ABOUT 

Patricia Mechael

Dr. Patricia (Patty) Mechael is an award-winning, internationally-recognized digital health specialist of three decades. Her work in digital health has been honored by the John Hopkins University Knowledge for the World Distinguished Alumnus Award, the British Council UK Education Social Impact Award, the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Resident Fellowship. 

Her debut novel, The Antidotes: Pollution Solution, has won several awards, including: Dragonfly Awards- First Place, Green Book/ Environmental; Second Place, Global and Social Issues; Honorary Mention, Middle-Grade Fiction & STEM; Bookfest Award, First Place, Juvenile Fiction/Social Issues & Juvenile Fiction/ Science and Nature; Literary Titan Five Star Gold Award; and Reading with Your Kids Certified Great Read.

Drawing on her career in global health, Patty's works wrestle with the toughest public health and societal issues of our time, including the environment, pandemic preparedness, responsible technology and AI, and mental health.

She is recognized as a pioneer in the use of mobile and other technologies for health. 

She is the co-founder and policy lead at the South Africa-based non-profit, HealthEnabled, has served as executive director of the mHealth Alliance at the United Nations Foundation, and as executive vice president of the Personal Connected Health Alliance. Patty is a Senior Associate Faculty Member in the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

In addition, she is co-editor of mHealth in Practice: Mobile technology for health promotion in the developing world, which is published by Bloomsbury, an editorial board member of the Journal of Medical Internet Research and Oxford Open Digital Health Journal, and a regular contributing author to AIMed's quarterly journal. 

She has developed new curricula in research methods and information technology for health and international development and taught at many leading schools, including Columbia University, Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, American University in Cairo and Beirut, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

In addition to having several books published, including her debut award-winning novel, The Antidotes, Patty has penned more than 100 publications on various aspects of public health and technology in scientific and health journals. Her writing draws on her more than 30 years of work in 45 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.

She earned a PhD in Public Health and Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a Master's in Health Science in International Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

 She resides in Washington D.C. You can also follow The Antidotes on Instagram @theantidotesseries!

AWARDS

Patty’s contributions to the field have been recognized by the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center and through the Johns Hopkins University Knowledge for the World Distinguished Alumnus Award (2011) and British Council UK Education Social Impact Award (2016).

Her debut-novel, The Antidotes: Pollution Solution, has won several awards, including: Dragonfly Awards- First Place, Green Book/ Environmental; Second Place, Global and Social Issues; Honorary Mention, Middle-Grade Fiction & STEM; Bookfest Award, First Place, Juvenile Fiction/Social Issues & Juvenile Fiction/ Science and Nature; Literary Titan Five Star Gold Award; and Reading with Your Kids Certified Great Read.

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