Marie-Paule Kieny is director of research at Inserm in Paris, focusing on international institutional collaborations. She is the chair of the board of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and of the Medicines Patent Pool Foundation. Kieny is also a member of the board of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, the Human Vaccine Project and a non-executive independent director of bioMérieux. Until June 2017, Kieny served as the assistant director-general for health systems and innovation at the World Health Organization. Before joining WHO, she held top research positions in the public and private sectors in France. Kieny received her doctorate in microbiology from the University of Montpellier. She published more than 350 articles and reviews, mainly in the areas of infectious diseases, immunology, vaccinology and health systems. Kieny was awarded the title of Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur and Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite. She was the recipient of the International Inserm Prize, the Génération 2000-Impact Médecin Prize and the Innovation Rhône-Poulenc Prize.