The Government of Japan announced last month that Dr. Tadataka Yamada was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in recognition of his contributions in strengthening Japan’s leadership and public-private partnerships in the field of global health.
Born in Japan, Yamada was president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program in Seattle, where he oversaw over $9 billion in grants for applying technologies to address major health challenges of the developing world.
Yamada received his M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and a B.A. in History from Stanford University.