Lisa Barrios

Lisa Barrios is the first Director of the Division of Readiness and Response Science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), established in October 2023. Her role focuses on advancing evidence-based approaches to public health emergency preparedness and response, particularly addressing health disparities and behavioral strategies during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and mpox outbreak. She has over 27 years of experience at the CDC, leading emergency response efforts for events such as anthrax, Zika, Ebola, and H1N1 influenza.

Barrios earned her doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, specializing in Health Behavior and Health Education under Dr. Carol Runyan. Prior to her current role, she worked in injury prevention at the New York City Department of Health and led scientific investigations during the global pandemic, including studies on mask efficacy in academic settings.

Her career pivots include transitioning from injury prevention to school emergency preparedness post-9/11, creating a CDC unit focused on school preparedness, and leading the CDC’s pandemic response efforts for over two years. Recognized for her contributions, she received an award from CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen for her team’s work on school data collection during the pandemic.

Barrios balances her professional commitments with community involvement, including singing in her synagogue’s chorus and advocating for accessible public health strategies. Her work emphasizes making safety measures intuitive through policy, environmental, and engineering interventions, such as seat belt laws and school emergency protocols.