Michael Santos is Senior Vice President, Science Partnerships, and Chief Population Health Science Officer. He is responsible for a portfolio of programs supporting biomedical innovation to improve health and health equity globally. He also directs the GeneConvene Global Collaboration, an initiative advancing informed decision making about the development of genetic biocontrol technology for public health.

Prior to joining the FNIH in 2019, Dr. Santos was at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he served as a Deputy Director in the Global Health division accountable for strategy and operations across the Discovery & Translational Sciences, HIV, and TB programs. His responsibilities included developing investment strategies for emerging priorities, leading the team and processes that supported investment making and management, and reporting on team strategy and progress. He was also a Strategy Advisor on the Strategy, Innovation, and Impact team, developing perspectives on the philosophy of philanthropy.

Previously Dr. Santos was a Principal at Boston Consulting Group, where he led projects on malaria, HIV, contraceptive technology, global health regulatory systems, and public radio and contributed to strategies in the energy and environment, health care, industrial goods, consumer, and retail sectors. His first career was astronomy: he holds a Ph.D. from Caltech and was a research fellow at the University of Cambridge and the Space Telescope Science Institute.