Julia MacKenzie is the Senior Director of International Affairs and Science Diplomacy for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She leads development and expansion of bilateral and multilateral relationships for AAAS and advises on a range of domestic and foreign policies that affect international science or scientists. Julia also oversees a portfolio of programs that advance the practice of science diplomacy. 

Prior to AAAS, she was the Senior Technical Advisor within the Office of Research and Science at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. There, she coordinated and oversaw a diverse research portfolio for PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), including three large multi-national randomized controlled trials in Africa. She also served as the Designated Federal Officer for the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board, an independent FACA-chartered advisory group to PEPFAR.  

An expert in infectious diseases, her scientific career included research on HIV immunopathology, herpes simplex viral entry, and the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. She received her doctorate degree in immunology and microbial pathogenesis at Northwestern University as well as a master’s in public health.