Keiji Fukuda

The native form of this personal name is Fukuda Keiji. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Keiji Fukuda
福田 敬二
Born	1955[1] Tokyo, Japan
Nationality	American
Education	Oberlin College (BA) University of Vermont (MD) University of California, Berkeley (MPH)
Known for	Influenza research
Spouse	Holly Fukuda[2]
Children	2[4]
Parent(s)	David Minoru Fukuda Michiko Fukuda[3]
Scientific career
Fields	Epidemiology
Institutions	University of Hong Kong World Health Organization Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Keiji Fukuda (福田 敬二, Fukuda Keiji, born 1955)^[1] is a Japanese-American physician and epidemiologist, specializing in influenza epidemiology. He was an Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2009 to 2016,^[5] and the Director of the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) between 2017^[6] and 2021.^[7]

Early life and education

Fukuda was born in Tokyo, Japan,^[8] to a physician family.^[9] His parents were physicians; his father, David Minoru Fukuda, was an anesthesiologist and his mother, Michiko Fukuda (née Nakamura) was an obstetrician-gynecologist, although she did not practice in the United States.^[3] The Fukudas immigrated from Japan to Vermont in 1955, and the senior Fukuda started practicing anesthesiology in Barre, Vermont, in 1957.^[10] Fukuda's mother passed away in 1993 and his father in 2006.^[3] Fukuda's older sister, Mariko, is a teacher and his younger brother, Christopher, is a urologist.^[11]

At the urging of one of his high school teachers, Fukuda went to Oberlin College in 1973 for undergraduate studies, finishing in 1978.^[5][9] Initially reluctant to follow in the family footsteps and hoping to become a filmmaker, he eventually pursued medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine (now Robert Larner College of Medicine),^[9] obtaining his MD degree in 1984.^[5]

He stayed in Tamil Nadu in South India for 6 months between his second and third year at medical school, working with indigenous tribes. It confirmed his interest in international medicine. He next completed his internal medicine residency and then a chief residency at Mount Zion Hospital (now part of the UCSF Medical Center) in San Francisco.^[9] Fukuda entered the University of California, Berkeley in 1988 and obtained a Master of Public Health (MPH) in epidemiology 1 year later.^[5]

Career

External videos
Speech by Keiji Fukuda at "Breaking Through Influenza Information Walls" by GISAID, Bonn, Germany, 2011[12]
Interview with Keiji Fukuda: H7N9 virus 'one of the most lethal so far', CNN, 2013[13]
Interview with Keiji Fukuda: Ebola response needs to "scale up", CBS News, 2015[14]

After completing his MPH, Fukuda worked in San Francisco Bay Area in clinics that focus on leprosy and tuberculosis, and then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he spent 2 years studying in the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).^[9]

Fukuda joined the Viral Exanthems and Herpesvirus Branch at CDC after finishing the EIS program.^[5][15] Because of the idea that chronic fatigue syndrome was related to chronic infections of herpesvirus, this group was also responsible for this disease.^[9] In 1994, Fukuda led a committee that revised the definition of the disease,^[16][17] which has since become the most widely used clinical and research definition of the illness.^[18]

In 1996, Fukuda became the chief of the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch at the CDC Influenza Division, after the Division approached him.^[9][19] In this position, he has led investigations into outbreaks of avian flu, including the one in 1997^[20] in Hong Kong and another in 2004 in Vietnam.^[9] He was on the WHO expert panel investigating the 2003 SARS outbreak in China.^[21][22]

Fukuda joined the WHO in 2005 and became a scientist at the Global Influenza Program, and was promoted to coordinator in 2006 and director in 2008.^[5] In March 2009, Fukuda was appointed WHO Assistant Director-General ad interim for Health Security and Environment.^[23] The media referred to him as the WHO "flu chief" during the 2009 swine flu pandemic,^[24][25] when he was the face of the WHO to the media.^[26][27][28] He admitted the communication from the WHO during the pandemic was inadequate.^[29] He was also the Special Adviser on Pandemic Influenza to the Director-General throughout the pandemic, from October 2009 to August 2010.^[30]

Fukuda officially became the Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment in 2010, until 2015 when he switched to the role of Assistant Director-General and Special Representative of the Director General for Antimicrobial Resistance.^[5][31]

In December 2016, Fukuda joined the School of Public Health at Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, as clinical professor,^[5][6] and also took up the position of School Director the next year.^[6] During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was one of four government advisors^[32] and often gave global and local media interviews.^[4][33][34]

In October 2020, HKU reportedly would not renew his contract after it expired at the end of 2021,^[8][35] citing Fukuda's age has passed the university retirement age of 60.^[8] However, there were news that Fukuda has passed university's academic review, but the President and Vice-chancellor Xiang Zhang vetoed the renewal, as he did not meet the requirement of "top academic achievement".^[36][37][38] He left the government COVID-19 expert panel on December 1,^[39][40] and HKU on December 8, 2021,^[4][41] moving back to Atlanta, Georgia for retirement.^[2][42]

Personal life

Fukuda backpacked for nine months after his second year at the University of Vermont, traveling across Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe. He realized his love for traveling, and for "actually [doing] something", instead of simply being a tourist.^[9] Fukuda was married in 1990.^[3] He and his wife, Holly,^[2] have 2 daughters.^[4]

References

1. Reynolds, Gretchen (November 7, 2004). "The Flu Hunters". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved February 9, 2022. ... At 49, Fukuda, the top influenza epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ...
2. "Dean's Speech: State of the Faculty Address 2021". Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
3. Barwood, Judeen (2012). "Fukuda Family Papers" (PDF). Vermont Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
4. Cheung, Elizabeth (December 5, 2021). "Hong Kong's 'zero-Covid' strategy will not work in long term, city needs to switch to living with virus, says top epidemiologist". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
5. "Keiji Fukuda". ORCID. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
6. "Fukuda, Keiji". University of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
7. "I leave HK with pride: Keiji Fukuda". RTHK. December 6, 2021. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
8. Cheng, Lilian (October 7, 2020). "Government Covid-19 adviser Keiji Fukuda to leave University of Hong Kong's public health school in late 2021 after contract not renewed: sources". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
9. Pasanen, Melissa (2005). "Walking the Tightrope". Vermont Medicine. Burlington, Vermont: Robert Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
10. "In Memoriam" (PDF). UVM Anesthesia News. Burlington, Vermont: Robert Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
11. "Dr. David M. Fukuda". Barre Montpelier Times Argus. August 10, 2006. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
12. "Breaking Through Influenza Information Walls" (PDF). Grenzüberschreitende Integrierte Qualitätssicherung e.V. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
13. Shadbolt, Peter (April 26, 2013). "WHO: H7N9 virus 'one of the most lethal so far'". CNN. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
14. "Ebola response needs to "scale up," World Health Organization official says". CBS News. August 10, 2014. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
15. "Keiji Fukuda". Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
16. Fukuda, Keiji; Straus, Stephen E.; Hickie, Ian; Sharpe, Michael C.; Dobbins, James G.; Komaroff, Anthony; International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Study Group (1994). "The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Comprehensive Approach to Its Definition and Study". Annals of Internal Medicine. 121 (12): 953–959. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-121-12-199412150-00009. PMID 7978722. S2CID 510735. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
17. Brody, Jane E. (December 21, 1994). "Clearing Up Confusion on Fatigue Syndrome". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
18. Afari, Niloofar; Buchwald, Debra (2003). "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Review". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 160 (2): 221–236. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.2.221. PMID 12562565. S2CID 8210151. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022.
19. Fukuda, Keiji; Colmey, John (January 12, 1998). ""This is Serious"". Time. Vol. 151, no. 1. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000.
20. Richburg, Keith B. (December 28, 1997). "'Bird Flu' Origin, How It Spreads Remain Mysteries". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
21. "Professor Fukuda, Keiji 福田敬二 - Biography". University of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
22. Lev, Michael A. (May 18, 2003). "Man who blew lid off SARS kept under wraps". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
23. "Keiji Fukuda". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
24. Jordans, Frank (July 24, 2009). "Pandemic still in early stages: WHO flu chief". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
25. "Swine flu epidemic still spreading, says WHO". Irish Examiner. May 5, 2009. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022. ... The World Health Organisation began to ship 2.4 million treatments ..., and its flu chief said the swine flu epidemic was still spreading.
26. "Five new UK flu cases confirmed". BBC. April 28, 2009. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
27. "Transcript of Virtual Press conference with Dr Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General ad. Interim for Health Security and Environment World Health Organization" (PDF). World Health Organization. April 27, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
28. O'Regan, Eilish (June 12, 2009). "'No increased risk' after declaration of swine flu pandemic". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
29. Nebehay, Stephanie (April 12, 2010). "WHO admits shortcomings in handling flu pandemic". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
30. "Introduction to the World Health Assembly: A Briefing for New Delegates - KEIJI FUKUDA" (PDF). Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
31. Zhao, Ruinan (March 11, 2020). "Bio of Keiji Fukuda" (PDF). China Daily. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
32. "Expert Opinion". Government of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
33. Wang, Vivian (March 6, 2020). "As Death Toll Mounts, Governments Point Fingers Over Coronavirus". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
34. Uehara, Akiko (May 21, 2021). "WHO has no means to impose multilateral response to pandemics". Swissinfo. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
35. Lau, Joyce (October 23, 2020). "Departure of COVID-19 Expert Raises Questions About Retirement Rules". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
36. Hui, Sophie (October 8, 2020). "Disease expert's contract blow called loss for HK". The Standard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
37. 陳, 倩婷 (October 7, 2020). "抗疫專家福田敬二不獲港大公共衞生學院續約 消息：不符頂尖要求". HK01 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
38. "抗疫專家福田敬二傳不獲續約 港大：不評論個別人事個案". Sing Tao Daily (in Chinese). October 7, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
39. "CE thanks Professor Keiji Fukuda for his contributions in anti-epidemic works" (Press release). Hong Kong: Government of Hong Kong. November 25, 2021. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
40. "政府專家顧問福田敬二12月1日退任 年底離港大返美退休 林鄭月娥感謝其貢獻". Ming Pao (in Chinese). November 25, 2021. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
41. "福田敬二周三離任港大 驚訝被拒續約". Singtao Daily (in Chinese). December 6, 2021. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
42. "消息：福田敬二 12 月港大完約後將離港 赴美退休 本港失抗疫專家顧問". Stand News (in Chinese). September 29, 2021. Archived from the original on December 29, 2021.

External links

• Profile of Keiji Fukuda at the World Health Organization
• Appearances on C-SPAN (Archived February 6, 2022, at the Wayback Machine)