Rebecca Martin, PhD

Additional Titles

Director
Emory Global Health Institute

Biography

Rebecca Martin, PhD, is the Vice President for Global Health and the Director of the Emory Global Health Institute at Emory University. As a member of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center leadership team, Dr. Martin works to build and align the diverse, multidisciplinary global health infrastructure and foster global collaborations across Emory University and global health organizations. She leads efforts to foster interdisciplinary global health research and works to build the next generation of global health leaders.

Previously, Dr Martin had a 22-year public health career at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most recently, she served as the Director of the Center for Global Health (CGH) for the past six years. Dr Martin has worked both domestically and internationally in immunization, HIV, health system strengthening and global health security, and led CDC's global efforts to protect and improve health globally through science, policy, partnership, and evidence-based public health action.

Dr. Martin has over 30 years of experience working in international health, addressing reduction in morbidity and mortality, globally. In her time at CDC, she held assignments in Kenya, Tanzania, and Denmark. She was detailed to the WHO African Regional Office from 2002-2006, based in Kenya as a senior epidemiologist in the inter-country immunization program office for eight east African countries. From 2006-2008, Dr. Martin served as Program Director for Strategic Information and Human Resources for Health with the CDC Country Office in Tanzania. She led and implemented studies, in partnership with the ministry of health, to measure and evaluate the HIV/AIDS epidemic and strengthen national capacity to respond.

Between 2008 and 2011, Dr. Martin was detailed to the WHO European Regional Office as the Regional Advisor for Immunization where she spearheaded regional efforts to strengthen immunization and surveillance systems, provide evidence for the introduction of new vaccines, achieve the goal of measles and rubella elimination, and maintain the region's polio-free status. From 2012 to 2016, Dr. Martin served as the Director of the CGH Global Immunization Division, leading CDC's global polio eradication efforts, accelerated disease control for vaccine-preventable diseases, introduction of new and underutilized vaccines, and the strengthening of immunization systems.

Prior to joining CDC in 1997, she worked at the Maryland Department of Hygiene and Mental Health in Baltimore Maryland as the immunization program epidemiologist leading efforts to increase vaccination coverage, conducting outbreak investigations, coordinating the development and introduction of Maryland's immunization registry, and supporting the state's Vaccines for Children Program.

Dr. Martin received her Doctor of Philosophy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in international health with a focus in infectious disease epidemiology. Over the past 23 years, she has collaborated with multilateral organizations and development partners and has worked closely with ministries of health and non-governmental organizations. She has co-authored manuscripts and developed strategic plans, normative guidance and guidelines on immunization strategies, vaccine-preventable diseases and surveillance methods for both immunization and HIV, and for global health security.