Dr. Nancy J. Cox, the world-renowned virologist who revolutionized global influenza surveillance and led the CDC's Influenza Division for nearly a decade, died on April 23, 2026, at the age of 77. Her nearly four-decade career transformed the CDC into a global nerve center for pandemic preparedness and vaccine strain selection. The cause of her death was glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Born in 1949 and raised in the small rural town of Curlew, Iowa, her journey to becoming a guardian of global health began with a Bachelor of Science degree in Bacteriology from Iowa State University in 1970. She was awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge in England, according to a CDC Archive. There, she earned her PhD in Virology in 1975, focusing her dissertation on influenza virus and host interactions.

Cox joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a postdoctoral fellow in 1976. Over a 37-year tenure, she bridged the gap between molecular biology and international policy. Appointed Chief of the Influenza Branch at the CDC in 1992, she oversaw a team that grew from 14 to over 100 staff members. From 1992 to 2014, she also directed the WHO Collaborating Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Control of Influenza at the CDC.

Daniel Jernigan, former Director of the CDC Influenza Division, noted that Cox "was essentially an international influenza diplomat." This unique diplomatic skill was crucial as she scaled her small branch into a global surveillance powerhouse. Her intellectual curiosity fueled her rigorous scientific approach. As she once explained, "When you work with an organism like influenza that's ever changing, you learn something new every year, so it never gets dull."

The year 2006 brought significant recognition for her work on pandemic preparedness. She was named one of the "Time 100: People Who Shape Our World" by Time magazine, recognized as one of Newsweek's "15 People Who Make America Great," and received the Service to America Medal Federal Employee of the Year award. She was also a co-author of The Lancet's "Paper of the Year" in 2006. She served as the Director of the CDC's Influenza Division from 2006 until her retirement in 2014. (NIH PMC)

Her leadership was tested and proven during the global response to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic. She played a pivotal role during this crisis, coordinating international surveillance and vaccine strain selection, as detailed by Discover Magazine.

She was a founding member of the International Society for Influenza and other Respiratory Virus Diseases. Between 2008 and 2017, she served as the Chair and Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council of GISAID. Throughout her career, she published more than 278 scientific papers and book chapters on influenza virology and epidemiology. She was married to Larry Cox for over 50 years. Upon her retirement in 2014, she received the CDC's Lifetime Achievement Award for her 37 years of federal service.

The modern infrastructure of global vaccine selection and pandemic preparedness stood as the house that Nancy Cox built.