Dr. Krishna Udayakumar

Dr. Krishna Udayakumar is Chief Global Strategist at Duke University, where he leads the university's global strategy and innovation activities and works with international partners to shape how Duke engages and invests around the world. He is also Professor of Global Health and Director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center.His work focuses on global health innovation, health systems, and the development and scale-up of solutions that improve health outcomes across different country contexts. Through the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, he works with governments, health systems, innovators and partners to strengthen the prioritization, introduction and sustainable adoption of high-impact health innovations.Dr. Udayakumar also serves as Executive Director of Innovations in Healthcare.Previously, he was Head of Global Innovation at Duke Health and Director of Duke Medicine Global, and held faculty roles in Global Health and Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Across these positions, he has combined academic leadership, healthcare innovation and international partnership building.Dr. Udayakumar holds both an MD from Duke University School of Medicine and an MBA in Health Sector Management from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. His career reflects a sustained focus on connecting strategy, innovation and partnerships to advance health and institutional impact globally.