Syra Madad (Urdu: سائرہ مدد, née Sikandar; born October 22, 1986)[1] is an American pathogen preparedness expert and infectious disease epidemiologist.

[5] Madad's interest in public health and infectious disease began at a young age, including after she saw the 1995 film Outbreak.

[9] They also practice use of personal protective equipment to ensure they can wear masks, gown, suits, and gloves appropriately if and when the time comes.

[10] In December 2019, she co-authored an op-ed with Joe Biden advisor's, Ron Klain, which warned against allowing an outbreak preparedness program to expire in May 2020.

[11] The program, which was funded in 2015 in response to the Ebola epidemic, equips healthcare facilities and trains frontline medical workers to confront outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Madad and Klain advocated for Congress to ensure the full network of healthcare institutions remains funded to protect against future outbreaks.

[12] She accelerated training, ensuring protocols were incorporating the latest procedures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials.

[8] She also instituted respiratory stations at the entrance of hospitals, which ask incoming patients if they have a fever, cough, or rash to take a mask and sanitize their hands immediately.

From 2009 to the present, Madad has taught at the University of Maryland, College Park's Graduate Program for Biotechnology and Biodefense as an assistant professor.