Congratulations Dr. Timothy P. Harrison: New OIDP Principal Deputy Director!

Dear Colleagues,

I am proud to announce that Timothy P. Harrison, Ph.D. has been named the Principal Deputy Director of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Tim has provided dedicated leadership during his 19 years of federal service—all of it in OIDP (formerly the Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy (OHAIDP) and the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy (OHAP)). In his new role, Tim will provide leadership and management of OIDP’s broad portfolio, including vaccines and immunization, blood and tissue safety and availability, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), antimicrobial resistance, and OIDP’s five federal advisory committees.

Dr. Harrison previously served as the Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives, a Senior Policy Advisor, and an HIV Team Lead in OIDP. In these roles, Tim provided steadfast leadership and support on a range of programs, policies, and activities in response to the U.S. domestic syndemic of HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections, including the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. He has spent a career forging and maintaining critical relationships with staff from dozens of federal agencies and offices inside and outside of HHS, as well as in the public sector. Most recently, Tim led the successful launch of the I am a Work of ART, a community-informed national campaign designed to encourage people with HIV who are not in care for HIV to seek care, stay in care, and achieve viral suppression by taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). This campaign has been recognized for its innovation, messaging, engagement with local communities, and integration of those with lived experience.

Tim’s primary responsibilities have included management and oversight of the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund (MHAF) and OIDP’s sexually transmitted infections portfolios. His work has focused efforts to reduce infectious disease health disparities and improve health outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities, including sexual minorities among them. He has worked to support, develop, and implement new strategies to increase access to prevention, care, and treatment services for vulnerable communities by addressing social and structural determinants of health, supporting innovation and collaboration, and by prioritizing population and geographic communities disproportionately impacted by HIV. An example of Tim’s leadership in this space is the Anti-Stigma HIV Challenge project, a community-driven collaboration with the Office of Minority Health, to develop innovative approaches to improve pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and antiretroviral therapy (ART) utilization among racial and ethnical minority individuals who are at increased risk for HIV infection or have been diagnosed with HIV.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Harrison has worked to advance the concerns of equity in the social safety net and public health spaces. Prior to joining HHS, he worked as a policy analyst in the areas of low-income housing, welfare, and workforce development. Tim was also previously a Visiting Fellow at the University of Rochester’s Government Department and Frederick Douglass Institute and an Adjunct Professor of Government at Georgetown University. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Political Science from Swarthmore College.

Please join me as I welcome Tim as the Principal Deputy Director of OIDP.

B. Kaye Hayes, MPA
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infectious Disease
Director, Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP)
Executive Director, Presidential Advisory C