Stephen Luby

Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Professor, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health

Bio

Dr. Luby is a physician, researcher and educator. He lived and worked for 5 years in Pakistan (at the Aga Khan University) and 8 years in Bangladesh (with CDC and icddr,b) before joining the Stanford faculty in 2012. In 2026 his textbook with Sabina Rashid, Theories of Change in Global Health, was published by Oxford University Press.

Academic Appointments

Professor, Medicine - Infectious Diseases
Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Professor (By courtesy), Epidemiology and Population Health
Member, Bio-X
Member, Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)

Administrative Appointments

Director Center for Human and Planetary Health, School of Medicine; Doerr School of Sustainability (2024 - Present)
Director of Research, Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health (2012 - Present)
Associate Dean of Global Health Research, School of Medicine (2019 - 2024)

Honors & Awards

Walter J Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford University (2024)
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain Teaching Excellence Award, James P Grant School of Public Health (2012, 2014, 2015)
Shepard Award, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006, 2014 & 2015)
Medal of Excellence in Global Health, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012)
International WaTER Prize, Oklahoma University (2009)
Favourite paper in infectious diseases, Lancet Infectious Diseases (2005)
Alexander D. Langmuir Prize, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2001)

Professional Education

Fellowship, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Epidemiology (1992)
Board Certification, American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine (1989)
Residency, Strong Memorial Hospital, Internal Medicine (1989)
Internship, Strong Memorial Hospital, Internal Medicine (1987)
MD, University of Texas, Southwestern, Medicine (1986)
BA, Creighton University, Philosophy (1981)

Community and International Work

Improving brick manufacturing, Bangladesh

Topic

Reduce pollution from brick kilns in Bangladesh

Partnering Organization(s)

ICDDRB, BRAC, Child Health Research Foundation

Populations Served

South Asia

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
RISE -- Revitalizing Informal Settlements and their Environment, Suva, Fiji; Makassar, Indonesia

Topic

Water, sanitation infrastructure

Partnering Organization(s)

Asian Development Bank, Monash University, Suva and Makassar city governments

Populations Served

Urban residents of informal settlements

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
Assessing Typhoid conjugate vaccine, Navi Mumbai, India

Topic

Typhoid

Partnering Organization(s)

WHO India, CDC, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation

Populations Served

Urban South Asia

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

false
Liberia Handwashing, Liberia

Topic

Improving handwashing in health care facilities

Partnering Organization(s)

National Public Health Institute of Liberia, Uniformed Services University, US Naval Medical Research Unit 3

Populations Served

Hospitalized patients in Liberia

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

false
Windows ventilation, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Topic

Reducing child pneumonia

Partnering Organization(s)

ICDDRB, Johns Hopkins University, University at Buffalo

Populations Served

Urban poor

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
Pigs and parasites, Sichuan Province, China

Topic

Reducing neurocystocercosis

Partnering Organization(s)

China CDC

Populations Served

Rural Western Chinese, Ethnic Tibetin

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
RINEW -- Integrated effort to improve early child development

Topic

Early child development

Partnering Organization(s)

icddr,b, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Johns Hopkins University

Populations Served

Rural Bangladesh

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
WASH Benefits, Rural Bangladesh

Topic

Water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition

Partnering Organization(s)

icddrb, UC Berkeley

Populations Served

Children

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
Lotus Water, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Topic

Water quality and health

Partnering Organization(s)

icddr,b

Populations Served

urban

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
Burden of pneumococcal disease, Bangladesh

Topic

pneumococcal disease, immunization, surveillance

Partnering Organization(s)

Child Health Research Foundation

Populations Served

children

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true
Lead exposure in rural Bangladesh, Bangladesh

Topic

Lead

Partnering Organization(s)

icddr,b

Populations Served

Location

International

Ongoing Project

true

Opportunities for Student Involvement

true

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Dr. Luby’s research is focused on health in low and middle income countries and currently includes several themes:

Human and Planetary Health: A thriving human future requires a thriving planet. Dr. Luby’s research group is engaged in a series of efforts to generate knowledge that will alter the way that bricks are manufactured across South Asia so that they generate less air pollution, less climate change and tens of thousands fewer deaths per year. This involves: 1) evaluating interventions in brick kilns to improve combustion efficiency and so simultaneously reduce coal costs for producers while generating less pollution and 2) using remote sensing to specify the location of brick kilns and ultimately evaluate their emissions. Another strand of his planetary health work looks at the release of lead into the environment in low and middle income countries, seeks to identify the sources of lead that is generating the greatest public health burden and develops and evaluates interventions to reduce this burden.

Practical Interventions to Reduce Infectious Disease Transmission: These activities include efforts to maximize the uptake of masks, water treatment and vaccines with careful evaluation of their impact. His research group explores strategies to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission in healthcare facilities in low and middle income countries.

Favorite infectious diseases: He continues to advance his long-standing interest in the epidemiology and prevention of Nipah virus and typhoid fever.

Clinical Trials

WASH Benefits Bangladesh Not Recruiting
More
Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to measure the independent and combined effects of interventions that improve water quality, sanitation, hand washing, and nutrition on child growth and development in the first years of life.

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial. For more information, please contact SPECTRUM, .
Lead Sponsor
Stanford Investigators
- Stephen Luby
View full details
Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine Introduction in Navi Mumbai, India Not Recruiting
More
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a government-led typhoid conjugate vaccine introduction program on typhoid disease burden in Navi Mumbai, India.

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial. For more information, please contact Principal Investigator, .

Lead Sponsor
- Stanford University
Stanford Investigators
- Stephen Luby
View full details
Automatic Chlorination and Child Health in Urban Bangladesh Not Recruiting
More
Municipal water networks within industrialized countries typically rely on centralized treatment to manage piped water quality. Optimal water quality at the tap, however, requires well-maintained piped distribution networks, and performs best when piped systems are fully pressurized. In low-income cities such as Dhaka, water distribution networks are inadequately maintained and typically supply intermittent service; as such, they are vulnerable to recontamination during negative pressure events. Among populations accessing these types of improved water sources in urban settings (e.g. shared taps), it is unknown if consistent treatment to provide chlorinated water at the point of collection would have a significant health benefit. Furthermore, almost all previous studies of water treatment interventions in low-income countries have been unblinded with self-reported diarrhea as the main outcome, casting doubt that reported impacts of water disinfection on diarrhea are not due entirely to social desirability bias. Stanford University in collaboration with icddr,b will conduct a randomized evaluation to assess the impact on access to automatically chlorinated water on water quality and child health.

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial. For more information, please contact Amy Pickering, PhD, .

Lead Sponsor
- Stanford University
Stanford Investigators
- Stephen Luby
View full details
Feasibility of Implementing RINEW Through the Government System Not Recruiting
More
The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of implementing a group-based integrated early child development intervention through the government health system in one sub-district of Bangladesh, and to assess the resulting uptake of the intervention in the target population.

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial. For more information, please contact Stephen P Luby, Dr., .

Lead Sponsor
- Stanford University
Stanford Investigators
- Stephen Luby
View full details
Safety and Efficacy of Probiotics in Bangladeshi Infants Not Recruiting
More
Here the investigators propose to preliminarily investigate the safety and effects of probiotics in infants in Bangladesh through a pilot randomized clinical trial. The investigators hypothesize that two probiotics are safe for infants in Bangladesh and may have an effect on biomarkers of gut health and immunity. The specific aims of this pilot are: i) to confirm the safety of administering probiotic strains to infants in low-income countries, ii) to determine the effects of dosing frequency on colonization and persistence of probiotics in the GI tract, iii) to measure markers of intestinal and immune function and microbiota structure.

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial. For more information, please contact SPECTRUM, .

Lead Sponsor
- Stanford University
Stanford Investigators
- Stephen Luby
View full details
Optimizing Ventilation to Improve Health Not Recruiting
More
Our overall goal is to optimize preferred, ventilating windows/apertures/vents in low-income neighborhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh. We will: I. Collect baseline data on housing types and finalize windows/vents protoypes. II. Measure the impact of improved ventilation on air exchange rates in houses in low-income neighborhoods of Dhaka and characterize the current and potential market for windows/vents in households in low-income neighborhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh. III. Understand recipients' (tenants and landords) perceived benefits of installed window/vent designs and difficulties faced with adoption of each design

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial. For more information, please contact SPECTRUM, .

Lead Sponsor
- Stanford University
Stanford Investigators
- Stephen Luby
View full details

2026-27 Courses

Human and Planetary Health
MED 103, PUBLPOL 183, SOC 103, SUSTAIN 103 (Aut)
Practical Approaches to Global Health Research
EPI 237, INTLPOL 290, MED 226 (Aut)
Preventing Human Extinction
COLLEGE 107 (Spr)

Independent Studies
- Directed Reading in Environment and Resources
  ENVRES 398 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Reading in Epidemiology
  EPI 299 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Reading in Health Research and Policy
  HRP 299 (Sum)
- Directed Reading in Medicine
  MED 299 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Research in Environment and Resources
  ENVRES 399 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Early Clinical Experience in Medicine
  MED 280 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Graduate Research
  EPI 399 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Graduate Research
  HRP 399 (Sum)
- Graduate Research
  MED 399 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Honors Program in Earth Systems
  EARTHSYS 199 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Medical Scholars Research
  MED 370 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Undergraduate Research
  EPI 199 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Undergraduate Research
  MED 199 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)

Prior Year Courses

2025-26 Courses

Human and Planetary Health
MED 103, PUBLPOL 183, SOC 103, SUSTAIN 103 (Aut)
Practical Approaches to Global Health Research
EPI 237, INTLPOL 290, MED 226 (Aut)
Preventing Human Extinction
COLLEGE 107 (Spr)

2024-25 Courses

Human and Planetary Health
MED 103, PUBLPOL 183, SOC 103, SUSTAIN 103 (Aut)
Practical Approaches to Global Health Research
EPI 237, INTLPOL 290, MED 226 (Aut)
Preventing Human Extinction
COLLEGE 107 (Spr)
Theories of Change in Global Health
INTLPOL 291, PUBLPOL 291, SOMGEN 207 (Win)

2023-24 Courses

Designing Environmental Research
ENVRES 320 (Win)
Human and Planetary Health
MED 103, PUBLPOL 183, SOC 103, SUSTAIN 103 (Aut)
Practical Approaches to Global Health Research
EPI 237, INTLPOL 290, MED 226 (Aut)
Preventing Human Extinction
COLLEGE 107 (Spr)
Theories of Change in Global Health
INTLPOL 291, PUBLPOL 291, SOMGEN 207 (Win)

Stanford Advisees

Postdoctoral Faculty Sponsor
Yan He, Garima Jain, Mary de Boer
Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
Parastou Ghazi
Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor (AC)
Ayako Kawano, Metta Nicholson, Miley Sinantha-Hu, Jayson Toweh, Daisy Yan
Master's Program Advisor
Miley Sinantha-Hu

Graduate and Fellowship Programs

Infectious Diseases (Fellowship Program)
Pediatric Infectious Diseases (Fellowship Program)

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Stephen Luby

Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Professor, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health

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