Conservation International “Disease Detective” Neil Vora Named to TIME's List of 100 Leaders Shaping the Future

ARLINGTON, Va. (Sept. 30, 2025) – TIME today named Conservation International Senior Advisor Neil Vora to the 2025 TIME100 Next list, which highlights 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, health, science and activism, and more. 

Dr. Vora, a physician and epidemiologist, has dedicated his career to preventing pandemics at their source and advancing the connection between human health and the health of nature. He is currently Conservation International’s senior advisor for One Health, tracking the human health benefits of the organization’s efforts to protect and restore nature.

“I’ve spent my career as a ‘disease detective,’ chasing outbreaks across the globe, and one lesson stands out: Our health cannot be separated from the health of the planet. Every step we take to protect nature is also a step to protect ourselves,” Dr. Vora said. “This recognition is not just about me — it reflects a growing understanding that people are a part of nature, not apart from nature. There is no future for humanity without nature.”

Before joining Conservation International, Dr. Vora spent nearly a decade at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he deployed to Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to combat the two largest Ebola outbreaks ever. He has also led investigations into emerging viruses and oversaw New York City’s COVID-19 contact tracing program at the height of the pandemic.

In addition to his role at Conservation International, Dr. Vora serves as executive director of the Preventing Pandemics at the Source Coalition, co-chairs the Lancet Commission on Prevention of Viral Spillover, and continues to practice medicine at a public tuberculosis clinic in New York City. He has published widely in outlets such as The New York Times, Nature and The Lancet. In a 2023 TED Talk, he highlighted how stopping deforestation is essential to preventing future pandemics.

The full list and related tributes appear in the October 13, 2025, issue, available on newsstands on Friday, October 3, and now at time.com/next. 

More on Neil Vora’s work, from Conservation International’s blog:

• Ahead of pandemic talks, this doctor has nature on his mind
• Conservationist prescribes hope in the horror
• Why is biodiversity important?
• In new TED talk, doctor prescribes conservation
• In 'The Last of Us,' a warning for future pandemics
• Protect nature or risk future pandemics, expert warns
  

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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more, and follow our work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.