Lisa A. Cooper, MD, MPH is the James F. Fries Professor of Medicine and a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in Health Equity at Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and School of Public Health.  She studies how race and socioeconomic factors shape patient care, and how health systems, with communities, can improve the health of populations with complex social needs.  A general internist and social epidemiologist, Cooper founded and directs The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, where she and her team work, in partnership with health systems and community-based organizations, to identify interventions that alleviate racial and income health disparities and translate them into practice and policy changes that mean better health for communities. Dr. Cooper is the recipient of a 2007 MacArthur Fellowship (“Genius” Award) and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is a frequent contributor to media outlets, including CNN, The Economist, Essence, The Guardian, The New York Times, NPR, and PBS NewsHour. She has also provided expert advice to local leaders from diverse social sectors and to national and international policymakers about how to address health disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Cooper is the author of the forthcoming book, Why Are Health Disparities Everyone’s Problem? (Johns Hopkins University Press, June 2021).