Syra Madad

Dr. Syra Madad is a Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.

Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP, CHEP, is an internationally recognized public health and healthcare leader, biosecurity advisor, epidemiologist, and science communicator specializing in infectious disease preparedness and response. As the Chief Biopreparedness Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal healthcare system in the U.S., she leads efforts to enhance biopreparedness and special pathogen response. She is also the Principal Investigator at NYC Health + Hospitals Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management, driving innovation in infectious disease preparedness and mitigation.

Dr. Madad has played a pivotal role in responses to numerous outbreaks, including Ebola, Zika, Measles, COVID-19, and MPox, while also advising elected officials on critical health security topics. She provides expert guidance to organizations such as the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats, and the World Health Organization. Her leadership has been recognized through numerous awards, including a citation by Nassau County in New York, and she has been highlighted in Fortune’s 40 Under 40.

Beyond her frontline work, Dr. Madad serves as Core Faculty at the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) and Affiliate Faculty at Boston University’s Center for Emerging Infectious Disease Policy & Research. As the Public Health Editor-at-Large at the New York Academy of Sciences, she shapes discussions on critical global health issues. A widely published expert, she has written for The New York Times and The Washington Post and frequently appears on major media outlets. Dr. Madad has been featured in multiple documentaries, including the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak and the Discovery documentary The Vaccine: Conquering COVID, bringing global awareness to infectious disease preparedness and response.

In addition, Dr. Madad is the founder of Critical Health Voices, a platform dedicated to amplifying diverse perspectives and advancing critical discussions in global health. To stay connected and receive updates, you can sign up here: https://criticalhealthvoices.substack.com

Follow Dr. Syra Madad on social media channels, linked above, and on Instagram here.