Katey Einterz Owen

Katey Einterz Owen leads two global health programs at the foundation: Vaccine Development and Neglected Tropical Diseases. She also serves as co-chair of the executive council of the Gates - Life Sciences CEO Roundtable, facilitating Bill Gates’ collective interactions with life sciences CEOs.

The Vaccine Development team works with partners across sectors to spur innovation and improve execution and sustainability in the development, commercialization, and distribution of safe and affordable vaccines for the lowest-income countries. Disease targets include polio, COVID-19, pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, human papillomavirus, rotavirus, typhoid, and shigella.

The Neglected Tropical Diseases team invests in efforts to control, eliminate, and eradicate eight of the 10 diseases specified in the 2012 London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases: lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases, trachoma, dracunculiasis, Human African trypanosomiasis, and visceral leishmaniasis. These diseases collectively put at risk more than 1.5 billion people worldwide. The team funds projects with global private and public partners across the value chain, from research and innovation through on-the-ground delivery of interventions in Africa and Asia.

Katey joined the foundation in 2013 from the pharmaceutical industry, where she held leadership roles in vaccine development, manufacturing, and commercialization across a portfolio of vaccines. She combines a technical end-to-end view of product development, quality manufacturing, and distribution with a commercial understanding of the for-profit pharmaceutical business and the global systems required to serve low-income markets, coupled with a solutions-focused mindset and disposition.

Earlier, Katey carried out academic research on influenza at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. She earned a Ph.D. in molecular virology from Purdue University. Outside of work, you’ll find Katey running on the trails of the Pacific Northwest, gardening with her husband, and supporting their six children at sports, science, and arts events from elementary school through university.