ECDC appoints Piotr Kramarz as new Chief Scientist
Dr. Piotr Kramarz, originally from Poland, has been appointed as Chief Scientist for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), starting as of today.
As Chief Scientist, Dr. Kramarz will be responsible for overseeing the scientific quality and independence of ECDC, the coordination of ECDC’s activities related to scientific advice, identifying research priorities and will lead the Scientific Methods and Standards Unit.
Dr. Kramarz said:
“I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to lead the scientific work for the European Union’s leading agency for infectious diseases” said Dr. Kramarz. “In an increasingly complex international environment, there are many health challenges that need to be tackled. ECDC plays a key role in assessing risk and providing guidance to help countries prevent and respond to outbreaks and public health threats. I am proud to be part of an organisation working to protect almost 500 million people from infectious diseases.”
Dr. Kramarz is also chairing the scientific committee of ECDC’s European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE). The committee is responsible for the development of the scientific programme of the conference, overseeing the abstract selection process and advising on programme outlines.
Dr. Kramarz is a physician by training, with a PhD in immunology of viral infections, and eight years of clinical practice experience in a teaching hospital at the Medical University of Białystok, Poland in the field of infectious diseases. Between 1997-2000, he worked at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) and as a medical epidemiologist. Since 2007, he has been working at the ECDC a Deputy Head of Unit (first of the Scientific Advice Unit and then Disease Programme Unit) and, since April 2011, as the Deputy Chief Scientist of the Centre.
Dr. Kramarz replaces Professor Mike Catchpole who held the position of ECDC Chief Scientist since 2014.
