Rockefeller Foundation appoints Rick Bright as senior vice president of Pandemic Prevention and Response

Dr. Rick Bright has been appointed the Rockefeller Foundation as senior vice president of Pandemic Prevention and Response, with responsibilities including leading pandemic prevention institute development.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Rick’s caliber join The Rockefeller Foundation,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation. “His breadth and depth of experience makes him the perfect person to lead our work to incubate a global precision pandemic prevention system and institute to reinvigorate public health for the 21st Century so the world can better sequence viruses, develop recommendations, and share best practices around the world.”

Bright has extensive experience in global public health, having worked with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), PATH, and the private sector, contributing key advancements in vaccine and therapeutic developments for influenza viruses with pandemic potential and new vaccine, treatment, and testing technologies.

“If there is something we have learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and other high impact epidemics, it is that pandemic preparedness, and response cannot be advanced with a siloed approach,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program. “Few people bring the full package to the table: profound scientific and public health expertise, years of outbreak response experience, a private and public sector background, and a collaborative, innovative, and out-of-the-box mindset. Rick Bright combines all these qualities. His leadership will be an enormous asset to The Rockefeller Foundation and to the global health community.”