Karl Ekdahl

Karl Ekdahl has a diverse work experience in the field of public health, communication, and infectious disease prevention and control. Karl has held various leadership roles at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), including Head of Disease Programmes and Head of Public Health Capacity and Communication. In these roles, they contributed to strengthening European capacities in communicable diseases prevention and control, as well as leading communication efforts and coordinating international cooperation. Prior to their work at ECDC, Karl Ekdahl served as the Deputy State Epidemiologist for Sweden and Chief physician at the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI). Additionally, they have been involved in academia as a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet and has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Eurosurveillance, a journal focused on infectious disease surveillance and prevention. Karl Ekdahl also maintains a creativity blog, where they share their thoughts and tips on problem-solving, leadership, and personal development.

Karl Ekdahl pursued a diploma in Medicine from Gullstrandskolan during the period of 1975 to 1979. In 1976 to 1977, they also obtained a diploma from Hingham High School. Later, from 1981 to 1986, they attended Lund University to earn their MD degree in the field of Medicine. Following this, in 1993, Karl completed a short course at Prince Mahidol University, specializing in Tropical Medicine and attained a degree named DTM&H. Lastly, from 2002 to 2004, they attended the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, where they obtained an MSc degree in Epidemiology.