Maria Van Kerkhove
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD is an infectious disease epidemiologist and the COVID-19 Technical Lead at World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Van Kerkhove specializes in outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. In addition to her appointment as the COVID-19 Technical Lead, Dr. Van Kerkhove is also the Head of the Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit within the WHO’s HealthEmergencies Programme. Dr. Van Kerkhove’s main research interests include zoonotic, respiratory, and emerging/re-emerging viruses such as avian influenza, MERS-CoV, Ebola, Marburg, plague and Zika. She is particularly interested in investigating factors associated with transmission between animals and humans, the epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens, and ensuring research directly informs public health policies for action. She completed her undergraduate degree at Cornell University, a MS Degree at Stanford University, and a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Prior to joining WHO, Dr. Van Kerkhove was the Head of the Outbreak Investigation Task Force at Institut Pasteur’s Center for Global Health where she was responsible for establishing public health rapid response teams for infectious disease outbreaks. She was previously employed by Imperial College London in the MRC Center for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling where she worked closely with WHO on influenza, Yellow fever, Meningitis, MERS-CoV and Ebola Virus Disease.