Dr. Free is PATH’s senior advisor emeritus. In this role, he offers guidance to senior leadership on issues from research and development to technology transfer, licensing, marketing, quality assessment, and introduction. Previously, he was PATH's vice president and senior advisor for technologies. In addition to overseeing PATH's technology work, he was the global program leader for Technology Solutions and the director for the HealthTech program, which is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). He has been associated with PATH since its inception and has been in a leadership role for more than 25 years, establishing PATH’s laboratory, product development shop, and staff expertise that are specifically geared for developing health technologies for use in rugged, low-resource settings.
His accomplishments have strengthened health systems and improved lives around the world. He has helped advance more than 55 technologies from research and development to technology transfer, licensing, marketing, quality assessment, and introduction and use in 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. In contraceptive quality assurance, Dr. Free’s pioneering work directly influenced the policies of the US Food and Drug Administration, USAID, the International Organization for Standardization, and other professional and governing entities. In immunization, his numerous contributions include development of the world’s first commercialized single-use, autodisabling needle and syringe, now known as the SoloShot™ syringe.
Before joining PATH, Dr. Free spent seven years at Battelle Northwest, developing technologies to improve reproductive health. He holds four patents, and among his extensive publications in research, technology, family planning, and health issues are 15 invited book chapters and symposium reviews. Dr. Free is a British citizen and received his doctorate in physiology from Ohio State University in 1968.