PROVIDENCE, RI - Pandemic Center Senior Adviser Seth F. Berkley, MD, will receive the 2024 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award for his work as an innovative entrepreneur, a pioneer in global health, and a champion of equitable access to vaccines. Berkley is adjunct professor of the practice of epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) created the award to honor those “whose outstanding humanitarian efforts and achievements have contributed significantly to improving global health.” This award, as well as the others announced by NFID last week, will be presented at the 2024 NFID Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. in September 2024.
Berkley said: “I am deeply honored and grateful to the foundation and to the scores of individuals and organizations who made possible the work recognized by this award. There are many challenges still ahead around infectious and pandemic diseases and other urgent public health issues. Our shared commitment to meeting these challenges in an equitable way to improve the health and quality of life for people around the globe, is more important than ever.”
Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, professor of epidemiology and director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, praised Berkley’s effective leadership and his impact on the next generation of public health practitioners. “Seth is an amazing asset for our students and faculty as we work to advance research, understanding, and action to prevent, prepare and respond to infectious disease threats, including future pandemics.”
Berkley, who joined the Pandemic Center in summer of 2023, is one of the most influential figures in global health this century. He served as CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2011 to 2023. There, he led a team to expand access to immunization and supported countries to vaccinate, annually, more than half of the world’s children. He also co-founded and led COVAX, which provided more than 2 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses to 146 countries.
Bruce G. Gellin, MD, MPH, of the Rockefeller Foundation, nominated Berkley for the award. “Seth Berkley restlessly takes on and delivers on big challenges,” Gellen said. “Turning vaccines into vaccinations among the most vulnerable and ensuring that routine immunizations were indeed routine, he also played a pivotal role in changing the way the world prevents and responds to global health crises and epidemics.”
Previously, Berkley founded the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in 1996 and served as its President until 2011, and has worked with Special Pathogens Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Ministry of Health of Uganda, and the Rockefeller Foundation. He has published hundreds of articles, received numerous awards, three honorary doctorates and in 2022 was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Berkley received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University and trained in internal medicine at Harvard University. In 2022, he delivered the Baccalaureate address at Brown University’s commencement ceremony, where he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Medical Science for having achieved great distinction as a physician and public health leader.
Founded in 1973, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating and engaging the public, communities, and healthcare professionals about infectious diseases across the lifespan. The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award is awarded annually by NFID. Previous recipients include former President Bill Clinton, General Colin L. Powell, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Dr. Paul Farmer. A full list of NFID’s awards can be found here: http://www.nfid.org/awards.