Kathleen Neuzil

Gates Foundation

United States

Gates Foundation

Kathleen Maletic Neuzil, MD, MPH, directs the Polio Program at the Gates Foundation. From 2024-2025, she was Director of the Fogarty International Center and Associate Director for International Research at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Neuzil previously served as the Myron M. Levine MD DTPH Professor of Vaccinology and director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Dr. Neuzil is an internationally recognized researcher with a strong global health background, a demonstrated record of achievement in leading diverse teams and networks, and experience with the administration of major national and international collaborative research programs. Her research has been instrumental in implementing vaccines against the most common infectious causes of disability and death in populations around the world. She has more than 380 scientific publications on vaccines and infectious diseases. Dr. Neuzil's research capabilities are complemented by 20 years of involvement in domestic and international policy, including past membership on the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) from 2019-2025 and on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Dr. Neuzil's numerous honors and awards include membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the National Academy of Medicine; the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumna Award; the Sonia Skarlatos Public Service Award from the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy; and the University of Maryland Baltimore Researcher of the Year. Dr. Neuzil is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. She earned her bachelor's degree in zoology, summa cum laude, from University of Maryland, College Park; her MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and her MPH from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her residency and chief residency in internal medicine and her infectious disease fellowship at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville.