Intended for healthcare professionals

News Roundup [abridged Versions Appear In The Paper Journal]

New director named for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

BMJ 2002; 325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7355.64/d (Published 06 July 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:64
  1. Fred Charatan,
  2. Fred Charatan
  1. Florida

    Dr Julie Gerberding, aged 46, has been appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, Georgia. She is currently acting principal deputy director of the CDC and played an important role in leading the centres' response to the anthrax bioterrorism attacks last autumn.

    She joined the CDC in 1998 as director of the division of healthcare quality promotion, where she developed the centres' patient safety initiatives and other programmes to prevent infections, antimicrobial resistance, and medical errors in healthcare settings.

    Before joining the CDC, she was director of epidemiology at the San Francisco General Hospital. She pioneered studies on the infection of healthcare workers with AIDS via needlestick injuries.

    Dr Gerberding holds the title of tenured associate professor of medicine (infectious diseases) and epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California in San Francisco. She is also associate clinical professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta. She will be president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America in 2003.

    Her editorial activities have included appointments to the editorial board of Annals of Internal Medicine and associate editor of the American Journal of Medicine. She has been an author or joint author of more than 120 peer reviewed publications and chapters in textbooks.

    The US secretary of health and human services, Tommy Thompson, said on her appointment: “Dr Gerberding knows public health, she knows infectious diseases, and she knows bioterrorism preparedness. She brings the right mix of professional experience and leadership skills to ensure that CDC continues to meet the nation's public health needs.”

    “The events of last fall made clear to all of us that this cannot be a time of business as usual,” Dr Gerberding said. “In a time of rapid change and growing responsibilities, CDC will ensure excellence in public health science, excellence in service to our public health partners, and a sound organisational system to ensure that we fulfil our mission.”