Deborah Birx
International Science and Engineering Fair – 1973
About Deborah Birx
Physician and public health expert Deborah Birx has dedicated her career to addressing global health challenges. As a specialist in HIV/AIDS immunology, Birx served as director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and director of the CDC’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS. President Obama nominated Birx to serve as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in 2014, and Vice President Pence appointed her as Coronavirus Response Coordinator in February 2020. Birx honed her data-driven science skills at a young age, undertaking science projects with her brother in their parents’ backyard shed, and competing in ISEF in 1973 with a geology project.
Science Champion In The News
Birx in 1973 after winning first prize at her local science fair. She went on to showcase her project, “Paleobotany in Reference to the Carboniferous Period,” at ISEF.
COVID-19
Birx coordinated the White House’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic under the Trump administration, and provided guidance to the American public amid the global health crisis.
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