Jeffrey Freeman PhD, MPH

Education

Ph.D., Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
M.P.H., Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
M.B.A., Executive Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, USA (in progress)
B.S., Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

Biography

Dr. Jeffrey D. Freeman serves as the Director and Special Assistant to the President for the U.S. National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH). As Director, Dr. Freeman leads the National Joint Research and Education Program in Disaster Medicine for all executive departments and directs a nation-wide ecosystem comprised of leading medical and public health research institutions. Established in 2008 under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21), NCDMPH is both a federal organization and component of the Uniformed Services University (USU). The National Center is governed by an interagency Board of Advisors from the Departments of Defense, State, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. The mission of the National Center is to advance the Nation’s medical and public health readiness for disasters.

Dr. Freeman comes to the National Center from MIT Lincoln Laboratory where he worked briefly in the Biotechnology and Human Systems Division Office before accepting his appointment in government. Prior to MIT, Dr. Freeman was a part of the senior leadership team in the National Health Mission of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) where he established the Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Program, and created the Johns Hopkins Disaster Response Corps, which mobilizes scientists and technology in support of the Nation’s response to disasters. While at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Freeman was selected as an Emerging Leader in Biosecurity Fellow by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Before coming to Johns Hopkins to pursue his doctoral studies, he worked in the Emergency Response and Recovery Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta and was involved in the creation of the Center for Humanitarian Emergencies at Emory University.

Throughout his career, Dr. Freeman has led hundreds of scientists in support of responses to pandemics including COVID-19, Mpox, and Ebola, as well as responses to violent conflicts, natural disasters, and other health emergencies. In March 2020, at the request of senior government officials, Dr. Freeman mobilized a team of several hundred scientists in support of the Federal COVID-19 Response. Over the next several years, he would lead more than 400 technical staff supporting work across the federal response, to include efforts related to authoritative COVID-19 data, senior leader decision-making, public health and medical operations, medical supply chain, testing and diagnostics, and medical countermeasures development and distribution. Many of these efforts have been transitioned to follow-on tasks aimed at advancing government capabilities for future health threats.

Dr. Freeman’s formal education includes advanced training and education in health, engineering, and business, including a Bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University, a Master of Public Health degree in Global Health and Infectious Diseases from Emory University, and a PhD in Environmental Health and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He has specialized training in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies, Biomedical Informatics, Risk Sciences, and Public Policy. In addition to his duties as NCDMPH Director, Dr. Freeman is jointly appointed as an Associate Professor in the Military and Emergency Medicine Department at the Uniformed Services University where his primary research interests include advanced training for complex environments and human performance under duress.