Jay K. Varma M.D.

Jay K. Varma, M.D., is an expert on the prevention and control of diseases, having led epidemic responses, developed global and national policies, and led large-scale programs that have saved hundreds of thousands of lives in China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the United States. After graduating magna cum laude with highest honors from Harvard, Varma completed medical school, internal medicine residency, and chief residency at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. From 2001 to 2021, he worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with postings in Atlanta, Thailand, China, Ethiopia, and New York City. From April 2020 to May 2021, he served as the principal scientific spokesperson and lead for New York City’s COVID-19 response. From 2021 to 2023, Varma served as a professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medical School and as the founder of the Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response. From 2023 to 2024, he served as the chief medical officer for a company that makes treatments for pandemic threats. Varma has published over 150 manuscripts in leading scientific journals, and his essays have been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, and The Atlantic. A retired Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, he has been recognized as the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Researcher of the Year (2010) and Physician Leader of the Year (2017) and has received the two highest awards in the U.S. Public Health Service (Distinguished Service Medal, 2011; Meritorious Service Medal, 2018).