Dr. Gail H. Cassell is Senior Lecturer, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Senior Scientist, Division of Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. She retired from Eli Lilly and Co. as Vice President for Scientific Affairs and Distinguished Lilly Research Scholar in Infectious Diseases.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology at the University of Alabama where, in 1993, she was selected as one of the top 31 female graduates of the University’s Centennial of the admission of female students. She earned her Ph.D. in microbiology from UAB and chaired the Department of Microbiology for 10 years, during which it ranked first in NIH research funding.

Dr. Cassell is a key leader in policy and legislation related to biomedical research and public health. She has served as an advisor to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as an invited participant in numerous Congressional hearings related to infectious diseases, anti-microbial resistance and biomedical research.

She has served on the advisory boards for the Directors of the NIH and the Centers for Disease Control, the Secretary of Health and Human Services Advisory Councils of Public Health Preparedness, and the FDA’s Science Board. She served a four-year term as a member of the NIH Science Management Board (NIH Board of Trustees) and the Advisory Councils of the Fogarty International Center of NIH and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

She served as a member of the Steering Committee of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program. She was instrumental in establishment of the U.S./Russia Cooperative Medical Sciences and Training Program under the Bilateral Presidential Commission in 2009.

She is an elected member of the U.S Council of Foreign Relations, a former President of the American Society for Microbiology member and is two term member of the Board of Governors of the American Academy for Microbiology.

Dr. Cassell has received numerous awards for her research in infectious diseases, including the CDC Honor Award in Public Health for exceptional leadership of the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Disease Plan; FDA Commissioner’s Citation as Chair of the review of science and technology at the FDA and senior author of FDA: Science and Mission at Risk 2008; the Emmy Klineberger-Nobel Award in 2008 by the International Organization for Mycoplasmology for lifetime research achievements; and the American Society for Microbiology/Federation of European Microbiology Societies Mäkelä–Cassell Exchange Program for pioneering international engagement for young scientists.

She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and has served two terms on its governing board.

Dr. Cassell is a former member of the board and treasurer of Research!America and chair of the Burroughs Welcome Fund board. She has served on the Leadership Council of the School of Public Health of Harvard University, Executive Committee of Columbia University Medical Center Board of Visitors, Dean’s Advisory Council for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, the Chancellor’s Advisory Cabinet for the University of Texas, and Advisory Council of the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health.

She is currently co-chair of the Board of Visitors of the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

She holds two honorary degrees (Doctor of Science, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Medical College, and Doctor of Philosophy, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico).