Science & invention
Larry Brilliant
born 1944 · epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist
Detroit-born epidemiologist and Wayne State medical graduate who helped the World Health Organization eradicate smallpox and later led Google.org.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 82- Birth name
- Lawrence Brilliant
- Also known as
- Lawrence Brilliant
- Detroit years
- 1944–1960s
- Field
- Science & invention
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Brilliant was born in Detroit in 1944 and did his schooling in Michigan: he studied as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, where he also later earned a master's in public health, and took his MD at Wayne State University's School of Medicine. In the early 1970s he went to India, and from 1973 to 1976 he worked for the World Health Organization in the campaign that wiped out smallpox, the only human disease ever eradicated. Back in the United States he taught international health at the University of Michigan and co-founded the Seva Foundation, which fights preventable blindness, as well as the early online community The WELL. He later became the first executive director of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, and the first CEO of the Skoll Global Threats Fund, working on pandemics and other global risks.
Highlights
- WHO smallpox eradication campaign in India, 1973–1976
- Co-founder of the Seva Foundation, which works against preventable blindness
- First executive director of Google.org
- MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine; MPH from the University of Michigan
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1960s
Wayne State University School of Medicine
He earned his medical degree here.