Ala Alwan is a visiting Professor in Global Health. He held several leading positions at the World Health Organization including Assistant Director General for noncommunicable diseases and mental health, Representative of the Director General  for emergencies and health action in crises, and regional director for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Before joining WHO, he was professor of Medicine and Dean of Mustansiriya Medical School in his own country, Iraq. Dr Alwan was Minister of Health and Minister of Education between 2003 and 2005.

At WHO, he coordinated the development of the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 2000 and was leading WHO's and the UN's work in preparing for and organizing the first high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on noncommunicable diseases in 2011. He is also Honorary Professor of public health, Imperial College, London and Honorary Professor of Global Health, Oxford University.

Ala is a member of the Royal colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom, and a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Glasgow: Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health, London.