Dr. Eduardo J. Gómez is an Associate Professor in the College of Health at Lehigh University. A political scientist by training, his research focuses on the politics of domestic and international health policy reform. His first book, Contested Epidemics: Policy Response in Brazil and the U.S. and what the BRICS Can Learn, was published with Imperial College Press in 2015. Dr. Gómez published his second book, Geopolitics in Health: Confronting Obesity, AIDS, and Tuberculosis in the Emerging BRICS Economies, with Johns Hopkins University press in 2018.

Dr. Gómez is currently under contract with Johns Hopkins University press to complete a new book, tentatively titled Junk Food Politics, that explains the political, social, and regulatory policy influence (towards children and the poor) of junk food industries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

His research has been funded by the Rockefeller, George Soros, and Tinker Foundations, as well as King’s College London, Rutgers, and Brown University. Dr. Gómez’s research has appeared in a myriad of scholarly peer-reviewed journals, policy journals, and magazines. Dr. Gómez is also a frequent contributor to major media outlets, such as CNN and BBC, on topics ranging from global health to US-Latin American relations.

Prior to joining the faculty at Lehigh University, Dr. Gómez was a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at King’s College London, an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, and prior to that, a pre-doctoral researcher in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has previously worked for Oxfam, the RAND Corporation, World Bank, IMF, George Soros Foundation, and the Inter-American Dialogue. Dr. Gómez was elected to Term Membership at the Council of Foreign Relations in 2009. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, having served at the United States Air Force Academy. He holds a PhD and MA in political science from Brown University, a MA degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.

Jennifer Grodsky is BU’s Vice President for Federal Relations, working from Washington, D.C. to strengthen the University’s ties to federal agencies and policymakers. Federal Relations facilitates BU’s involvement in key federal decisions affecting research universities, gathers information on emerging federal funding trends, connects faculty with federal funders, shares the University’s expertise with policymakers, works with national educational and scientific organizations, and increases BU’s visibility in Washington.

Before joining BU, Grodsky was the executive director of federal relations for the University of Southern California. She previously served as legislative director for then-Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis and legislative assistant for Congressman Julian C. Dixon. Grodsky has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Psychology from USC.

Attorney Daniel E. Dawes is a nationally recognized leader in the health equity movement and has led numerous efforts to address health policy issues impacting vulnerable, underserved, and marginalized populations. He is a health care attorney and administrator, and serves as the executive director of government affairs and health policy at Morehouse School of Medicine. He is also a lecturer of health law and policy at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute.

Dawes was instrumental in shaping the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) and founded and chaired the largest advocacy group, the National Working Group on Health Disparities and Health Reform, focused on developing comprehensive, inclusive and meaningful legislation to reform the health care system and address the disparities in health care and health status among racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, women, children, LGBT individuals, and other vulnerable groups in the United States. He is the co-founder of the Health Equity Leadership and Exchange Network (HELEN), which is a national network of health equity champions in virtually every state and territory.

Dawes often lectures and presents on health law and policy while serving simultaneously on several boards, commissions, and councils focused on health equity and health reform. He is an advisor to international, national, regional, state and municipal policymakers, as well as think tanks, associations, foundations, corporations, and nonprofit organizations.