Lawrence Kerr, Ph.D.

Dr. Lawrence D. Kerr (Larry) is the Director of the Office of Pandemics and Emerging Threats within the Office of Global Affairs at the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Kerr leads the Office overseeing a broad policy portfolio including countering antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Global Health Security Agenda 2024, pandemic influenza preparedness, and emerging infectious disease threats. Prior to joining HHS in December 2015, Dr. Kerr served as the Director for Medical Preparedness Policy at the White House National Security Council Staff as the principal staff member responsible for coordinating policy regarding public health and medical resilience. He led the policy development process with 17 U.S. Government departments and agencies in drafting the foundational policies for President Obama’s administration including: the U.S. National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB); the National Action Plan for CARB (2015-2020); and Executive Order 13676 Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. He previously served as the Director for Biodefense Policy with the White House Homeland Security Council and Assistant Director for Homeland Security for the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Dr. Kerr joined HHS in late 2015 where he leads the Department’s efforts, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on the international engagement elements of the National Strategy to advance the global dialogue to combat AMR. He led negotiations for the 2016 Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting (HLM) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Antimicrobial Resistance and led the HHS coordination for the 2018 UNGA HLM on Tuberculosis. He co-chairs the Trans-Atlantic Task Force on AMR (TATFAR) to monitor technical work streams and leading the development of the 2021-2025 work streams. Dr. Kerr worked on the health subunit of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 106th Congress as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow. Dr. Kerr completed his PhD in Cell Biology from Vanderbilt University in 1990, and undertook his post-doctoral work in virology and immunology at the Salk Institute in San Diego, CA.