Bernardo Hernández Prado
Affiliate ProfessorBernardo Hernández Prado, DSc, MS, is the Dean of the School of Public Health of Mexico at the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico and an Affiliate Professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
From 2008 until 2022 Dr. Hernández Prado has collaborated with IHME on the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium project for the validation of verbal autopsy and chronic disease diagnosis questionnaires, and he analyzed verbal autopsy data collected for the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative #13 (GC-13). In his most recent role at IHME he worked with the Integrated Surveillance Systems research team in the evaluation of the Salud Mesoamérica 2015 project, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Division of Social Protection and Health. IHME and IDB design surveys for households and health facilities to measure coverage of key interventions in nutrition, immunization, and maternal and child health. The research supported efforts to improve health system performance and build capacity in Mesoamerica. He also collaborated with the Verbal Autopsy research team and was involved in other evaluation projects at IHME, like the evaluation of PREVENIMSS, a program of preventive actions launched by the Mexican Institute of Social Security, and the Prospective Country Evaluation for the Global Fund. In addition, he served as the director of the Health Metrics track of the Master of Public Health program at the University of Washington.
Prior to joining IHME, Dr. Hernández Prado had a long and distinguished career on the faculty of the National Institute of Public Health in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He headed the Department of Maternal Health and the Center for Research in Population Health, for which he directed the epidemiology and nutrition programs. Most recently, he served as the institute’s Director of Reproductive Health. His research has focused on maternal health and mortality, the evaluation of social and health programs, and the effect of physical activity and improved nutrition on the health of children and mothers.
From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Hernández Prado coordinated the evaluation of Oportunidades, the principal antipoverty program of the Mexican government. He helped develop the master-plan for maternal and neonatal health of the Mesoamerican Initiative in 2010. He is a level 1 National Investigator for the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico.
Dr. Hernández Prado earned a BSc in Social Psychology from the Metropolitan Autonomous University-Mexico City, a Master’s in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics, and a Doctorate in Sciences in Health and Social Behavior from the Harvard School of Public Health. Among the many honors he has received, Dr. Hernández Prado was awarded the 2005 Miguel Bustamante Prize of the National Institute of Public Health.
IHME was established at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2007. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice.