Dr. David P. Hajjar received his PhD in 1978 from the University of New Hampshire; after which, he became a post-doctoral fellow at both Cornell University Medical College and The Rockefeller University. In 1981, he joined the Cornell faculty, and then served as Dean of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences from 1997-2013. Dr. Hajjar is currently the Frank Rhodes Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Genetics and Dean Emeritus. From 2000-2013, he was appointed Executive Vice Dean and Executive Vice Provost at the Medical College. Dr. Hajjar is a distinguished, highly – funded NIH investigator who has made significant contributions to cardiovascular research, particularly in the area of arterial cholesterol trafficking. His contributions of over 170 scientific publications have earned him international recognition as a leader in the field of vascular biology. From 1995-2010, he served as the Director of the Center of Vascular Biology at Cornell’s medical college. Dr. Hajjar received the Andrew Mellon Foundation Teacher-Scientist Award in 1981 and 1982; and, in 1989, became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Hajjar received the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB)'s Warner Lambert/Parke Davis Award in 1991 for his discoveries on the role of herpes viruses in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. In 2003, Dr. Hajjar also received the Chugai Award from FASEB which recognizes a distinguished scientist who exhibits both excellence in mentoring and education, and outstanding research achievements in experimental pathology. He has also been the recipient of several other awards from the American Chemical Society and the American Heart Association as well as honorary doctorate degrees in Science and in Humane Letters. In 2011, he received a Fulbright Scholarship and worked in the Middle East with Cornell Medical College–Qatar and Qatar University to strengthen the biomedical research and educational enterprise, and to develop science policies and opportunities for collaborations between these institutions. To continue this work, Dr. Hajjar was recently named a senior fellow in the science and public policy/diplomacy programs at the Belfer Center at the Harvard-Kennedy School of Government in 2013 to develop biomedical research polices for Middle Eastern students. 

State Department Profile

Office of International Health and Biodefense
Bureau of Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Dr. David P. Hajjar serves as senior scientific advisor in OES/IHB. He primarily focuses on the management of science and technology agreements established between the State Department and those countries in the Near East in the area of non-communicable diseases (such as cancer). David interacts with other offices within the State Department including the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation as well as the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He specifically participated in diplomatic meetings as a science envoy between the State Department in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Embassies in the Near East, and scientific/medical communities abroad to advance our partnerships.