The leaders of our global programs hail from all corners of the globe and from both the public sector and industry. Together with our country program leaders, they are responsible for program strategies, fundraising, and implementation.

John BoslegoJohn Boslego, MD
Global Program Leader, Vaccine Development
Interim Global Program Leader, Malaria Vaccine Initiative

Dr. Boslego directs PATH’s vaccine development program, which seeks to identify and facilitate the development of safe, effective, affordable vaccines against select major disease threats in the developing world. He is also currently serving as interim leader for the Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

Dr. Boslego’s career spans 30 years of service to private industry and the United States government. Before joining PATH, he served as executive director of Biologics, Clinical Research, at Merck & Co., Inc. His portfolio at Merck included clinical development of a Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine, a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, an influenza DNA vaccine, a pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, various pediatric combination vaccines, a rotavirus vaccine, and a human papillomavirus vaccine.

For nearly two decades, Dr. Boslego worked for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in vaccine research—both in the laboratory and in clinical trials. He also directed the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Thailand for three years.

Dr. Boslego received his medical education at George Washington University after graduating from the United States Military Academy.

Michael FreeMichael J. Free, PhD
Vice President and Senior Advisor for Technologies
Global Program Leader, Technology Solutions

Dr. Free is PATH’s vice president and senior advisor for technologies. In addition to overseeing PATH’s technology work, he is the global program leader for Technology Solutions and the director for the HealthTech program, which is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Dr. Free has been associated with PATH since its inception and has been in a leadership role for more than 25 years, establishing PATH’s laboratory, product development shop, and staff expertise that are specifically geared for developing health technologies for use in rugged, low-resource settings.

His accomplishments have strengthened health systems and improved lives around the world. He has helped advance more than 55 technologies from research and development to technology transfer, licensing, marketing, quality assessment, and introduction and use in 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.

In contraceptive quality assurance, Dr. Free’s pioneering work directly influenced the policies of the US Food and Drug Administration, USAID, the International Organization for Standardization, and other professional and governing entities.

In immunization, his numerous contributions include inventing the world’s first commercialized single-use, autodisabling needle and syringe, now known as the SoloShot™ syringe.

Before joining PATH, Dr. Free spent seven years at Battelle Northwest, developing technologies to improve reproductive health. He holds four patents, and among his extensive publications in research, technology, family planning, and health issues are 15 invited book chapters and symposium reviews. Dr. Free is a British citizen and received his doctorate in physiology from Ohio State University in 1968.

Jane HutchingsJane Hutchings, MPH
Global Program Leader, Reproductive Health

Jane Hutchings directs PATH’s work in reproductive health, providing strategic and managerial guidance as well as technical expertise. She has more than 25 years of experience in designing and implementing innovative and effective reproductive health programs in developing countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam, and the United States.

Ms. Hutchings has developed multiple successful collaborative efforts within the United States and internationally to strengthen reproductive health programs, whole-market approaches, and access to low-cost, high-quality products. She managed a six-year, multicountry project to strengthen pharmacists' skills and understanding of critical reproductive health issues and continues to serve as a strategist and technical advisor for PATH's pharmacy-focused work. In addition, she has done extensive work with emergency contraception, including serving on the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception steering committee and working within Washington State in the first US effort for direct pharmacist provision of emergency contraception. She led the development of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition and currently oversees PATH's participation as secretariat and partner. Ms. Hutchings also leads PATH's efforts in reproductive health supplies security and directs our collaboration with the World Health Organization to ensure access to essential reproductive health medicines and devices.

Before joining PATH in 1983, Ms. Hutchings worked in Japan and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia. She attended the University of Michigan, where she received an MPH with an emphasis on international population planning policy and program development.

Marc La ForceF. Marc LaForce, MD
Global Program Leader, Meningitis Vaccine Project

Dr. LaForce directs the Meningitis Vaccine Project, a Gates Foundation-funded partnership between PATH and the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed at eliminating epidemic meningitis from sub-Saharan Africa through the development, licensure, and widespread use of conjugate meningococcal vaccines.

Before joining PATH, Dr. LaForce held academic and administrative positions at the University of Colorado and the University of Rochester schools of medicine. He also served on immunization advisory committees for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and for the American College of Physicians. In addition, from 1994 to 2001, he led the Steering Committee on Epidemiology and Field Research for WHO’s vaccine cluster. From 1998 to 2001, he was president of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board.

Dr. LaForce received his medical degree from Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry and completed his internal medicine and infectious diseases training on the Harvard service at Boston City Hospital.

Julie PulerwitzJulie Pulerwitz, ScD, ScM
Global Program Leader, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis

Dr. Pulerwitz directs PATH's work in HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, as well as the AIDSTAR Project. She brings more than 15 years of experience in HIV/AIDS program development and implementation, HIV-related monitoring and evaluation and operations research, and social and behavioral sciences. She has particular expertise in behavior change communication, HIV prevention, male engagement in gender equity, stigma and discrimination, migration issues, and indicators development.

Prior to this position, Dr. Pulerwitz served as the research director for the Horizons Program, a global HIV/AIDS operations research program. Funded by PEPFAR, the ten-year program identified successful HIV prevention, care, and treatment strategies.

Dr. Pulerwitz has authored more than 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters, as well as a variety of in-house publications. She regularly participates in technical advisory groups, reviews for scientific journals, and guest-lectures at institutions such as the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene & Public Health.

Dr. Pulerwitz received her masters and doctoral degrees from the Harvard School of Public Health, as well as a graduate degree from the University of Buenos Aires School of Public Health. Dr. Pulerwitz has worked in multiple countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, and she speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Catharine TaylorCatharine Taylor, MSc Econ
Global Program Leader, Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition

Catharine Taylor directs PATH’s activities in maternal health, child health, and nutrition. Ms. Taylor has 25 years of experience in international and domestic sexual and reproductive health, with a focus on maternal/newborn health and programming for youth. Before joining PATH in 2008, she worked as the lead specialist for maternal health and as the program manager for the multisectoral program for HIV/AIDS in South Africa with HLSP. Previous to that, she served as an expert in civil society organizations for a large European Union–funded reproductive health program in Turkey, the Asia regional advisor for Plan International, and the technical training advisor for the Nepal Safe Motherhood Project, in addition to undertaking numerous program evaluation and strategic planning assignments.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Taylor has specialized in designing and implementing capacity-building approaches for nongovernmental organizations, human resources development, and health facilities and systems strengthening. She practiced and taught nursing and midwifery for more than a decade before moving into international health work, and she currently serves on the board of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.

Ms. Taylor holds degrees from the College of Nursing and Midwifery in North Wales and an advanced diploma in midwifery from the Sheffield Polytechnic and Jessop Hospital for Women. She also holds an MS in economics from the Sir David Owen Population Centre at the University of Wales and has completed a graduate certificate program in global change and social innovation from Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management.

John WeckerJohn Wecker, PhD
Global Program Leader, Vaccine Access and Delivery

Dr. Wecker directs PATH’s activities in vaccine access and delivery, which focus on developing and advancing strategies, technologies, and interventions that help move research achievements in immunization into routine use in the field.

Before joining PATH in 2003, Dr. Wecker spent 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry, where he held positions in clinical research, international project management, and global marketing. While at Boehringer Ingelheim, a German-based multinational pharmaceutical company, he led the company’s efforts to expand access to antiretroviral therapy for the prevention and treatment of HIV in the developing world, including the Viramune® (nevirapine) Donation Program. He also played a key role in the establishment of the Accelerating Access Initiative, the joint UN agency-pharmaceutical industry program to expand access to antiretroviral treatment in the developing world.

Dr. Wecker received his doctorate in biological psychology from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York (1984). He is skilled in German.

Photos: Michael Free, Scott Areman; John Boslego, Jane Hutchings, PATH; all others, PATH/Mike Wang.