Michelle McMurry-Heath


Michelle McMurry-Heath is a medical doctor, immunologist, policymaker, and current Chief executive officer for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

Background and Career

McMurry-Heath studied biochemistry and received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in molecular biology. She was the first African American graduate of Duke University's MD / Ph.D. Medical Scientist Training Program.
Throughout her career, she strived to increase the impact of medical and scientific achievements to a broader community. She worked as a health policy analyst for Senator Joe Lieberman and worked with the for additional policy experience. McMurry-Heath also worked for think tanks like the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Institute, of which she was a founding director of the Aspen Institute’s Health, Biomedical Science, and Society Policy Program. In 2010, President Barack Obama named McMurry-Heath to a role in the Food and Drug Administration working on patient regulation roles in medical devices. In this role, she developed partnerships with medical device nonprofits to accelerate acceptance. Prior to BIO, McMurry-Heath worked as an executive in regulatory affairs for Johnson & Johnson.

BIO Chief Executive

In May 2020, McMurry-Heath was named as the third leader of BIO. She was introduced to the membership officially at BIO Digital in June 2020 and as part of her inaugural service interviewed Anthony Fauci about the U.S. vaccine preparedness to counter the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal Life

McMurry-Heath is married to Sebastian Heath, a veterinarian. They have one daughter and currently live in Washington, D.C.