Syra Madad | |
|---|---|
 Madad speaks to theBerkman Klein Center in 2021 | |
| Born | Syra Sikandar (1986-10-22)October 22, 1986 (age 39) |
| Other names | S.S. Madad |
| Alma mater | University of Maryland, College Park Nova Southeastern University |
| Occupation(s) | Pathogen preparedness expert; healthcare leader |
| Years active | 2014-present |
| Employer | NYC Health + Hospitals |
| Known for | Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak |
| Website | syramadad |
Syra Madad (Urdu:سائرہ مدد,néeSikandar; born October 22, 1986)[1] is anAmerican pathogen preparedness expert, and biosecurity advisor. Madad is theChief Biopreparedness Officer atNYC Health + Hospitals[2] where she was part of the executive leadership team which oversaw New York City's response to theCoronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the city's 11 public hospitals.[3][4] She was featured in theNetflix documentary seriesPandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak and theDiscovery Channel documentaryThe Vaccine: Conquering COVID.[5] Madad has been at the forefront of numerous outbreak responses, including Ebola,Zika, Measles, COVID-19, andMPox, developing strategies for prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and recovery. She is also aFellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy (DETS) program, where she founded and moderates the Women in STEM and Diversity in STEM series. She also serves as Core Faculty at the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) andAffiliate Faculty at Boston University's Center for Emerging Infectious Disease Policy & Research.
Madad provides advisory expertise to prominent national and global organizations, including the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), the Forum on Microbial Threats at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the World Health Organization’s technical advisory group on responsible life sciences and dual-use research.
Madad has been recognized for her leadership and contributions to health security and infectious disease preparedness. She was named toFortune’s prestigious40 Under 40 list and honored byCrain’s New York Business as one of theMost Notable in Health Care.
Madad was born in the United States. Her family is ofPakistani background.[6] Her mother and father married and then immigrated to the United States from Pakistan; her mother, Rehana Sikandar, was 18 at the time.[5] Madad's interest in public health and infectious disease began at a young age, including after she saw the 1995 filmOutbreak.[5]
In 2008, Madad received aB.S. inPsychology from theUniversity of Maryland, College Park. In 2010, she received amaster's degree inBiotechnology with a concentration in Biodefense and Biosecurity, also from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2014, Madad received anDHSc degree in health science with a concentration in Global Health fromNova Southeastern University.[7]
In 2014, Madad was Lead Continuity of Operations Liaison and State Trainer for the BioThreat and Chemical Threat Teams in the Emergency Preparedness Branch at theTexas Department of State Health Services. In this position she worked in the Ebola and Other Infectious Disease Agent Surge Team in response to a 2014-2015Ebola outbreak in Texas.
During this time, Madad volunteered at the Texas State Medical Operations Center as a Planning and Intelligence Specialist. She also volunteered as Logistics Specialist and Trauma Medical Responder at Sector 7 of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force.
In 2015, Madad was hired as Senior Director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program atNYC Health + Hospitals which oversees 11 public hospitals in the largest municipal healthcare system in the United States.[2]
Madad is responsible for preparingNew York City's municipal hospitals againstinfection diseaseoutbreaks.[8] Part of her role is to run simulations of outbreaks to prepare staff. In these simulations, healthcare workers care for mock patients and practice cutting-edge treatment protocols in a simulated high-risk environment in which the must act quickly.[9] They also practice use ofpersonal protective equipment to ensure they can wear masks, gown, suits, and gloves appropriately if and when the time comes.[8] During her tenure, she has overseen responses toEbola virus disease,Zika fever, andCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Since 2019, Madad has held the position of Principal Investigator of the Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management atNYC Health + Hospitals.[10]
In December 2019, she co-authored anop-ed withJoe Biden advisor's,Ron Klain, which warned against allowing an outbreak preparedness program to expire in May 2020.[11] The program, which was funded in 2015 in response to the Ebola epidemic, equips healthcare facilities and trains frontline medical workers to confront outbreaks of infectious diseases.[12] The funding enabled New York City and other health systems to run more drills, exercises, and collaborative public health protocols. Madad and Klain advocated for Congress to ensure the full network of healthcare institutions remains funded to protect against future outbreaks.[11] Their warning came just months before COVID-19 reached theUnited States.
As theCOVID-19 pandemic was unfolding, Madad emphasized the need to monitor the situation and the available research around the pandemic's trajectory and effective approaches to mitigation.[13] As COVID-19 made its way to New York City, Madad oversaw trainings and simulations to prepare healthcare workers for the coming demands that would be placed on the healthcare system.[12] She accelerated training, ensuring protocols were incorporating the latest procedures recommended by theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials.[8] She also instituted respiratory stations at the entrance of hospitals, which ask incoming patients if they have a fever, cough, or rash to take a mask and sanitize their hands immediately.[12] She provides ongoing support in infectious disease emergency management, and infection prevention and control. In May 2021, her opinion article, "Why Are So Many of My Fellow Health Workers Unvaccinated?" was published inThe New York Times.[14]
Madad is an Emerging Leader in Biosecurity Fellow at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Health Security, previously Senior Fellow in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Informatics & Technological Enterprise Studies Program. Madad is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Federation of American Scientists and part of their COVID-19 Expert Taskforce. From 2009 to the present, Madad has taught at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park's Graduate Program for Biotechnology and Biodefense as an assistant professor.[15]
Madad is on the faculty of theUnited States Department of Health and Human Services's National Emerging Special Pathogen Training and Education Center's (NETEC), formerly called National Ebola Training and Education Center, funded by theOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[citation needed]
On January 24, 2020,Netflix released the documentary seriesPandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak,[16] which followed Madad in her role at the Special Pathogens Program working to prevent an outbreak from occurring and prepare healthcare workers in the event that one does.[17] The film portrays her working to secure funding and preparing personnel in the event of an outbreak.[18][19] The series was filmed in 2019 and was based on the premise that the world is due for another deadly pandemic.[20] Filming preceded thecoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which did not reach Madad's jurisdiction in New York City until March 2020.[12]
Since the release of the series and the emergence of New York City as the worst hit locality of the COVID-19 pandemic, Madad has discussed the outbreak and pandemic preparedness on outlets, such asCNN,[21][22]Fox News,[23]Good Morning America,[24][25]MSNBC,[26] andCNBC.[27][28] She has also worked to combat misinformation, educating the public on appropriate safety measures[29][30][31] and helping them understand what information is actually reliable.[8][32][33]
Madad is married to Ali Madad, an AI designer and creative director. They have four children[5] and live on Long Island.[41] She is a practicingMuslim.[5][42]
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