Dr. Megan Srinivas

Dr. Megan Srinivas grew up in small town Iowa as the daughter of two Indian immigrants. She is an infectious disease physician and public health researcher based in Des Moines, Iowa. Her research focuses on the social determinants of health and using public policy to overcome health inequities. She is leading a NIH-funded study analyzing legislative defunding of family planning health centers in Iowa and works closely with the World Health Organization to improve access to sexual and reproductive health care in resource-limited settings. She also partners with the Iowa Primary Care Association to advance hepatitis C care in underserved populations.

Dr. Srinivas was appointed by Secretary Vilsack as the youngest member on the Iowa State Board of Education. She is an American Medical Association national delegate, an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity, a board member of Iowa’s National Alliance for Mental Illness, and serves on the Iowa Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission.

During fall 2020, Dr. Srinivas chaired President Biden’s Iowa COVID Response Council. She has been an advocate for science-based COVID policies since the start of the pandemic and received InStyle Magazine’s 2020 “Bad Ass Women of the Year,” an award recognizing 50 women making a difference in US healthcare. She was named a National Minority Quality Forum’s 2021 40 under 40 health equity leader. Dr. Srinivas frequently appears on local and national media, including appearances with NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, CNBC, the Associated Press, The Hill, The Guardian, Newsy, and the Wall Street Journal.