Sections
Infectious Diseases
Biography
Dr. Patricia Hibberd, MD, PhD is the Chair of Global Health in the Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Hibberd is also a professor of Global Health for the BUSPH and professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases for the BUSM. Prior to her positions at Boston University, Dr. Hibberd was professor of Global Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and served as director of the Division of Global Health in the Department of Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital. She received a BSc (honors) from King’s College, London, and a PhD degree in information science/epidemiology from Leicester University in 1978. She came to the US in 1980 as an epidemiologist researcher and obtained an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1986. Dr. Hibberd trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She has had leadership roles in infectious diseases, epidemiology, clinical research, and global health at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Tufts Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine. She was also a General Clinical Research Center program director while she was at Tufts.
Dr. Hibberd is a practicing infectious disease consultant who also leads a clinical and translational research program focusing on the prevention and treatment of childhood pneumonia, neonatal sepsis, and diarrhea—the leading killers of children under age 5 worldwide. She has worked in India for 20 years, and her research in India has been funded by NIH/NICHD’s Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research since 2008. She is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Malawi and by Saving Lives at Birth in Pakistan for the development of novel point of care diagnostics for pneumonia in young children. One of her passions is mentorship and fostering the development of the next generation of global health leaders—these include undergraduate, public health, and medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty. Dr. Hibberd is also a Paul G. Rogers Society Ambassador for Global Health Research and is currently chair of the Data and Safety Monitoring Board for the CDC’s STRIVE Trial, testing one of the vaccines (rVSV-ZEBOV) to prevent Ebola in Sierra Leone. She has published more than 300 articles, chapters, and books and serves on advisory boards to many US and international organizations.
Other Positions
Education
Medicine, MD, Harvard Medical School
Epidemiology, PhD, University of Leicester
Biochemistry, BSc, King's College London
Publications
Tan R, Chandna A, Colbourn T, Hooli S, King C, Lufesi N, McCollum ED, Mwansambo C, Mathew JL, Cutland CL, Madhi SA, Nunes M, Basnet S, Strand TA, O'Grady KF, Gessner B, Addo-Yobo E, Chisaka N, Hibberd P, Jeena PM, Lozano JM, MaLeod WB, Patel A, Thea DM, Nguyen NTV, Lucero M, Akram Uz Zaman SM, Bhatnagar S, Wadhwa N, Lodha R, Aneja S, Santosham M, Awasthi S, Bavdekar A, Chou M, Nymadawa P, Pape JW, Paranhos-Baccala G, Picot VS, Rakoto-Andrianarivelo M, Rouzier V, Russomando G, Sylla M, Vanhems P, Wang J, Libster R, Clara AW, Beynon F, Levine G, Rees CA, Neuman MI, Qazi S, Nisar YB. Development and validation of a novel clinical risk score to predict hypoxaemia in children with pneumonia using the WHO PREPARE dataset. BMJ Glob Health. 2025 Jul 07; 10(7). PMID: 40623791.
Published on 5/22/2025Halim N, Patel A, Turan JM, Shrikhande AV, Kavanagh PL, Drainoni ML, Henderson D, Anand SM, Agarwal N, Hibberd PL. Intimate partner violence related to disclosure of sickle cell disease during pregnancy: evidence from the sickle cell belt of central India. Front Glob Womens Health. 2025; 6:1525168. PMID: 40475119.
Published on 4/1/2025Carlo WA, Tita ATN, Moore JL, Mwenechanya M, Chomba E, Hemingway-Foday JJ, Kavi A, Metgud MC, Goudar SS, Derman RJ, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Bauserman M, Patterson JK, Shivkumar P, Waikar M, Patel A, Hibberd PL, Nyongesa P, Esamai F, Ekhaguere OA, Bucher S, Jessani S, Tikmani SS, Saleem S, Goldenberg RL, Billah SM, Lennox R, Haque R, Petri W, Mazariegos M, Krebs NF, Babineau DC, McClure EM, Koso-Thomas M. Effectiveness of intrapartum azithromycin to prevent infections in planned vaginal births in low-income and middle-income countries: a post-hoc analysis of data from a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Glob Health. 2025 Apr; 13(4):e689-e697. PMID: 40155106.
Published on 4/1/2025Patterson JK, Neuwahl S, Kirsch S, Moore JL, Tita ATN, Carlo WA, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Mwenechanya M, Chomba E, Kavi A, Metgud MC, Goudar SS, Derman RJ, Shivkumar P, Waikar M, Patel A, Hibberd PL, Nyongesa P, Esamai F, Ekhaguere OA, Bucher S, Jessani S, Tikmani SS, Saleem S, Wylie BJ, Goldenberg RL, Billah SM, Lennox R, Haque R, Petri WA, Mazariegos M, Krebs NF, Hemingway-Foday JJ, Babineau D, Koso-Thomas M, McClure EM, Bauserman M. Cost-effectiveness of intrapartum azithromycin to prevent maternal infection, sepsis, or death in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling analysis of data from a randomised, multicentre, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Glob Health. 2025 Apr; 13(4):e679-e688. PMID: 40155105.
Published on 11/11/2024Dhurde VS, Patel AB, Locks LM, Hibberd PL. Anaemia prevalence, its determinants and profile of micronutrient status among rural school adolescent girls aged 14-19 years: a cross-sectional study in Nagpur district, Maharashtra, India. Public Health Nutr. 2024 Nov 11; 27(1):e248. PMID: 39526451.
Published on 10/27/2024Yasmin H, Tanveer S, Sunder Tikmani S, Moore JL, Shakeel I, Rahim A, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Bauserman M, Mwenechanya M, Chomba E, Goudar SS, Kavi A, Derman RJ, Krebs NF, Figueroa L, Mazariegos M, Nyongesa P, Bucher S, Esamai F, Patel A, Waikar M, Shivkumar P, Hibberd PL, Petri WA, Billah SM, Haque R, Carlo WA, Tita A, Koso-Thomas M, Hemingway-Foday J, Saleem S, McClure EM, Goldenberg RL. Antibiotic use in infants in the 6 weeks after delivery in seven low- and middle-income countries: findings from the A-PLUS trial. Paediatr Int Child Health. 2024; 44(3-4):111-121. PMID: 39462249.
Published on 10/15/2024Lauer JM, Bhaise S, Dhurde V, Gugel A, Shah M, Hibberd PL, Patel A, Locks LM. Maternal Anemia during Pregnancy and Infant Birth Outcomes: A Prospective Cohort Study in Eastern Maharashtra, India. Curr Dev Nutr. 2024 Nov; 8(11):104476. PMID: 39559722.
Published on 9/12/2024Austad KE, Rao SR, Hibberd PL, Patel AB. Trends and determinants of the use of episiotomy in a prospective population-based registry from central India. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024 Sep 12; 24(1):598. PMID: 39267006.
Published on 9/3/2024Brennan AT, Kileel EM, Fox MP, George JA, Khoza S, Rosen S, Raal F, Hibberd P, Chetty K, Mlisana K, Bor J, Crowther NJ. Assessing compliance with national guidelines in diabetes care: A study leveraging data from south Africa's National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024; 4(9):e0003014. PMID: 39226276.
Published on 8/14/2024Saleem S, Yasmin H, Moore JL, Rahim A, Shakeel I, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Bauserman M, Mwenechanya M, Chomba E, Goudar SS, Kavi A, Derman RJ, Krebs NF, Figueroa L, Mazariegos M, Nyongesa P, Bucher S, Esamai F, Patel A, Waikar M, Shivkumar P, Hibberd PL, Petri WA, Billah SM, Haque R, Carlo WA, Tita A, Koso-Thomas M, Hemingway-Foday J, McClure EM, Goldenberg RL. Intrapartum and postpartum antibiotic use in seven low- and middle-income countries: Findings from the A-PLUS trial. BJOG. 2025 Jan; 132(1):72-80. PMID: 39140197.
Media Mentions
Published on 6/30/2020
Industry Defends Probiotics Against Accusations of Being Unregulated, Ineffective
Published on 6/28/2020
Do probiotics actually do anything?
Published on 3/13/2020
Boston Experts: We Need to Scale Up Coronavirus Testing Now
Published on 11/22/2019
When ‘Friendly; Probiotic Bacteria Turn Into Foes In The ICU
Published on 7/16/2018
Safety of Probiotic Supplements Is Not Guaranteed, Study Says
View full list of 5 media mentions.