Craig W. Hedberg

Craig W. Hedberg, Ph.D., is a Professor and Interim Division Head in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. He also serves as Co-Director of the Minnesota Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence. His career bridges academia and public health practice, including prior roles as Supervisor of the Vectorborne and Zoonotic Diseases Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health.

Education includes a Ph.D. in Epidemiology (University of Minnesota, 1993), M.S. in Environmental Health (University of Minnesota, 1984), and B.S. in Biology (University of Connecticut, 1976).

Research focuses on foodborne disease dynamics, outbreak surveillance, and public health response systems. Key interests include:

• Optimizing collaboration between public health agencies and industry to improve foodborne illness detection
• Advanced epidemiological methods for outbreak investigation
• Workforce development for public health emergency preparedness
• Risk assessment frameworks for food safety interventions

His publications consistently address surveillance innovation and outbreak mitigation, with recent work emphasizing data-driven approaches to underdetection and risk modeling.

Awards recognize significant contributions:

• Frozen Food Foundation’s Freezing Research Award (2023)
• International Association for Food Protection honors (2021, 2022)
• Minneapolis Public Health Hero Award (2022)
• Excellence in Advising (University of Minnesota, 2019)

Grant leadership includes CDC-funded projects like the Region 5 Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response and risk assessment models for foodborne pathogens. He directs workforce development initiatives for state/tribal health agencies.

As Co-Director of the Minnesota Food Safety Center of Excellence, he oversees collaborations enhancing national outbreak response capabilities and academic-public health partnerships.