Benjamin Silk, PhD, MPH, has over 20 years of experience in public health surveillance, field epidemiology, and applied research related to infectious disease prevention and control. Dr. Silk began his career in public health as a Peace Corps Volunteer working to improve water and sanitation in El Salvador from 1995 to 1997. He has worked at the state and local levels for health departments in California, Georgia, and Louisiana, and programs ranging from influenza and tuberculosis to viral hepatitis, invasive bacterial disease, and foodborne illness. He received a BS degree in physiology from the University of California, Davis in 1995, an MPH from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2001, and a PhD in epidemiology from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in 2008. In 2010, he completed training as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer assigned to the Respiratory Diseases Branch at CDC.  Currently, Dr. Silk leads molecular epidemiology activities within CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination. He is also a Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service with experience deploying to assist during numerous outbreaks of infectious diseases. 

Areas of expertise: public health surveillance, molecular epidemiology, outbreak investigations, invasive and bacterial pathogens.

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