Aaron J. Kowalski, PhD

As President and CEO of JDRF, a global leader in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy, Dr. Kowalski drives strategies to accelerate progress toward cures and turn breakthroughs into technologies and therapies that help people stay healthy until then.

Dr. Kowalski’s scientific expertise, his personal experience of living with T1D for over 35 years, and his ability to engage the T1D community enable him to advance JDRF’s mission to cure, prevent, and treat T1D and its complications.

Dr. Kowalski has authored numerous articles on T1D research that are improving standards of care, including his artificial pancreas roadmap, which was adopted by the diabetes industry to significantly accelerate the delivery of the first commercial systems, and the landmark JDRF CGM Trial in the New England Journal of Medicine, which opened up access to continuous glucose monitoring through insurance coverage.

Dr. Kowalski has also served as a policy leader for JDRF, regularly advising members of Congress and leaders of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure access to T1D therapies and regulatory frameworks that promote innovation. He is a champion for coverage, affordability, and choice of therapies, advocating for life-saving treatment options and expanded access to help people with T1D stay healthy until we have a cure.

Dr. Kowalski has been married to his wife Michele, a high school biology teacher, for nearly 25 years and they have three children. He earned his doctorate in microbiology and molecular genetics from Rutgers University.