Anne Becker

Anne E. Becker, MD, PhD, ScM, has revolutionized understanding of cultural influences on mental health as the Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. After completing her MD-PhD at Harvard and psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, she has built an extraordinary career combining anthropology, psychiatry, and global health. Her groundbreaking research in Fiji demonstrated how rapid social transition and media exposure influence eating disorders in indigenous populations, earning her the 2013 Price Family Award and 2018 Leadership Award in Research. As founding director of MGH's Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program and current Dean for Clinical and Academic Affairs at Harvard Medical School, she has authored over 150 publications while leading school-based mental health interventions in Haiti and Lebanon. Her influential book "Body, Self, and Society: The View from Fiji" and service on the DSM-5 Eating Disorders Work Group have shaped understanding of cultural factors in mental health. Through her roles as former vice chair of Global Health and Social Medicine and director of Harvard's MD-PhD Social Sciences program, she continues to mentor the next generation while advancing culturally-informed approaches to mental healthcare.