Peter Kilmarx, M.D., is stepping in as Acting Director of the Fogarty International Center and Acting Associate Director, Global Health Research, National Institutes of Health, after the departure of Roger I. Glass, M.D., Ph.D. An expert on infectious disease research and HIV/AIDS prevention, Dr. Kilmarx was named Deputy Director of the Fogarty International Center in 2015. During his tenure at Fogarty he has lead analysis of NIH global health activities, built coalitions with high-level NIH and external stakeholders, and represented the Center and NIH in national and international forums. He co-lead an initiative to transform African health professional education and research, resulting in the formation of the African Association for Health Professions Education and Research (AFREHealth), as well as the African Postdoctoral Training Initiative (APTI), which brings African postdoctoral fellows to NIH. He has also focused on efforts to increase equity in global health research and building global capacity for pandemic preparedness .
“I'm grateful for the leadership and mentoring of Dr. Roger Glass," said Dr. Kilmarx. "I'm excited about this opportunity to serve Fogarty and our partners, strengthening global research capacity and partnerships to address the critical global health challenges of our time." Dr. Kilmarx will oversee an annual budget of more than $95 million and a portfolio of nearly 600 active grants while continuing Fogarty's mission to support and facilitate global health research conducted by U.S. and international investigators, build partnerships between health research institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and train the next generation of scientists to address global health needs.
Dr. Kilmarx previously served as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Country Director in Zimbabwe, providing oversight for 30 CDC staff who managed implementation of the U.S. efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General in the US Public Health Service.
Rachel Sturke, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.I.A., Deputy Director and Senior Scientist for the Fogarty Center for Global Health Studies, will step in as Acting Deputy Director for the Center. Dr. Sturke joined Fogarty in 2006 and oversees a portfolio of global projects that include a focus on building research capacity in implementation science in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and using innovative platforms to bring implementation science practitioners together with decision-makers and program implementers from LMICs. "We're very pleased that Dr. Rachel Sturke is taking on the role of Acting Deputy Director," said Dr. Kilmarx. "She is an exceptionally qualified global expert on implementation science and, having been with Fogarty since 2006, brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to the role."
