measure and analyze the global burden of disease have fundamentally advanced how health challenges are understood and addressed worldwide. Dr. Galea’s leadership and scholarship in population health have illuminated the social and structural factors that shape health outcomes. Their contributions have improved health and well-being for communities across the globe.”
Murray is a pioneering physician and health economist whose work has transformed how the global community measures and understands population health. As the founder and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, he leads The Global Burden of Disease study, the most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss worldwide. His leadership and vision have enabled policymakers, researchers and advocates to make data-informed decisions to improve health outcomes across nations.
Galea is a population health scientist and physician who has advanced public health education and promoted a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape health. He is a highly respected author, speaker and researcher whose work bridges social and psychiatric epidemiology with a particular emphasis on how trauma influences mental and behavioral health. He is the inaugural Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the Washington University School of Public Health, the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health and vice provost for interdisciplinary initiatives.
Murray will be honored with the James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health award and receive a monetary award of $100,000 at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) annual meeting taking place in Washington, D.C., November 2–5, 2025. Galea will be honored with the Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award and receive a monetary award of $50,000 at the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) taking place in Portland, OR, April 22–24, 2026.
The James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation is a nonprofit corporation incorporated in 1991. The mission of the foundation is to identify and honor individuals, organizations or institutions that have made great contributions to the health of the public. The foundation seeks to reward accomplishment rather than promise, practicality rather than theory.
The CDC Foundation is honored to partner with the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation, which established and funds the award. The CDC Foundation manages and administers the Fries Foundation’s public health award programs, which include the James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health and the Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award.
About the CDC Foundation
The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the public health system save and improve lives by unleashing the power of partnerships to protect the health, safety and security of all communities, everywhere. The CDC Foundation is authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners, corporations, organizations and individuals to support the critical health protection mission of CDC and the nation’s public health. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has launched more than 1,450 programs aimed at protecting communities across the country from a variety of health threats—from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like malaria and HIV, to emergency responses such as Ebola and Zika. The CDC Foundation is uniquely positioned to advance public health and managed hundreds of programs in the United States and in more than 100 countries last year. Learn more at www.cdcfoundation.org. Follow the CDC Foundation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter and TikTok.
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SOURCE CDC Foundation
