Larry Brilliant

Larry Brilliant
Brilliant in 2009
Born	(1944-05-05) May 5, 1944 (age 72) Detroit, Michigan, United States
Fields	Epidemiology
Alma mater	MPH - University of Michigan M.D. - Wayne State University School of Medicine
Known for	One of the leaders of the successful World Health Organization (WHO) smallpox eradication program.

Lawrence "Larry" Brilliant (born May 5, 1944) is an American physician, epidemiologist, technologist, author and the former director of Google's philanthropic arm Google.org. Brilliant, a technology patent holder, has been CEO of two public companies and other venture backed start-ups. From 1973 to 1976, he participated in the successful World Health Organization (WHO) smallpox eradication program. In April 2009, he was chosen to oversee the "Skoll Global Threats Fund" established by eBay co-founder Jeff Skoll.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Brilliant received his undergraduate training as well as his MPH degree (Masters in Public Health) from the University of Michigan, where he worked on the staff of the Gargoyle Humor Magazine, and his M.D. from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He moved to California for his internship at the California Pacific Medical Center, and developed thyroid cancer from which he recovered. Brilliant is board certified in preventive medicine and public health.

In 1969, a group of American Indians from many different tribes, calling themselves Indians of All Tribes, occupied the Alcatraz island in San Francisco. A call went out for doctors to help a pregnant woman there give birth and Brilliant joined their occupation as unofficial doctor.

After the US government forced the Indians of All Tribes off Alcatraz, Brilliant became a media darling which led to a movie company casting him in Medicine Ball Caravan—a sequel to the hit —playing a doctor in a film about a tribe of hippies who follow the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, and Joni Mitchell. The cast was paid with airline tickets to India. Brilliant and some others cashed their tickets in and rented a bus to drive around Europe, which then turned into a relief convoy to help victims of the 1970 Bhola cyclone in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan).