In May 2024, Dr. Pavani Kalluri Ram became the Chief Medical Officer for Global Health. From 2021 to May 2024, Pavani served as the Chief of the Child Health and Immunization Division in USAID’s Global Health Bureau Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition. In 2001, Pavani joined CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service and then served as a Medical Epidemiologist, conducting outbreak investigations and working towards prevention of childhood infections and waterborne diseases.
As a tenured Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Pavani worked extensively on prevention and management of childhood infections, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and air quality, co-authoring nearly 100 publications in the peer-reviewed literature.
She has held various positions at USAID, including as a Senior Medical Advisor for Newborn and Child Health. Pavani serves as a member of the Policy and Programme Committee of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and contributed to the development of Child Survival Action to galvanize acceleration of efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goal 3 target to end preventable child mortality.
Pavani is a graduate of Columbia University and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.