Priya Agrawal

Priya Agrawal is leading Merck’s global HPV vaccines business. As an OBGYN and global health professional having worked in over 30 countries, Agrawal has seen the devastation that cervical cancer causes for the young women and their families. In many countries, the screening and treatment infrastructure is not sufficient, and this anti-cancer vaccine is their only hope.

Agrawal is a triple sector leader with over 20 years of global clinical, public health, academic, and industry experience. She has a strong track record for working at the nexus of multiple disciplines to advance successful public health initiatives within both the private and public sectors. Agrawal's superpowers are deep empathy and curiosity, ability to create and communicate a vision, develop meaningful partnerships, and drive innovation in process and product to improve health. She has worked in USA, Europe, Africa and Asia and some experience in Latin-America. Social justice through advancing health equity in a sustainable way is her mission.

Prior to joining Merck, Agrawal had a portfolio career combining Director of Research and Innovation for the Women and Health Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health where she led the development and evaluation of healthcare innovations; Medical director of a social enterprise delivering affordable quality care in the slums of nairobi; Digital entrepreneur supporting reverse innovation from Kenya and India to Silicon Valley; and Clinical practice. Her PhD work at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine centered around the development and evaluation of WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist.

Agrawal is on the Board of Pathfinder International supporting their journey towards a less decolonized operating model, and recently joined the Board of Hilleman Laboratories to accelerate affordable vaccines for LMICs. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and her humble contributions to global health have been recognized with the Harvard School of Public Health Award for Public Health Professionals and the Forbes Impact Award in Advocacy.