[3] Prior to the crisis, he was an outspoken critic of the White House's decision to eliminate the Office of Global Health Security at the National Security Council, an office that he created.

[4] Bernard graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, earned an MD from the University of California, Davis, a DTM&H from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, an Epidemic Intelligence Service(EIS) Fellowship from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is board certified in internal medicine.

[5] Bernard began his career as an epidemiologist and disease detective at the Centers for Disease Control From 1998 to 2001, he served on President Clinton's National Security Council (NSC) staff as a Special Adviser for National Security Affairs where he opened the first ever Biodefense and Health Security Office at the White House.

[9] In November 2002, Dr. Bernard was appointed by President George W. Bush to be Special Assistant to the President for Biodefense on the Homeland Security Council (HSC) where he chaired the Whitehouse Biodefense Policy Coordinating committee and drafted Decision Directives for President Bush on both "Biodefense for the 21st Century"[10] and Agricultural Bioterrorism.

[11] He also led the launch of the Project Bioshield Act, a $5.6 billion program for biological defense.