Dr Bell was a panelist for the Forum’s discussion on Battling Drug-Resistant Superbugs.
Beth P. Bell, MD, MPH, is the Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). Most recently, Dr. Bell has served as the Associate Director for Epidemiologic Science, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). In 2008–2009, she served as Acting Deputy Director and then as Acting Director for NCIRD.
Dr. Bell joined CDC in 1992 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer assigned to the Washington State Department of Health, where she was the lead officer in the seminal investigation of E. coli O157:H7 infections from contaminated hamburgers. After EIS, she joined the Hepatitis Branch in the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases and later served as chief of the Epidemiology Branch in the Division of Viral Hepatitis. She has made numerous contributions in the epidemiology and prevention of viral hepatitis, including spearheading development of policy for the use of hepatitis A vaccine in the United States, leading the division’s efforts to prevent foodborne hepatitis A, and assisting in efforts to expand the use of hepatitis B vaccination globally. Dr. Bell also served in leadership roles during CDC responses to several major public health events, including the 2001 anthrax attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. As a member of the senior leadership team for the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic response, she provided oversight of policy and scientific direction. Dr. Bell received a BA from Brown University, an MD from Yale University, and an MPH from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Academy of Family Medicine, and the American Academy of Preventive Medicine, as well as a member of the American Epidemiological Society.
The author/co-author of more than 125 scientific publications, Dr. Bell has received numerous awards for her work including the Alexander Langmuir Prize and the Iain Hardy Award.
