Dr. Kerr is the Senior Bio Advisor to the Director of the National Counterproliferation Center (NCPC) within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). As a Senior Intelligence officer, Dr. Kerr advises the Director of NCPC on strategic plans to prevent and counter the spread of biological weapons of mass destruction in support of the National Intelligence Strategy. 

Before joining NCPC in April 2006, he was Director for Biodefense Policy with the White House Homeland Security Council in the Executive Office of the President (EOP). He served as Assistant Director for Homeland Security for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and as Director of Bioterrorism, Research and Development for the Office of Homeland Security in the EOP. Dr. Kerr joined the Life Sciences division of OSTP in January 2001 where he came from his position as Chief of Transplantation, Transplantation and Immunology Branch at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Prior to his work at the NIH, Dr. Kerr worked in science and healthcare policy for Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on the health subunit of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 106th Congress. As a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow, he staffed the Senator on a variety of legislative affairs including: NIH reauthorization; medical device coding for Medicare reimbursement; radiation exposure compensation litigation; interagency coordination of counter-bioterrorism efforts; traumatic brain injury act, pediatric AIDS, and Ryan White CARE reauthorization.

In his capacity at OSTP, Dr. Kerr advised the Director in a variety of science and healthcare issues including: interagency coordination of chem/bio anti-terrorism technologies, infectious disease topics (HIV/AIDS, foot and mouth disease, etc.), cloning, embryonic and adult stem cell biology, and he administered the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. As Director of Bioterrorism, R&D, Dr. Kerr advised the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security in identifying and fostering policies to meet national objectives.

Dr. Kerr led and participated in the development of short- and long-range policies including the president’s National Strategy on Homeland Security, the National Biodefense Strategy (HSPD-10), the Biosecurity Initiative, and most recently the National Strategy for Avian and Pandemic Influenza. He interfaced with senior officials and staffs of the White House, the Congress, the federal departments and agencies, and individuals from private industry and the academic community on counter-terrorism programs.
As an Assistant Professor in Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville, TN, Dr. Kerr ran a basic science laboratory devoted to the study of the transcriptional regulation of gene products involved in HIV replication and breast cancer development. He lectures at the national and international levels and has received awards for teaching excellence.

He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, reviews and book chapters. He holds a BS in Biology and Art History from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. Dr. Kerr completed his PhD in Cell Biology from Vanderbilt University in 1990 and undertook his post-doctoral work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, CA. Dr. Kerr is currently an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC.

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