She has an extensive background in public health, obtaining her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master in Immunology and Infectious disease from The Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Hensley has spent the last 25 years developing and characterizing animal models for high-consequence and emerging pathogens including Ebola and Marburg, SARs, MERs, Variola, mpox (formerly monkeypox) and other viruses. She has used these models in to develop, evaluate and help advance candidate countermeasures: therapeutics, post-exposure prophylaxes, vaccines, and diagnostics, to improve our nations and global health. Beyond the confines of the maximum containment laboratory, Dr. Hensley has worked in West and Central Africa and elsewhere establishing research laboratories to respond to outbreaks and allow for the conduct of clinical trials in low-resource environments. She is considered one of the world’s leading subject matter experts on emerging diseases and high-consequence pathogens. She is one of the few scientists with experience in the development of medical countermeasures from discovery, to pre-clinical evaluation and through clinical trials. Dr. Hensley has authored over 250 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters and is a holder of multiple patents.