Dr. Marc Lipsitch is an internationally recognized leader in infectious disease epidemiology and mathematical modeling of pandemic dynamics. He currently serves as Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he has established himself as a preeminent authority on infectious disease transmission. Holding a Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Lipsitch also earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Yale University, establishing a foundation for his rigorous analytical approach to public health challenges. His career trajectory has positioned him at the forefront of pandemic response planning, with significant contributions spanning two decades of emerging infectious disease threats.
Dr. Lipsitch's groundbreaking research has fundamentally shaped the scientific understanding of infectious disease transmission and pandemic response strategies, with over 350 peer-reviewed publications that have significantly influenced global health policy. His work on real-time estimation of SARS transmissibility and modeling of control measures established critical methodologies now used in pandemic response, while his calculation of the reproductive number for the 1918 Spanish flu and severity assessment of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic provided essential frameworks for non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic. His recent research on SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics, vaccine effectiveness, and ethical considerations for human challenge studies has been cited thousands of times and directly informed public health decision-making worldwide. Dr. Lipsitch's models of seasonal influenza and coronavirus disease have become foundational to modern pandemic planning and response strategies across multiple international health organizations.
As senior advisor for the CDC Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, Dr. Lipsitch plays a pivotal role in developing the United States' capacity for infectious disease forecasting and analytic response. His regular contributions to major media outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and BBC have made him one of the most visible scientific communicators during global health emergencies, effectively translating complex epidemiological concepts for public understanding. Starting January 1, 2026, Dr. Lipsitch will join Stanford University with appointments spanning medicine, biology, and international studies, where he will hold the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professorship and continue to shape the next generation of infectious disease researchers. His ongoing work in vaccine allocation strategies, equity considerations in pandemic response, and the development of more sophisticated disease transmission models ensures he remains at the cutting edge of epidemiological science with profound implications for future global health security.
