Policy Seminar with Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH

Co-hosted with The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Speaker

Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH

Former Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Fellow, Harvard University Business School, Kennedy School, and T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH served as the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-2023), a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (2012-2021), and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2021). Dr. Walensky is an infectious disease clinician whose research career is guided by a belief that the clinical and economic outcomes of medical decisions can be improved through the explicit articulation of choices, the systematic assembly of evidence, and the careful assessment of comparative costs and benefits. She has focused these beliefs on mathematical model-based research toward the promotion of global access to HIV prevention, screening, and care. Her ground-breaking work has motivated changes to U.S. HIV testing and immigration policy; promoted expanded funding for HIV-related research, treatment, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR); and led to policy revisions toward aggressive HIV screening – especially for the underserved – and earlier treatment in resource-limited international settings. In light of these contributions, Dr. Walensky has been an active member of policy discussions at the WHO, UNAIDS, the DHHS HIV Guidelines Committee, and the NIH Office of AIDS Research. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Walensky served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts until beginning her tenure at the CDC on January 20th, 2021. While at the CDC, Dr. Walensky led the nation – and the world – through unprecedented times, navigating the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and further facing the largest density of diverse infectious threats likely ever seen in this country. During her tenure, she participated in nearly 100 press conferences and countless media appearances, and provided testimony at 17 Congressional hearings.