Dr. Frenk is the 6th President of UM. He is also Professor of Public Health, Health Sector Policy, and Sociology. Prior to joining the UM, he served as Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and Professor of Public Health at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Julio was the Minister of Health of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. He was also the founding director-general of the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, executive director at The WHO and senior fellow in the global health program of the Gates Foundation.

Dr. Frenk holds an MD from the National University of Mexico, as well as an MPH/PhD from the University of Michigan. His scholarly production, which includes over 180 articles, has been cited >23,000 times. In addition, he has written three best-selling novels. He serves on the board of the United Nations Foundation and the RWJ Foundation and has chaired the board of the Institute for Health Metrics at the University of Washington. Dr Frenk is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico. He was elected as a member of El Colegio Nacional, one of the most prestigious learned societies of Mexico.

He received the Clinton Global Citizen Award, the Yale University Bouchet Medal, the Welch-Rose Award, and the Columbia University Frank Calderone Prize.  He has honorary degrees from Universities in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and Mexico.