Michael Osterholm Keynote Speaker

Michael Osterholm serves on President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 Advisory Board. He holds several roles at the University of Minnesota and other academic institutions, is a renowned expert and keynote speaker in the fields of global health and epidemiology.

Michael was selected to form part of Biden’s 13-member Covid-19 Advisory Board. Prior to this, he served the US as Science Envoy for Health Security.

Michel is currently Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota. He is Director of the Center for Infectious Disease, Research and Policy (CIDRAP) and a Professor in the School of Public Health, the College of Science and Engineering and adjunct Professor in the Medical School.

Previous roles include Special Advisor to Former Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and serving on his Advisory Council on Public Health Preparedness. Prior to that he worked at the Department of Health Minnesota for 24 years, in several roles including as a state epidemiologist.

Michael is an international expert on preparedness for influenza pandemics and Former Director of Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. He has also led the conversation on biological agents as weapons against civilians, serving as Personal Advisor to the late King Hussein of Jordan.

He has authored over 315 academic papers and abstracts, 21 book chapters and is regularly invited as a guest lecturer and speaker to share his expertise on epidemiology and global health.

Michael Osterholm authored two New York Times bestsellers. His book titled ‘Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs’ looks at the diseases that pose the biggest threats to modern society, and a strategy on prevention; ‘Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe’ presents America’s state of preparedness against a bioterrorism attack.

He has received several awards and accolades for his work. He was awarded the prestigious McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, an honorary doctorate, Luther College; Pump Handle Award, CSTE; the Charles C. Shepard Science Award, CDC and the Wade Hampton Frost Leadership Award, American Public Health Association, amongst others.

Michael Osterholm serves on many boards and advisory groups. He is on the Board of Regents at Luther College, Iowa, and was appointed to the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), Council of Foreign Relations, the Academy of Excellence in Health Research at The University of Minnesota and the World Economic Forum Working Group on Pandemics.

Michael Osterholm completed a Ph.D. in environmental health and an M.P.H. in epidemiology, both from the University of Minnesota and a BA in biology and political science at Luther College.