Global Leadership in Biosecurity

Cindy Friedman, M.D., is a global health leader and physician-epidemiologist with over 30 years of experience designing and leading programs to address some of the world’s most complex infectious disease challenges.

Building the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) Model

At the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), she conceived, developed, and scaled the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program—an international biosurveillance network that integrates traveler-based and aviation wastewater sampling to detect emerging pathogens in near real time.

The program grew from concept to a national platform within three years and has become a model for next-generation biosecurity and early-warning surveillance.

From Government to Global Partnership

Dr. Friedman’s career has centered on developing and leading biosurveillance systems that integrate genomic surveillance, antimicrobial-resistance tracking, and One Health approaches to improve outbreak detection and response.

An alumna of CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), she has responded to diverse public-health challenges around the world—from H. pylori studies in Bolivia and cholera investigations in Cape Verde to humanitarian operations with UNHCR during the West Timor crisis.

She collaborated with federal law enforcement on the 2001 U.S. anthrax bioterrorism investigation and led CDC’s Cruise Ship Task Force during the early COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing the safe return of more than 250,000 passengers and crew.

She later taught applied public health as Adjunct Faculty at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.

Today, through Friedman Global Health & Biosecurity, she partners with government, academic, and industry leaders to strengthen genomic surveillance and pandemic-preparedness programs—spanning initiatives in travel health, environmental surveillance, and biosecurity.

A Guiding Philosophy

Dr. Friedman’s work reflects a single guiding belief: progress in global health demands both scientific rigor and operational agility.

Drawing on her experience in outbreaks and complex emergencies, she champions innovation, speed, and scalable solutions—helping partners move from data to decisions, and from evidence to measurable impact.