Viroj Tangcharoensathien trained in medicine at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University. He served 10 years in small rural hospitals in Ubon Ratchatani province at Thai-Laos border. He received the Thai Medical Association’s Best Rural Doctor Award in 1986. His doctoral thesis in Health Financing at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) won the 1991 Woodruff Medal for the most outstanding thesis. He returned to Thailand in 1991 as health policy analyst at Ministry of Public Health. In 1998, he co-found and was director of International Health Policy Program (IHPP), an arm-length quasi-public research institute affiliated with Ministry of Public Health.
He received Edwin Chadwick Medal from LSHTM in 2011 for his contributions to improve health systems in the interests of the poor; and the Sam Adjei Distinguished Public Service Award in 2018 by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research and Health Systems Global for his engagement in health systems development and research. He received WHO Director-General’s Health Leaders 2019 Award in recognition of his outstanding leadership in Global Health. His scholarly contributions include 325 international peer-reviewed publications since 1989.
