Margaret A. Hamburg

Dr. Margaret Hamburg is an internationally recognized leader in science, medicine and public health, and an expert on biological threats and pandemic preparedness. Dr. Hamburg recently completed her term as Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Medicine, where she served as senior advisor on international matters and liaison with other Academies of Medicine and Science around the world. She continues to represent the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine on the steering committee of the InterAcademy Partnership for Science, Health and Policy, the organization that represents Academies of Science and Medicine around the world. Dr. Hamburg is also the past Chair/President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest scientific membership organization.

Prior to this, Dr. Hamburg served as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration where she was known for advancing regulatory science, medical product innovation and the globalization of the agency, while also overseeing the implementation of groundbreaking laws to curb tobacco use and enhance food safety. Previously, Dr. Hamburg was Vice President and Senior Scientist at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. She also served as New York City Health Commissioner, where she undertook major initiatives to reduce infant mortality, address HIV/AIDS, curtail the resurgence and spread of tuberculosis, and launched the nation's first public health bioterrorism preparedness program. Subsequent to that role, she was appointed as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the chief policy role in the department. Earlier in her career, she has also served as Assistant Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Hamburg currently sits on various boards and advisory committees, including the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the Nature Conservancy, Ending Pandemics (chair), the Lasker Foundation, the American Museum of Natural History, the Commonwealth Fund, the Urban Institute, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. She is chair of the Joint Coordinating Group for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI), and a member of the Harvard University Global Advisory Council, the Global Health Scientific Advisory Committee for the Gates Foundation, the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, and the World Dementia Council. She is a member of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC), National Academy of Sciences, the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security. She chairs the Commonwealth Foundation Commission on a National Public Health System.

Dr. Hamburg is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.