Michael Osterholm was born in Waukon, Iowa, the son of a newspaper photographer. According to Osterholm, his father was a physically abusive alcoholic. Osterholm graduated in 1975 with a B.A. in biology and political science from Luther College. Osterholm received his M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental health, and his M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota.
Career
From 1975 to 1999, Osterholm served in various roles at the Minnesota Department of Health, including as state epidemiologist and Chief of the Acute Disease Epidemiology Section from 1984 to 1999. While at the MDH, Osterholm strengthened the department's role in infectious disease epidemiology, notably including numerous foodborne disease outbreaks, the association between tampons and toxic shock syndrome, and the transmission of hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus in healthcare workers. Other work included studies regarding the epidemiology of infectious diseases in child-care settings, vaccine-preventable diseases, Lyme disease, and other emerging and re-emerging infections. From 2001 through early 2005, Osterholm, in addition to his role at CIDRAP, served as a Special Advisor to then–Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson on issues related to bioterrorism and public health preparedness. In April 2002, Osterholm was appointed to the interim management team to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, until the eventual appointment of Julie Gerberding as director in July 2002. Osterholm was asked by Thompson to assist Gerberding on his behalf during the transition period. He filled that role through January 2003. Osterholm was appointed by Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the HHS, to the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity in 2005. Osterholm is a frequently invited guest lecturer on the topic of epidemiology of infectious diseases. He serves on the editorial boards of nine journals, including Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and Microbial Drug Resistance: Mechanisms, Epidemiology and Disease, and he is a reviewer for 24 additional journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Science. In March 2020, he appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. Osterholm was the principal investigator and director of the National Institutes of Health -supported Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance and chaired the Executive Committee of the Centers of Excellence Influenza Research and Surveillance network. He is past president of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and has served on the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases Board of Scientific Counselors from 1992 to 1997. Osterholm served on the Institute of Medicine Forum on Microbial Threats from 1994 through 2011. He has served on the IOM Committee on Emerging Microbial Threats to Health in the 21st Century and the IOM Committee on Food Safety, Production to Consumption, and he was a reviewer for the IOM Report on Chemical and Biological Terrorism. As a member of the American Society for Microbiology, Osterholm has served on the Committee on Biomedical Research of the Public and Scientific Affairs Board, the Task Force on Biological Weapons, and the Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance. He is a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization, the NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Defense, and the CDC. He is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the IDSA.
Biosecurity
Osterholm has been particularly outspoken on the lack of international preparedness for an influenzapandemic. Osterholm has also been an international leader against the use of biological agents as weapons targeted toward civilians. In that role, he served as a personal advisor to the late King Hussein of Jordan. Under Osterholm's leadership, CIDRAP has served as a partner in the Department of Homeland Security's BioWatch program since 2003.
Books and other publications
In March 2017, Osterholm and Mark Olshaker published the critically acclaimed . Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone, writes of the book: " looks at the threat of emerging diseases with clarity and realism, and offers us not just fear but plans." In April 2017, MinnPost published a two-part interview with Osterholm about the book. His invited papers in the journals Foreign Affairs, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Nature detailed the threat of an influenza pandemic before the 2009–10 pandemic and the steps we must take to better prepare for such events. Osterholm has also published multiple commentaries in The New York Times, most recently on the repercussions of reductions in funding for research and vaccine development, and how this affects our ability to respond to new infectious disease threats. Osterholm is the author of more than 315 papers and abstracts, including 21 book chapters.
