Experts

J. Stephen Morrison

Practitioner Senior Fellow

Fast Facts

  • Senior vice president, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Founder and director, CSIS Global Health Policy Center
  • Director and producer, The New Barbarianism, an award-winning documentary about the surge of violence against the health sector

 

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • World Happenings
  • Domestic Affairs
  • Health
  • Science and Technology

J. Stephen Morrison is a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and directs its Global Health Policy Center. Through several high-level commissions, he has shaped decisions in Congress and the administration on HIV/AIDS, reproductive health and gender equality, and health security, including pandemic preparedness.

Currently, Morrison is working on a series of live studio conversations, "Gaza: The Human Toll," which are a product of the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security.

The CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security is also addressing critical post-Covid challenges. Since 2018, Morrison has led global health security fora at the annual Munich Security Conference. He directed The New Barbarianism, an award-winning documentary on violence against the health sector. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he has directed seven episodes of the CSIS video series Ukraine: The Human Price of War. He cohosts the weekly podcast series The CommonHealth. 

From 2021 to 2023, Morrison served as the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. He is a trustee of the China Medical Board, a member of the board of the Rostropovich Vishnevskaya Foundation, and a member of advisory boards to the International Division at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Humanitarian Health. He served in the Clinton administration on the secretary of state’s policy planning staff and on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa. He taught for 12 years at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, holds a PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale College.

War in Gaza
War in Gaza

J. Stephen Morrison News Feed

CSIS headline
Mpox Outbreak
J. Stephen Morrison, CSIS Senior Vice President and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, joins the podcast to discuss the recent outbreak of a new, deadlier variant of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
J. Stephen Morrison Center for Strategic & International Studies
csis headline
Gaza's Looming Polio Threat—Gaza: The Human Toll
The first case of polio in Gaza has just been confirmed, a 10-month-old child. This is the first case in 25 years.
J. Stephen Morrison Center for Strategic & International Studies
CSIS headline
The Time Is Now for the DOD to Expedite Action on Biosurveillance
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has struggled for years to unify its biosurveillance capabilities, achieving some progress but still falling short. It can fix that vulnerability through sustained, high-level leadership and a concrete, practical action plan to integrate and modernize its assets. These priority steps would improve the readiness of U.S. forces, the capability to detect and respond to biothreats, and the ability to protect Americans. Time, however, is precious, and delays are costly.
J. Stephen Morrison Center for Strategic & International Studies
j stephen morrison speaking
A Conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, M.D.
Dr. Anthony Fauci discusses his memoir with J. Stephen Morrison, CSIS Senior Vice President and Director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center.
J. Stephen Morrison Center for Strategic & International Studies
NYT
How to Overhaul the C.D.C.
Long recognized as the nation’s leading public health institution and widely respected around the world, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently seen its reputation shaken and its performance compromised. As a result, public trust in the institution has eroded‌. Amid that backdrop, we recently conducted an independent and bipartisan investigation of the C.D.C.’s pandemic preparedness and response during the Covid-19 pandemic. And we concluded that the agency needs a serious reset — urgently so. The health and resilience of the country hangs in the balance.
J. Stephen Morrison The New York Times
MC Presents
'Ukraine: The Human Price of War'
At the one-year mark of Russia’s deadly war in Ukraine, the Miller Center partners with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Virginia Film Festival for a screening of Ukraine: The Human Price of War, a series of short documentary films about the war. A panel including humanitarian and military experts from CSIS, a leader from the United States Agency for International Development, and a public health expert joining live from Ukraine together discuss the human consequences of the war for Ukrainians, the direction the conflict is heading, and the prospects for diplomacy moving forward.
J. Stephen Morrison Miller Center Presents