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In reply to the discussion: Dr. Osterholm: "The next 6 to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic." [View all]Botany
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Early life and education[edit]
Michael Osterholm was born in Waukon, Iowa, the son of a newspaper photographer.[4] According to Osterholm, his father was a physically abusive alcoholic.[4]
Osterholm graduated in 1975 with a B.A. in biology and political science from Luther College.[5] Osterholm received his M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental health, and his M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota.
Career[edit]
From 1975 to 1999, Osterholm served in various roles at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), including as state epidemiologist and Chief of the Acute Disease Epidemiology Section from 1984 to 1999. While at the MDH, Osterholm strengthened the department's role in infectious disease epidemiology, notably including numerous foodborne disease outbreaks, the association between tampons and toxic shock syndrome, and the transmission of hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in healthcare workers. Other work included studies regarding the epidemiology of infectious diseases in child-care settings, vaccine-preventable diseases (particularly Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis B), Lyme disease, and other emerging and re-emerging infections.[6]
From 2001 through early 2005, Osterholm, in addition to his role at CIDRAP, served as a Special Advisor to thenDepartment of Health and Human Services (HSS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson on issues related to bioterrorism and public health preparedness. In April 2002, Osterholm was appointed to the interim management team to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), until the eventual appointment of Julie Gerberding as director in July 2002. Osterholm was asked by Thompson to assist Gerberding on his behalf during the transition period. He filled that role through January 2003.[6] Osterholm was appointed by Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the HHS, to the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity in 2005.[6]
Osterholm is a frequently invited guest lecturer on the topic of epidemiology of infectious diseases. He serves on the editorial boards of nine journals, including Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and Microbial Drug Resistance: Mechanisms, Epidemiology and Disease, and he is a reviewer for 24 additional journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Science.[6] In March 2020, he appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Osterholm was the principal investigator and director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (20072014) and chaired the Executive Committee of the Centers of Excellence Influenza Research and Surveillance network.[8]
He is past president of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and has served on the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases Board of Scientific Counselors from 1992 to 1997. Osterholm served on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Forum on Microbial Threats from 1994 through 2011. He has served on the IOM Committee on Emerging Microbial Threats to Health in the 21st Century and the IOM Committee on Food Safety, Production to Consumption, and he was a reviewer for the IOM Report on Chemical and Biological Terrorism. As a member of the American Society for Microbiology, Osterholm has served on the Committee on Biomedical Research of the Public and Scientific Affairs Board, the Task Force on Biological Weapons, and the Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance. He is a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization, the NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Defense, and the CDC. He is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the IDSA.[6]