Dr. Kayla Laserson SM, ScD is the Gates Foundation India Country Office Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Delivery. Her focus areas include TB, visceral leishmania, lymphatic filariasis and vaccine delivery.  Since March, she has been leading the COVID-19 response for the India BMGF office.

Prior to starting her role at the foundation, she was the CDC India Country Director for 6 years, based in Delhi. In this role, Dr. Laserson oversaw CDC’s platform in India, provided technical assistance to support India’s developing role in Global Health Security, oversaw partnerships and collaborations with the Government of India, and directed CDC’s scientific strategy in India. Dr. Laserson previously served as the CDC Resident Advisor of the India Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Program, based in New Delhi.

From 2006-2013, Dr. Laserson was the Director of the KEMRI/CDC Research and Public Health Collaboration in Kisumu, Kenya, where she oversaw a comprehensive research platform in HIV, malaria, tuberculosis (TB), emerging infectious diseases, demographic surveillance, and programmatic service delivery of HIV care, treatment and prevention programs. Prior to her work in Kenya, Dr. Laserson worked in CDC’s Division of TB Elimination (DTBE), starting her career at CDC as an EIS officer in the same Division. Dr. Laserson received her Bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and her Doctorate of Science from Harvard School of Public Health in infectious disease epidemiology, concentrating on malaria molecular epidemiology. Dr. Laserson has worked extensively in Mexico, Brazil, Kenya, Russia, Latvia, Vietnam, and India and has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles.