For the past four decades, the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) has served as the locus of interdisciplinary research on population change, socioeconomic development, and human health at the University. The Center guides University-wide efforts to understand the evolving health needs of the global community. Activities at the Center are directed towards the population dimensions of health changes-devising, developing, and applying new methods to track both mortality and disability around the globe; examining the links between demographic change, health and welfare; and ensuring that the focus on populations and population health is not lost in Harvard's broader attempts to contribute to human security and development.