Deborah Levy, PhD 97, MPH
Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology
College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
Dr. Levy has been a Professor of Epidemiology at the College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center since 2016. She chaired the Department of Epidemiology from 2016 to 2020, strengthening the curriculum and launching the DrPH program with concentrations in Epidemiology and Preparedness. She served as Co-Director of the Center for Preparedness and Emergency Response Solutions from 2020-2023. During the coronavirus pandemic, she focused her efforts on assisting nursing homes and critical access hospitals to manage and improve their responses to the pandemic. She has trained practicing nurses on psychological first aid using the ECHO Model to prevent burnout and increase retention.
Dr. Levy is a retired Captain with the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and was stationed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 20 years. Her career at CDC began in 1996 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the Division of Parasitic Diseases where she studied foodborne diseases such as Cyclosporiasis and oversaw the National Waterborne Diseases Outbreak Surveillance System. Leading the Healthcare Preparedness Activity in the Division of State and Local Readiness—a program she developed beginning in 2003 while in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion—she focused on all-hazards preparedness and emergency response of the healthcare system. Her team worked with communities to integrate planning of the public health, healthcare, emergency medical services, and emergency management sectors to improve responses to public health emergencies. Among other roles, she served as Acting Director of the Division of Strategic National Stockpile for over a year. Throughout her time at CDC, she responded to many incidents including SARS, Hurricane Katrina, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, MERS, Ebola, and Zika.
Dr. Levy earned a B.A. in psychology and a master's of public health in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is the recipient of over 20 USPHS awards, and earned the Distinguished Alumna Award from Johns Hopkins for her work in epidemiology.