Michael Osterholm, PhD MPH

Epidemiologist, COVID-19 Expert and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy

Michael Osterholm, PhD MPH

Epidemiologist, COVID-19 Expert and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy

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Biography

"Just wanted to follow up and say thank you! Dr. Osterholm was a fantastic speaker, and the VIP closed session was a huge hit. Our board members and sponsors were extremely happy with that portion and Dr. Osterholm tackled just about any question that came his way. Working with APB and Dr. Osterholm’s team was easy, smooth and went over very well. We’ve had some mixed results working with speakers bureaus in the past so I felt like I had to say something about the great line of communication." -BioForward, Inc.

Hailed by CNN as “the infectious disease expert who has been warning us for a decade and a half that the world will face a pandemic,” Dr. Michael Osterholm quickly became the go-to expert on the public health impact of COVID-19. A sharp critic of the complacency that led to the current global pandemic, he points to current shortfalls in our system, individual and public health strategies and an urgent need to mobilize our healthcare system.

Dr. Osterholm predicted a pandemic like COVID-19 in his bestselling book, Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, a chillingly prescient and detailed account of the most pressing infectious diseases of our day. In Deadliest Enemy, Dr. Osterholm advocates for a plan to combat “an overwhelming army of deadly, invisible enemies” and lays out a nine-point plan to prevent “the unthinkable from the inevitable.”

Dr. Osterholm currently serves as Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, all at the University of Minnesota. Between June 2018 to May 2019, he served as a Science Envoy for Health Security on behalf of the US Department of State. In 2008, he was appointed to the World Economic Forum Working Group on Pandemics. In 2005, He was appointed to the newly established National Science Advisor Board of Biosecurity. Between 2001 and 2005, he served as Special Advisor to the Health and Human Services Secretary on issues related to bioterrorism and public health preparedness. Previously, he served for 24 years in various roles at the Minnesota Department of Health, the last 15 as state epidemiologist and chief of the Acute Disease Epidemiology Section. An expert in bioterrorism, Dr. Osterholm provided a pointed review of America’s current state of preparedness for a bioterrorism attack in his New York Times bestselling book, Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe.

The author of more than 315 papers and abstracts, including 21 book chapters, Dr. Osterholm also serves on the boards of nine epidemiology and infectious disease journals and is a reviewer for The New England Journal of Medicine. He is a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America and has received six major research awards from the NIH and the CDC.

Speaker Videos

on COVID-19| Joe Rogan Experience

Virtual Keynote: How COVID-19 Has Changed the World & What the Future Holds

How Contagious is the Coronavirus? | CBS This Morning

Preparing for the Next Epidemic | Healthy Futures Summit

Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs

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Speech Topics

Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs

Dr. Osterholm predicted a pandemic like COVID-19 in his bestselling book, Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, where he advocated for a plan to combat "an overwhelming army of deadly, invisible enemies" and laid out a nine-point plan to prevent "the unthinkable from the inevitable." As one of the world’s most accomplished epidemiologists, he explains the seriousness and severity of COVID-19 and its progression.

COVID-19: Fact from Fiction

How COVID-19 Will Change the World

Testimonials

"After two years of virtual events, it was a pleasure to be back in person and I am thrilled you were able to join us. Your participation as the keynote speaker was an important part of the day. We greatly appreciated your thoughts and insights relative to health care policy, it’s impact on Massachusetts, and what to expect moving forward."

- Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP)

"I found Dr. Osterholm's talk to be extremely interesting and provided a unique perspective on the ongoing pandemic. Dr. Osterholm is extremely intelligent and was able to explain certain topics in a clear and understanding way. Dr. Osterholm was one of the most impactful speakers I have ever been in the presence of. Not only was he extremely eloquent, but the detail to which he shared the impact of COVID-19 was real and without any sugarcoating. As a whole, I really enjoyed the presentation and I think his transparency is what made it so effective."

- Bryant University

- BioForward, Inc.