Rebecca Katz
Georgetown University
Rebecca Katz is a professor in Georgetown University Medical Center and the School of Foreign Service, and director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security. She is a participant in the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues faculty research group on global health, as well as a member of the Global Health Institute faculty committee.
International activities include:
- From 2004 to 2019 served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of State, working on issues related to the Biological Weapons Convention, pandemic influenza, and disease surveillance.
- Received a major award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2007 to perform a comparative study of international law and public health preparedness.
- Author or co-author of more than 60 publications with work appearing in Lancet, BMJ Global Health, New England Journal of Medicine, Public Health Reports, and Journal of Global Health.
Participating in:
September 30, 2024
News: Bridging Research and Policy at the Global Health Security Conference 2024
The Global Health Security Conference 2024 (GHS2024) in Sydney gathered over 1,200 delegates from 89 countries. Members of the Georgetown University community played a key role, with 20 faculty members and students leading discussions on pivotal…
September 12, 2024
News: Core Components of Infectious Disease Outbreak Response
In an article published in SSM - Health Systems, researchers at the Center for Global Health Science and Security share findings that point to a nearly-universal set of outbreak response activities that could be directly incorporated into national…
July 31, 2024
News: Global Health Student Fellows Program: Preparing the Next Generation of Global Health Leaders
The Global Health Student Fellows (GHSF) program, sponsored by the Georgetown University Global Health Institute (GUGHI), brings talented students and faculty members from across the university to work together on global health projects.
July 31, 2024
News: Global Health Student Fellows Program: Preparing the Next Generation of Global Health Leaders
The Global Health Student Fellows (GHSF) program, sponsored by the Georgetown University Global Health Institute (GUGHI), brings talented students and faculty members from across the university to work together on global health projects.
May 10, 2024
News: Pandemic Prevention Begins at Home
In an article published in Think Global Health, the Center for Global Health Science and Security's Rebecca Katz proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations that could enable timely outbreak reporting at the local level.
April 30, 2024
News: Behind the Scenes: The Georgetown University Community Contributes to Pandemic Accord Negotiations
From professors like Rebecca Katz, Lawrence Gostin, and Matthew Kavanagh to fall 2023 GHI student fellow Bedima Duut (L’24), the Georgetown University community is playing an important role in promoting pandemic preparedness against future global…
April 30, 2024
News: Behind the Scenes: The Georgetown University Community Contributes to Pandemic Accord Negotiations
From professors like Rebecca Katz, Lawrence Gostin, and Matthew Kavanagh to fall 2023 GHI student fellow Bedima Duut (L’24), the Georgetown University community is playing an important role in promoting pandemic preparedness against future global…
April 10, 2024
News: New Book Helps Citizen Scientists Navigate Complexities of Infectious Disease Outbreaks
In their new book Outbreak Atlas, Rebecca Katz, director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security (CGHSS), and Mackenzie Moore (G'20), a junior scientist at CGHSS and former GHI student fellow, help translate the complex…
February 27, 2024
News: Global Approaches to Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: A Comprehensive Analysis of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Policies
In an article for BMJ Global Health, the Center for Global Health Science & Security's Rebecca Katz and Ciara M. Weets examine water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) policies in 193 countries to identify areas where policy gaps could drive…
February 6, 2024
News: A Decision-Making Tree for Policy Responses to a Pathogen with Pandemic Potential
In a comment for Nature Medicine, Rebecca Katz and her co-author argue that policymakers need to be focused on developing policies and response strategies that rely on the characteristics of a range of pathogens and the tools available to tackle…
October 23, 2023
News: Discover Outbreak Atlas, a New Book by Faculty and Staff from the Center for Global Health Science and Security
Professor and Director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security (CGHSS) Rebecca Katz and Junior Scientist at CGHSS Mackenzie Moore announce their new book, Outbreak Atlas, which aims to guide readers through the complexity of outbreak…
October 10, 2023
News: Negotiating Global Health Security
Rebecca Katz, professor and director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University, co-authored the latest Council on Foreign Relations special report that outlines three priorities for U.S. and global governance of…
September 29, 2023
News: Inoculating Cities: Case Studies of the Urban Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Center for Global Health Science and Security's Rebecca Katz and Matthew Boyce co-edited a new volume that uses detailed case studies to document and describe how cities located in high, middle, and low-income countries responded to the COVID-19…
July 19, 2023
News: Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Science and Security Launches New Policy Platform
With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and Security has developed the Analysis and Mapping of Policies for all Emerging Infectious Diseases (AMP for EID), a first-of-its-kind policy…
February 22, 2022
News: When Will the Pandemic End?
Lawrence Gostin (O'Neill Institute) and Rebecca Katz (Center for Global Health Science and Security) were both quoted in a Foreign Affairs article about what the end of the COVID-19 pandemic might look like.
February 10, 2022
News: The Benefits of Vaccinating the World Are Clear. The Catch is the Price Tag.
Rebecca Katz (Center for Global Health Science and Security) was quoted in a recent Washington Post article, where she provided her thoughts on COVID-19 outcome-prediction models and the benefits of investing in global mRNA vaccine manufacturing…
December 8, 2021
News: The World Is Unprepared for the Next Pandemic, Report Says
Rebecca Katz (Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security) was quoted in a New York Times article, where she expressed that the world is not prepared for another pandemic because we haven’t yet had the chance to engage in “longer-term…
September 20, 2021
News: The Future of Zoonotic Risk Prediction
The Royal Society article "The future of zoonotic risk prediction" reviews technologies for surveillance of zoonotic diseases to detect and prevent future infectious threats. Georgetown-affiliated co-authors include Colin Carlson, Alexandra Phelan…
July 20, 2021
News: Nearly 120,000 Children in U.S. Have Lost a Primary Caregiver to COVID-19
Rebecca Katz (Center for Global Health Science and Security) provided expert commentary for an ABC News article about children who have lost a primary caregiver during the COVID-19 pandemic: “This is yet another horrible byproduct of the pandemic…
July 7, 2021
News: Inoculating Cities: Case Studies of Urban Pandemic Preparedness
Rebecca Katz and Matthew Boyce (Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security) are the editors of a recently published book that investigates the ways that cities have prepared for and responded to outbreaks of infectious disease.
February 22, 2021
News: New Global Data Repository and Visualization Platform
Global.health is a collaborative effort by global health experts from leading international institutions, including the Center for Global Health Science and Security's Rebecca Katz. It enables open, centralized access to real-time epidemiological…
February 1, 2021
News: The Lancet Publishes Research on Global Fund Contributions to Health Security
Global Health Science and Security Director Rebecca Katz works alongside global health experts to author a report on the Global Fund's contributions to health security. This is the first study to examine financial contributions from vertical disease…
January 19, 2021
News: Global Fund Contributions to Health Security
In The Lancet Global Health, Georgetown scholars from the Center for Global Health Science and Security discuss the Global Fund’s financial contributions to health security.
January 12, 2021
News: Online Library Chronicling 25 Years of Pandemic Preparedness Policy Launched
On January 12, Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security announced the launch of the most comprehensive collection of documents in the past 25 years of pandemic preparedness planning worldwide: "Health Security Net."
December 10, 2020
News: Health Care Management and Policy Senior’s Research Focuses on COVID-19
Samantha Schlageter (NHS’21), a health care management and policy major, has pursued several academic and extracurricular opportunities at Georgetown, including COVID-19-related research with Dr. Rebecca Katz and Dr. Michael Stoto.
September 14, 2020
News: New Report on COVID-19 and Governance Launched
On September 14 the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center released the report “Governance Preparedness: Initial Lessons from COVID-19,” pointing out the importance of re-centering governance to change…
August 3, 2020
News: Georgetown Outbreak Activity Library (GOAL) Launches
Launched July 31, 2020, the Georgetown Outbreak Activity Library (GOAL) provides a platform that shares resources throughout all phases of outbreak management, from preparedness to recovery. Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and…
July 10, 2020
News: A Global Strategy for Shaping the Post-COVID-19 World
Georgetown professors Matthew Kroenig and Rebecca Katz are two of the co-authors on an Atlantic Council Strategy Paper examining how the United States and its allies can defeat the coronavirus pandemic and bring about a new global system.
April 23, 2020
News: New White Paper: "COVID-19: A Global Pandemic Demands a Global Response"
SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that jumped from bats to humans, has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst global health crisis in a century. That crisis, in turn, is wreaking economic havoc that could dwarf the Great Depression. Top global health…
July 17, 2019
News: Global Health Security, Law Experts Express Relief After WHO Declares DRC Ebola Outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
Today, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the recommendation of the Emergency Committee, declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern…
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November 15, 2024
Pandemic Influenza Vaccines Event
How prepared are we for the next pandemic? With the ongoing H5N1 avian influenza outbreak spreading through wildlife and livestock, the threat to human health looms larger than ever.
Join the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and…
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September 30, 2024
Book Launch: The Outbreak Atlas, by Mackenzie S. Moore and Dr. Rebecca Katz Event
Join us for the launch of the book The Outbreak Atlas by Mackenzie S. Moore (G'21) and Dr. Rebecca Katz. Written for the general public, the book explores outbreak preparedness, response and recovery through over 100 detailed case studies and…
October 17, 2023
Book Launch: Inoculating Cities Volume II Event
April 4, 2022
Unmasked: COVID, Community, and the Case of Okoboji Event
Medical anthropologist Emily Mendenhall's book Unmasked: COVID, Community, and the Case of Okoboji is the story of what happened in Okoboji, a small Iowan tourist town when a collective turn from the coronavirus to the economy occurred in the COVID…
September 9, 2021
Inoculating Cities: Case Studies of Urban Pandemic Preparedness Event
Cities and urban areas are uniquely vulnerable to large-scale infectious outbreaks due to their dense and highly mobile populations, status as global transit hubs, persistent socioeconomic inequalities, and other unique contextual factors. However…
March 19, 2021
Predict and Prevent: The Viral Emergence Research Initiative Event
Will we ever actually be able to predict and prevent the next pandemic? Forecasting viral emergence requires scientists to connect the basic building blocks of host-virus interactions with global processes like climate change and urbanization. Dr…
January 28, 2020
Global Health Diplomacy and Partnerships for Health Event
Societies today exist in a world of unprecedented mobility and interconnectivity. Yet, increasingly globalized travel and trade also confer significant public health risks at both the domestic and international levels through the potential…
May 8, 2019
10 Years and Counting Event
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working collaboratively with other U.S. government agencies, ministries of health, the World Health Organization, and other partners to strengthen core public health capacities to prevent…
Bridging Research and Policy at the Global Health Security Conference 2024 Feature
Rebecca Katz, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security (CGHSS) and co-founder of the conference along with Adam Kamradt-Scott, was one of the main driving forces leading the 2024 conference.
“When Adam and I…
Global Health Student Fellows Program: Preparing the Next Generation of Global Health Leaders Feature
In addition to working with faculty on research projects, student fellows participate in global health-related events and network with one another and scholars in the global health field. Past fellows have pursued projects in areas ranging from…
Behind the Scenes: The Georgetown University Community Contributes to Pandemic Accord Negotiations Feature
Treaty Negotiations Reach the Final Stretch
In 2021, the international community agreed on the need to develop an international agreement to enhance pandemic preparedness after witnessing a lack of preparedness and widespread inequities, particularly…
Global Health Security Seminar Series Aims to Build a Community of Scholars Feature
Once a week, Georgetown faculty, postdoctoral researchers, students, and affiliates convene to present their works in progress, share areas of research, and engage in dialogue. Seminar topics during the fall 2023 semester have ranged from “Public…
New Master’s in Global Infectious Disease Bridges Science and Policy Feature
Set to launch in fall 2019, this 18-month program offers a unique opportunity for recent graduates as well as early and mid-career professionals to study infectious disease science and policy under the guidance of experienced scholars and…
April 23, 2020
COVID-19: A Global Pandemic Demands a Global Response Publication
Top global health experts lay out a global response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a white paper released on April 23, 2020. Several members of the Global Health Initiative faculty committee are principal or contributing authors.
Center for Global Health Science and Security Georgetown Unit
Launched in 2016, the Center for Global Health Science and Security at the Georgetown University Medical Center conducts original, multidisciplinary research to help decision-makers worldwide build sustainable capacities to prevent, detect, and…
Department of Microbiology and Immunology Georgetown Unit
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology is an academic department in the Medical Center offering master, Ph.D., and certificate programs concerned with the study of the immunological and biological properties of bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown Unit
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded in 1919 as the first school of international affairs in the United States. It offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs in Washington, D.C., and through Georgetown's campus in…
Georgetown University Medical Center Georgetown Unit
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center focused on research, teaching, and patient care.
Institute for the Study of Diplomacy Georgetown Unit
Established in 1978, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy is a research and teaching institute in the School of Foreign Service that seeks to bridge theory and practice in exploring global problems and the changing landscape of diplomatic…
Main Campus Georgetown Unit
The Main Campus is the administrative center of Georgetown University and home to six of its schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the McDonough School of Business, the McCourt School of Public…
Science, Technology and International Affairs Program Georgetown Unit
The Science, Technology and International Affairs program aims to equip students with the tools needed to understand the complex problems at the intersection of scientific and technical issues and international affairs. The major combines work in the…
Saving Lives, Transforming Health Systems: PEPFAR’s Past, Present and Future Video
Since its inception in 2003, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has moved the HIV pandemic from tragedy toward triumph. PEPFAR has saved more than 20 million lives, prevented millions of HIV infections, and helped build…
Inoculating Cities: Case Studies of Urban Pandemic Preparedness Video
Cities and urban areas are uniquely vulnerable to large-scale infectious outbreaks due to their dense and highly mobile populations, status as global transit hubs, persistent socioeconomic inequalities, and other unique contextual factors. However…
Predict and Prevent: The Viral Emergence Research Initiative Video
Will we ever actually be able to predict and prevent the next pandemic? Forecasting viral emergence requires scientists to connect the basic building blocks of host-virus interactions with global processes like climate change and urbanization. Dr…
COVID-19 in Latin America: Putting Policy in Context Video
This event launched a series of research briefs at the intersection of COVID-19 policy and impact in Latin America. Undergraduate and graduate student researchers working at the Center for Global Health Science and Security as well as the Center for…
The Role of the Bioeconomy in Ending this Pandemic and Preventing the Next One Video
What happens when a new era of epidemic risk collides with the beginnings of a revolution in biology? With response to COVID-19, we are finding out. In this presentation Ryan Morhard of Ginkgo Bioworks will consider the ways that DNA synthesis…
The Coronavirus Outbreak: A Challenge for Science and Policy Video
The rapid spread of the coronavirus since the start of 2020 has seized the attention of the global community. Scientists are grappling to understand the virus and its transmission mechanisms, and health policy officials in China and around the world…
Global Health Diplomacy and Partnerships for Health Video
Societies today exist in a world of unprecedented mobility and interconnectivity. Yet, increasingly globalized travel and trade also confer significant public health risks at both the domestic and international levels through the potential…
Global Health Initiative 2019 Faculty Forum Part Two Video
The 2019 GHI Faculty Forum was an opportunity for members of the Georgetown community to come together from across campuses and schools to learn more about one another's work in global health and explore collaboration opportunities.
Rebecca Katz Discusses the Center for Global Health Science and Security Video
The 2019 GHI Faculty Forum was an opportunity for members of the Georgetown community to come together from across campuses and schools to learn more about one another's work in global health and explore collaboration opportunities.
10 Years and Counting Video
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working collaboratively with other U.S. government agencies, ministries of health, the World Health Organization, and other partners to strengthen core public health capacities to prevent…
Global Health Diplomacy and Security: The Role of Vaccines in Global Health Security Video
Long before global health security became a term of art, vaccines were protecting communities from infectious diseases and outbreaks, and their disruptive effects on health and society. Whenever there is an infectious disease outbreak the first…
