Dr. Rebecca Katz is a Professor and Director of the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security, and holds joint appointments in Georgetown University Medical Center and the School of Foreign Service. She teaches courses on global health diplomacy, global health security, and emerging infectious diseases in the Science, Technology and International Affairs, Security Studies, and Global Infectious Disease Programs. She is the faculty director of the Certificate in Global Health Diplomacy. She has authored over 120 peer reviewed manuscripts and seven books, in addition to numerous op eds, blogs, white papers and book chapters.

From 2004 to 2019, Dr. Katz was an expert consultant to the Department of State, working on issues related to the Biological Weapons Convention, pandemic influenza and disease surveillance. She joined the Biden/Harris team to support the national and global response to COVID-19. She returned to the Department of State in January 2021 as a senior advisor on the global COVID-19 response and global health security and is a senior advisor in the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy. She is the co-convener of the 2019 and 2024 International Scientific Conference on Global Health Security, and is a member of the Technical Advisory Panel for the Pandemic Fund. Dr. Katz received her undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, an M.P.H. from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.