Dr. Rick Bright is an international expert in vaccine, therapeutic and diagnostic development.  Most recently, he served as a member of the Biden COVID-19 Advisory Board to provide guidance on pandemic response, including testing, vaccines, therapeutics and supply chain priorities. 

He served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

At BARDA, he oversaw innovation, development and procurement of medical countermeasures against an array of threats to national security and public health, including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases.

Dr. Bright has extensive experience in the biotechnology industry in senior leadership and executive management roles. He has also held scientific leadership roles in international non-governmental organizations where he championed innovative vaccine development and vaccine production capacity expansion in developing countries. He began his career in vaccine and therapeutics development at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For this work, Dr. Bright received the Charles C. Shepard Science Award for Scientific Excellence.   

Dr. Bright serves as an international subject matter expert in biodefense, emergency preparedness and response, vaccine, drug and diagnostics development and has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization and the United States Department of Defense.

Dr. Bright received a Ph.D. in Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis from Emory University and a B.S. magna cum laude in Biology and Physical Sciences from Auburn University at Montgomery.