Julie Graves, MD, MPH, PhD studied in the Rice Kinesiology Department when it was called Health and Physical Education, graduating with a double major, along with Biology, in 1979. She played intramural softball and racquetball, was on the Brown Beer-Bike and powderpuff football teams, and worked in the University’s sports information office.

Dr. Graves earned her medical degree from The University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas and graduate degrees from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Board certified in family medicine, she has worked in academic medicine, private practice, and government agencies. She served as medical consultant to the Texas HealthSteps (preventive care for children), Children with Special Health Care needs, and Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Surveillance programs, as medical services coordinator for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services’ State Supported Living Centers, and as consultant to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Dr. Graves has published in major medical journals and textbooks and has lectured to medical students, nurses, physicians, and health policy makers across the country. She has served as a monitor and investigator for the Texas Medical Board. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, recipient of the C. Frank Webber Award for Excellence in Oncology from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, and a member of the American Public Health Association’s Science Board. In 2014 Dr. Graves was visiting professor at the Tanzania Training Center for International Health and taught public health and behavioral medicine to medical students on St. Maarten in the Dutch Caribbean.

After 20 years away, she returned to Houston in early 2015 to take on the role of Regional Medical Director for the 6/5 South region of the Texas Department of State Health Services, where she is responsible for the planning, developing, organizing, and directing of regional public health activities. Dr. Graves is also responsible for liaison with local health departments, healthcare delivery systems, health academia, and public officials in the region, and for providing public health and medical consultation in support of the Department of State Health Services.

Dr. Graves is an avid scuba diver and hiker, enjoys cheering on the Owls and Brown College at sporting events, and is a member of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.