Dr Kenneth Staley was appointed to lead the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the largest effort in history to control malaria in Africa and the Greater Mekong region in Asia in April 2018. The PMI is a collaborative US government effort led by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in conjunction with the US Department of Health and Human Services (namely, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the US Department of State, the White House, among others. As coordinator, Dr Staley reports to the USAID administrator and has primary responsibility for the oversight and coordination of all resources and international activities of the US government relating to efforts to combat malaria.

Prior to his PMI appointment, Dr Staley was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he assisted with large public health crisis responses to Ebola and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and also served clients in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries on strategic and operational topics. Prior to joining McKinsey, Dr Staley was an executive at Medtronic, where he led several new Medtronic ventures aimed at expanding access to medical technology in emerging economies. During the George W. Bush administration, Dr Staley served as deputy assistant secretary for Counterproliferation (Acting) in the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. Prior to his work at the US Department of State, he served as director for Biodefense Policy at the White House Homeland Security Council Biodefense Directorate, where he coordinated implementation of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza and development of policies related to biodefense preparedness and response activities for defense against intentional and naturally occurring biological threats.

He earned a Medical degree at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where he also received a distinguished alumni award for early career achievement. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology at Washington University and a master’s degree in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.