J. Glenn Morris Jr.

Professor & Director, University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute, Gainesville

Morris has served as director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute since it was founded in 2007. It’s a free-standing research institute at the University of Florida. It has more than 250 affiliated faculty from 11 different UF colleges and focuses on interdisciplinary research on human, animal and plant pathogens, and the epidemics that they cause. During the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists at EPI were responsible for a series of scientific studies that helped to confirm the critical role of aerosol transmission of the virus. Its scientists have also been leaders in describing transmission of coronaviruses from animals to humans and assessing risk of future epidemics using tools such as artificial intelligence.

EDUCATION: Rice University (BA), Tulane University (MD, MPH&TM)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: There is a reasonable likelihood that another pandemic will occur at some point in our lifetimes. In this setting, ongoing (and well-funded) public health surveillance and preparedness are critically important. And as part of this, there needs to be strong support for vaccination, which is a key element of science-based public health disease prevention.