Michael Katz was Senior Advisor, Transdisciplinary Research of the March of Dimes Foundation until, upon retirement, he was named Senior Vice President Emeritus of the March of Dimes Foundation. In March 2018, he was appointed a member of Adjunct Faculty at Stanford University. He is the Reuben S. Carpentier Professor, emeritus of Pediatrics and Professor, emeritus of Public Health at Columbia University, where he chaired the Department of Pediatrics for 16 years. He is a Fellow and a 50 year Life Member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America, and a Member of the National Academy of Medicine. He received an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in tropical medicine from Columbia University, and a M.D. from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center.

Prof Katz has had extensive experience in global health in Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East, and has served as a consultant and advisor to the US Agency for International Development, WHO, and UNICEF.

Prof. Katz is the author of numerous publications and has received many awards and honors, including the Senior U.S. Scientist Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany, a Distinguished Service Award of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, a Leadership Award from the American Pediatric Society and a degree of Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa, from the Medical University of Lodz, Poland; he is also Honorary President of the Oxford Maternal and Perinatal Health Institute (OMPHI) at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford.