Dr. Albert W. Wu is a distinguished leader in public health research and patient safety, currently serving as the Fred and Juliet Soper Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with joint appointments across multiple departments including Epidemiology, International Health, Medicine, Surgery, and the Carey Business School. A practicing general internist, he received his BA and MD degrees from Cornell University before completing his Internal Medicine residency at Mount Sinai Hospital and UC San Diego, followed by a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholarship at UCSF where he earned his MPH from UC Berkeley. Joining Johns Hopkins in 1991, Dr. Wu has held numerous leadership positions including Director of the Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research since 2011 and Interim Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management during 2021-2022. His extensive academic portfolio reflects his interdisciplinary approach to addressing complex healthcare challenges through evidence-based research and policy development.
Dr. Wu pioneered groundbreaking research on the human impact of medical errors, most notably introducing the influential 'second victim' concept in his seminal 2000 BMJ publication that fundamentally reshaped understanding of how healthcare professionals are affected by adverse events. His early work measuring quality of life outcomes in HIV patients established new standards for patient-centered assessment, leading to the development of the widely adopted MOS-HIV Health Survey used in international clinical trials and research studies. With over 500 publications, his research has profoundly influenced both clinical practice and healthcare policy, particularly in the areas of patient safety, medical error disclosure, and patient-reported outcomes measurement. His leadership as co-founder of the Outcomes Committee of the NIH AIDS Clinical Trials Group and his advisory role to the World Health Organization's Patient Safety program from 2007-2009 demonstrate the global impact of his work in transforming healthcare quality measurement and improvement.
As Director of Strategic Collaborations for the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, Dr. Wu continues to advance innovative approaches to healthcare safety through initiatives like the RISE (Resilience in Stressful Events) peer support program for healthcare workers. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management while directing the online Master of Applied Science in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality, training the next generation of healthcare quality leaders. His current research focuses on integrating patient-reported outcomes into electronic health records and advancing equitable healthcare through the RWJF Accelerating Collaborations for Equity program and Baltimore CONNECT, Inc. Dr. Wu's enduring legacy of thought leadership in healthcare quality, evidenced by prestigious recognitions including the Stebbins Medal and the AHRQ John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award, continues to shape the future of patient-centered care and safety systems worldwide.
