{{Short description|American public health expert}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Julie Morita | image = Julie Morita for MacLean Center.jpg | birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S. | fields = [[Public health]] | workplaces = [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (1997–1999)<br>[[Chicago Department of Public Health]] (1999–2019)<br>[[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]] (2019–2024) <br>[[Joyce Foundation]] (2024-present) | education = [[University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]], [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]]) | awards = Member, [[National Academy of Medicine]] (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-21 |title=National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members |url=https://nam.edu/news-and-insights/national-academy-of-medicine-elects-100-new-members-6/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=National Academy of Medicine}}</ref> }} '''Julie Morita''' is an American [[public health]] expert. She is president of the [[Joyce Foundation]] and previously served as the executive vice president of the [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]]. She also served as a member of [[President of the United States|President]] [[Joe Biden]]'s [[COVID-19 Advisory Board]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2020-11-09|title=Biden transition team unveils members of Covid-19 task force|url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/09/biden-transition-team-unveils-members-of-covid-19-task-force/|access-date=2020-11-09|website=STAT|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Abutaleb|first=Yasmeen|title=President Biden announces coronavirus task force made up of physicians and health experts|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/11/09/biden-coronavirus-task-force/|access-date=2020-11-09|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and as commissioner of the [[Chicago Department of Public Health]].

== Early life and education == Morita was born in [[Chicago]] to Mototsugu and Betty Morita. During [[World War II]], her parents were uprooted from their homes in the Pacific Northwest and detained in [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese Internment Camps]] in Idaho. Morita has discussed her family's history as a major influence on her interest in health equity.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Morita|first=Julie|title=Commentary: Racism is the other virus sweeping America during this pandemic|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-coronavirus-asian-americans-morita-20200420-ep3bmn3tincczfihw3qvl64boa-story.html|access-date=2020-11-09|website=chicagotribune.com|date=20 April 2020 }}</ref> As a young girl, she was interested in a career in medicine, inspired by the children's book "Nurse Nancy."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Thometz|first=Kristen|date=April 11, 2019|title=CDPH Commissioner Julie Morita Leaving Post in June|url=https://news.wttw.com/2019/04/11/cdph-commissioner-julie-morita-leaving-post-june|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-09|website=WTTW News|language=en}}</ref>

In 1982, she began her undergraduate career at the [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]], where she planned to pursue a degree in [[engineering]].<ref name=":0" /> Seeking a more human-to-human connection, she changed her major to [[biology]] to pursue the [[pre-medical]] track. In 1986, she received her [[Bachelor of Science]] degree. She then attended [[University of Illinois College of Medicine]], where she received her [[Doctor of Medicine]] degree before performing her medical residency in [[pediatrics]] at the [[University of Minnesota]] from 1990 to 1993.

== Career ==

=== Early career === Following her residency, Morita practiced pediatrics in [[Tucson, Arizona]], for four years before moving to [[Atlanta]] to join the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] as an [[Epidemic Intelligence Service]] Officer. There, she focused on [[vaccine-preventable diseases]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Role at Chicago Department of Public Health === In 1999, Morita returned to her home city of [[Chicago]] to join the [[Chicago Department of Public Health]] where she began working as the medical director for [[immunization]].<ref name=":0" /> In this capacity, she oversaw the response to the [[2009 swine flu pandemic]], [[Ebola]], and [[meningitis]], as well as worked to address disparities in vaccination rates by focusing resources towards communities with lower vaccination rates.<ref name=":0" /> In 2014, after receiving an $800,000 grant provided through the [[Affordable Care Act]], she worked to increase the number of [[HPV vaccine|HPV vaccinations]] among teenagers in Chicago, launching a campaign to broadcast public service announcements and leverage print and outdoor media to raise awareness.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zuercher|first=Rhyan|date=January 27, 2014|title=Chicago Pushes For More Vaccine Coverage|url=https://news.wttw.com/2014/01/27/chicago-pushes-more-vaccine-coverage|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-09|website=WTTW News|language=en}}</ref> She also worked to decrease stigma around the HPV vaccine, which is another source of [[vaccine hesitancy]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rubin|first=Rita|date=2015-04-21|title=Why the "No-Brainer" HPV Vaccine Is Being Ignored|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2275443|journal=JAMA|language=en|volume=313|issue=15|pages=1502–4|doi=10.1001/jama.2015.2090|pmid=25898032|issn=0098-7484|doi-access=|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 2015, Morita was appointed as commissioner of the [[Chicago Department of Public Health]] under the leadership of Mayor [[Rahm Emanuel]], becoming the first Asian American to lead the department.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Tribune|first=Chicago|title=Julie Morita, chief medical officer, Chicago Department of Public Health|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2014-07-02-chi-julie-morita-chief-medical-officer-chicago-department-of-public-health-20140702-story.html|access-date=2020-11-09|website=chicagotribune.com|date=2 July 2014 |language=en-US}}</ref> In this role, she developed and launched Healthy Chicago 2.0, a four-year program that launched in April 2016 focused on addressing health equity and addressing root causes of disparity, centering on community collaboration.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-02-07|title=The Pediatricians at the Forefront of Health Equity in Chicago, The Chicago Community Trust|url=https://www.cct.org/2018/02/the-former-pediatricians-at-the-forefront-of-health-equity-in-chicago/|access-date=2020-11-09|website=The Chicago Community Trust|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123163203/https://www.cct.org/2018/02/the-former-pediatricians-at-the-forefront-of-health-equity-in-chicago/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Krisberg|first=Kim|date=2018-07-01|title=Chicago shifts to equity to tackle roots of persistent disparities|url=https://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/content/48/5/E25|journal=The Nation's Health|language=en|volume=48|issue=5|pages=E25|issn=0028-0496}}</ref>

In June 2019, Morita left her post as commissioner to join the [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]] as executive vice president.<ref name=":0" />

=== COVID-19 response === In her role at the [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]], Morita worked to address the [[Coronavirus disease 2019]] (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States, with a particular focus on the pandemic's effects in exacerbating existing inequities. She raised awareness around the economic effects of the pandemic, which have disproportionately impacted black and Latino communities in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rio|first=Giulia McDonnell Nieto del|date=2020-09-30|title=The pandemic's financial pain is worst for Black and Latino parents, a survey finds.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/world/the-pandemics-financial-pain-is-worst-for-black-and-latino-parents-a-survey-finds.html|access-date=2020-11-09|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> She and her colleagues used insights garnered from the survey to inform policies to address these economic inequities and address structural barriers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pezenik|first=Sasha|date=September 9, 2020|title=Half of households in 4 US cities report financial problems due to pandemic: POLL|url=https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/half-households-largest-us-cities-report-financial-problems-72886834|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-09|website=Good Morning America|language=en}}</ref> Morita advocated for the importance of coordinating with the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] to ensure rapid, safe, and equitable distribution of an eventual [[COVID-19 vaccine]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Morita|first=Julie|date=August 16, 2020|title=Opinion: We need a vaccine distribution plan -- right now|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/16/opinions/covid-19-vaccine-distribution-plan-morita/index.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-09|website=CNN}}</ref>

On November 9, 2020, Morita was named to serve on [[President of the United States|President]] [[Joe Biden]]'s [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]] advisory board.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

== References == <references />

==External links== *{{C-SPAN|128033}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morita, Julie}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Health professionals from Chicago]] [[Category:American public health doctors]] [[Category:American medical doctors of Japanese descent]] [[Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni]] [[Category:University of Illinois College of Medicine alumni]] [[Category:American pediatricians]] [[Category:American women pediatricians]] [[Category:American women public health doctors]] [[Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine]]