Joseph “Joe” Bresee, MD, serves as Director of the Respiratory Virus Prevention programs which include the Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction, CoVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Program, and Global Funders Consortium for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development. He also serves as Senior Advisor to Ready2Respond, for which The Task Force is the secretariat. He has more than 20 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 to 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 in both 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 derive 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 300 peer-reviewed papers and textbook chapters.