Joseph Bresee, MD

Joseph (Joe) Bresee, MD serves as the Senior Advisor to Ready2Respond providing technical advice and expertise. He is the Director of Respiratory Virus Prevention Programs at The Task Force for Global Health, which include the Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI), CoVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Program, and the Global Funders Consortium for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development. He has more than twenty years of experience working in influenza and vaccines, having started his public health career at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer in the Influenza Branch in 1993. From 1995-2005, Dr. Bresee worked at CDC on viral diseases, with a focus on research and public health activities related to rotavirus disease and rotavirus vaccines to help ensure that rotavirus vaccines were available for children both in the U.S. as well as those living in developing countries. From 2005-2017, Dr. Bresee led the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch of the CDC’s Influenza Division. The branch is responsible for conducting influenza surveillance, working to understand influenza disease burden, helping to drive appropriate vaccine and antiviral use policies to prevent seasonal influenza, detecting and preventing avian influenza and pandemic influenza, and providing technical expertise to global public health partners. 

In 2017 Dr. Bresee was named Associate Director for Global Health Affairs in CDC’s Influenza Division. He brings his expertise in influenza and the expertise and resources of his team to PIVI, spearheading the relationships with country partners. He also regularly participates in national and international meetings and technical groups on immunization and influenza. Dr. Bresee has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed papers and textbook chapters.