Jordan Tappero

A physician and epidemiologist by training, Dr. Jordan Tappero leads a team that focuses on the eradication of Guinea worm disease and the global elimination of lymphatic filariasis, human African trypanosomiasis, and visceral leishmaniasis in Asia.

Jordan joined the foundation in 2018 after a 25-year career with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His broad range of public health expertise includes running randomized clinical trials; implementing care and treatment programs for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases; introducing new childhood vaccines; developing surveillance systems; and serving as CDC incident manager for complex humanitarian emergencies (Haiti’s post-earthquake cholera epidemic and the West African Ebola epidemic). His global health experience spans four continents, including 14 years living overseas as a CDC country director in Botswana, Thailand, Uganda, and Haiti. In 2017, he retired from the U.S. Public Health Service with a rank of rear admiral and assistant surgeon general.

In February and March of 2020, Jordan provided direct foundation support to the World Health Organization in Geneva to establish a global surveillance system for COVID-19, and he returned in February and March of 2021 to develop WHO surveillance guidance for SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Jordan holds American Board of Medical Specialties certifications in dermatology, internal medicine, and preventive medicine and has co-authored over 270 peer-reviewed publications.