Dr. Deborah Birx, MD

Dr. Birx is a world-renowned medical expert and global health leader, who has been at the forefront of the pandemic as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force. In this role, she has been instrumental in orchestrating the U.S. response to COVID-19, communicating directly with national, state, and local public health officials and decision-makers, and spear-heading an integrated, data-driven approach to combat the pandemic by tailoring strategies for communities across the country.

Dr. Birx brings decades of experience in infectious disease, public service, and international leadership to bear on this public health emergency. Her career has focused on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. In 1985, she joined the Department of Defense (DoD) as a military-trained clinician in immunology, and has since served as the U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, Ambassador-at-Large, and the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. In these roles, Dr. Birx oversees the implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as well as all U.S. Government engagement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. She helped lead one of the most influential HIV vaccine trials in history, which provided the first supporting evidence of any vaccine’s potential effectiveness in preventing HIV infection. She also served as the Director of CDC’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS, part of the agency’s Center for Global Health, where she successfully led the implementation of CDC’s PEPFAR programs around the world and managed an annual budget of more than $1.5 billion. Over the course of her impressive and profoundly impactful career, she has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including two U.S. Meritorious Service Medals, the Legion of Merit Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the African Society for Laboratory Medicine, and the William C. Watson, Jr. Medal of Excellence for her groundbreaking research, leadership, vision, and exemplary management.

Dr. Birx has published over 220 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, authored nearly a dozen chapters in scientific publications, as well as developed and patented vaccines. She received her medical degree from the Hershey School of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, and beginning in 1980 she trained in internal medicine and basic and clinical immunology at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Birx is board certified in internal medicine, allergy and immunology, and diagnostic and clinical laboratory immunology.