Executive Leadership & Expert Bios

Robert Quick, MD, MPH

Medical Epidemiologist, Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch

Robert Quick, MD, MPH, is a medical epidemiologist in the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 1980, he has worked at CDC, conducting research on the etiology, control, and prevention of enteric diseases in the developing world. His work on cholera in Latin America and Africa revealed the seriousness and extent of the problem of lack of access to safe water and sanitation in the developing world and inspired a research focus on waterborne diseases and their prevention.

With colleagues at CDC and the Pan American Health Organization, he developed the Safe Water System, a simple, inexpensive household based water quality intervention, and has conducted field trials in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to establish the evidence base regarding its use and dissemination (www.cdc.gov/safewater).

He has collaborated with numerous partners from the public and private sectors, Rotary, NGOs, UN agencies, and academic institutions to implement and evaluate the Safe Water System and other water and hygiene interventions in vulnerable populations in the developing world, including people living with HIV/AIDS.

He received his medical training at the University of California, San Francisco, obtained an MPH from the University of California, Berkeley, completed residencies in family practice and preventive medicine, and worked as medical director and clinician at the Indian Health Service hospital in Bethel, Alaska.

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