Professional Profile
Dr. Phelan is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Dr. Phelan is a globally recognized expert in global health law, with expertise in international law and infectious diseases and the impact of global change events on health, including planetary health issues such as biodiversity and climate change. She/they advises international organizations, international institutions, and governments on pandemic preparedness and response, and has served on several national and international advisory bodies, including for the World Health Organization and the US National Academies. Dr. Phelan has been recognized as a Woman of Influence by the Australian Financial Review and was appointed as an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society for advocacy work during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Dr. Phelan earned a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in international law and infectious disease from Georgetown University Law Center, a Master of Laws from the Australian National University, and a dual Bachelor of Biomedical Science/Bachelor of Laws from Monash University. Prior to becoming a professor, she/they worked as a solicitor at one of the leading law firms in the Asia Pacific and was admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and High Court of Australia.
