Global Health
Neuzil Named Director of Fogarty International Center
Dr. Kathleen Neuzil has been appointed as the 13th director of the Fogarty International Center (FIC) and NIH associate director for international research. She will be the first woman to hold the center’s permanent directorship since FIC was founded in 1968.
Currently serving as the Myron M. Levine endowed professor in vaccinology; director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health; and chief of the Division of Geographic Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Neuzil is expected to join NIH in early May.
“Dr. Neuzil has decades of experience in global health, specifically in vaccinology,” said NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, announcing the appointment. “Her impressive research portfolio includes clinical and epidemiological studies into dozens of infectious diseases. Combined with her many years as a vaccine policy advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and her experience establishing new partnerships and directing diverse organization teams, she is very well suited to lead FIC.”
Neuzil will lead Fogarty in its mission of supporting and facilitating global health research conducted by U.S.-based and international investigators, building partnerships between health research institutions across the globe and training the next generation of scientists to address global health needs. She will oversee FIC’s annual budget of approximately $95 million, the majority of which is distributed through the center’s grant programs.
Neuzil’s robust research portfolio features more than 330 scientific publications on vaccines and infectious disease research. She has received NIH and other governmental and philanthropic funding throughout her career and has led collaborative research programs on a variety of diseases, including influenza, typhoid and Covid-19. She has established partnerships to address cross-cutting issues such as maternal immunization, optimizing vaccine use and ensuring sustainable vaccine uptake in low-resource settings. She has a strong commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists and leaders in the field.
Neuzil received her undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Maryland, College Park. She earned her M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
While at Vanderbilt, she also completed a fellowship in infectious diseases and earned her master’s in public health. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. She also previously served on CDC’s advisory committee on immunization practices.