Dr. Lackritz is a medical epidemiologist with extensive experience in public health and epidemiology research, policy, and programs in the areas of infectious diseases, maternal-child health, and emergency response. She served for 23 years at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva as the Zika Task Force Lead. She has also served in clinical service roles as Hospital Director for Médecins Sans Frontières in the Rohingya refugee camp, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as medical director of the Rosebud Indian Health Service Hospital in South Dakota.
Dr. Lackritz began her professional career in the Malaria Branch of CDC, where she conducted epidemiologic and clinical studies of malaria, anemia, and child survival in sub-Saharan Africa. She then worked for 10 years with the CDC’s HIV/AIDS programs, including implementation and evaluation of the first national AIDS treatment programs in Africa, clinical trials of antiretroviral therapy, and studies of HIV transmission by blood transfusion. She led a study in Uganda that identified that HHV-8, the virus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma, was transmitted by blood transfusion, leading Dr. Lackritz and colleagues to receive the CDC’s prestigious Shepard Award for the greatest contribution to science. She then served as Chief of CDC’s Maternal and Infant Health Branch, investigating the leading causes of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Following her work at the CDC, Dr. Lackritz served as deputy director of the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS) at Seattle Children’s. With the knowledge that preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality, she advanced global research initiatives with the Gates Foundation to investigate novel targets to prevent biological triggers of preterm birth and adverse pregnancy outcomes, as well as strategies for monitoring the safety of maternal immunizations in low- and middle-income countries.
Dr. Lackritz has served as a technical expert and adviser to the US Department of Health and Human Services, to the US Surgeon General, in congressional hearings and briefings, and for numerous national and international organizations. She also served as a consultant to Kenya and Tanzania following the bombing of the US embassies. She has received multiple US Public Health Service awards for her leadership and service addressing domestic and international public health threats. Dr. Lackritz received her MD from the Ohio State University and completed her residency in pediatrics at Case Western Reserve/University Hospitals of Cleveland.
