Jean-Paul Joseph Gonzalez graduated as MD (Internal Medicine) from the Medical School of Bordeaux University, France. He did his French National Duty at the Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Tunisia (National Biosurveillance), and earned a Ph.D. in Virology (Molecular Biology and Genetics) from the Faculty of Sciences of Clermont-Auvergne University, France.
After his internship at the remote Teaching Hospital of Saint Laurent du Maroni in French Amazonian Guiana, he spends a carrier as a medical practitioner and researcher out of the French Metropolitan territory. Thus, he works for the Pasteur Institute International Network and the French Institute of Research for Development implementing research, training and expertise for developing countries across Americas, Africa and Asia.
As a research director of both organisations, he has led field and laboratory teams of researchers from several partner institutions of different countries, including Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Senegal, Thailand, Laos, among others. He earned a fellowship (Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers) of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta; Fort Collins), and, was invited as a visiting professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Medical School of Yale University (Yale Arbovirus Research Unit).
His main fields of research and expertise encompass the understanding fundamentals and domains of disease emergence, viral disease eco-epidemiology, biosafety, biosecurity and biosurveillance. Mainly, he and his teams identified new human and animal pathogens, developed tools and strategies for biosurveillance, control and prevention of highly pathogenic infectious disease, revisited the spread and dynamics of viral haemorrhagic fevers in Africa and Asia. Also, as an operative in the field of epidemic response and control, he worked with his partners to train national health workers (e.g.: Nigeria, Uganda), developed vaccine clinical trials (e.g. Rift Valley haemorrhagic fever in Senegal; Dengue in Thailand) and, respond to outbreaks (e.g. Ebola Virus Disease in Sierra Leone).
He developed several scientific concepts (e.g.: long term co-evolution of germs and hosts) and, research strategies for public health (e.g.: Telemedicine and limited access to health; The central role of subclinical infection of endemic pathogens). As Global Health expert, he belongs to several institutional advising board worldwide.
From 2017 to 2109, Doctor Gonzalez was appointed at Kansas State University as a Deputy Director of the Centre of Excellence for Emerging Zoonosis and Animal Diseases, perpetuating is engagement on One Health approach where he worked extensively on zoonotic diseases and food security.
On August 2019 he has been appointed at Adjunct professor at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Division of Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, School of Medicine, Georgetown University.
Dr. Gonzalez continues to teach and mentor students and scientists at Georgetown University on public health policy with a focus on the importance of systems (biotic and abiotic, social and economic) and multiple and changing environments.
He published more than 300 peer reviewed scientific manuscripts, book chapters and books (accessible through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI/PubMed).