Professor Virginia Murray is a public health doctor committed to improving health emergency and disaster risk management
She was appointed as Head of Global Disaster Risk Reduction for UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) in April 2014. She is currently the chair of the UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profile Steering Group for the 2025 update, having been the Chair of the UNDRR/ISC Hazard Classification and Review Technical Working Group from 2019 with the report published in 2020 and the UNDRR-ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement in 2021 and now being updated for release at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in June 2025.
She was a member and then vice-chair of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (STAG), 2008-2017, supporting as required negotiations for the Sendia Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 by the UN member states. She is a member of CODATA Executive Committee where she also serves at the chair of the working group for the UNESCO-CODATA Data Policy for Times of Crisis Facilitated by Open Science (DPTC) project aims at developing guidance and tools for data policy required to address crises within the framework of the UNESCO Open Science Recommendation.
She is a co-chair of the WHO Thematic Platform Health and Disaster Risk Management Research Network, and by working in collaboration with this network, she is one of the editors of the WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health and Disaster Risk Management, published in October 2021, updated in 2022 and being updated for 2025. She is a visiting/honorary Professor and fellow at several universities.
