Conservation International expert earns global recognition on TIME100 Next

A self-described ‘medical oddity’
has found himself in an exclusive club. 

Conservation International’s Neil Vora was selected for TIME’s Next 100 list — alongside other rising leaders reshaping culture, science and society.

Published annually, TIME’s Next 100 celebrates emerging voices who are redefining what’s possible across their fields — from climate advocates and tech innovators to artists and political changemakers. This year’s list honors those charting bold paths toward a more sustainable and just world.

Vora, a physician and epidemiologist, is in the business of preventing future pandemics. He is at the forefront of a movement to show that human health and the health of nature are intrinsically linked. 

At Conservation International, he has sought to bring this message to a broader, global audience — connecting the loss and fragmentation of tropical forests and other ecosystems to the emergence of infectious diseases
and tracking the human health benefits of the organization’s efforts to protect and restore nature. 

© Julie Stahl

“I’ve spent my career as a ‘disease detective,’ chasing outbreaks across the globe, and one lesson stands out: Our health cannot be separated from the health of the planet. Every step we take to protect nature is also a step to protect ourselves,” Vora said. “This recognition is not just about me — it reflects a growing understanding that people are a part of nature, not apart from nature. There is no future for humanity without nature.”

Watch Vora’s 2023 TED talk here. Read TIME’s profile here. 

Will McCarry is the content director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this?  Sign up for email updates. Also, 
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