Joanne Cono, MD, ScD

Joanne Cono, MD, ScD is the Acting Director of the Office of Science Quality. Most recently she was the Special Advisor for Science Integration in the Office of Infectious Diseases, facilitating scientific activities and planning across CDC's three infectious disease national centers. Previously at CDC, she has served as an Associate Director for Science in the former National Immunization Program, Division of Epidemiology and Surveillance, and in the former Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response. As Senior Medical Officer in the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, she helped lead CDC's smallpox preparedness and vaccination activities and co-led the epidemiological team for CDC's response to the 2003 US monkeypox outbreak. She has led CDC's Clinician Communication Program, served as Senior Advisor for Science and Senior Advisor for Global Health in the Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, and has completed numerous international assignments and consultancies. During the emergency response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, she served as Chief Medical Officer overseeing CDC's public health response teams in Atlanta and Haiti. Her current scientific interests include global health, emerging infectious diseases, public health preparedness, and One Health.

A board-certified pediatrician, Joanne earned her medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and completed her residency training at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. She has also completed a community pediatrics and child advocacy fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a genetic epidemiology fellowship at CDC. She has a Master of Science degree in vaccine science and international health from The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, and advanced training in facilitation, negotiation, global diplomacy, and public engagement. She has practiced pediatrics in the homeless shelter system in New York City and at Egleston Hospital (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta). She has also served as a visiting faculty member at the University of Tartu in Estonia, where she taught pediatrics and epidemiology.