HHS Reportedly Submits Two Names for New Director of CDC; Both Candidates Involved in HIV/AIDS Research
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson last week reportedly submitted to the White House the names of two candidates to fill the position of director of the CDC, which has been vacant since Dr. Jeffrey Koplan resigned March 31, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. One candidate, Dr. Julie Gerberding, is the CDC's acting deputy director for science and is the "lead contender" for the position, according to not-for-profit and scientific public health groups. Gerberding, who would be the first female to head the agency, started at the CDC in 1998 after leading a project at the University of California-San Francisco designed to prevent HIV infection in health care workers (McKenna, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/29). According to the AP/Nando Times, Gerberding was "one of CDC's most quoted, unflappable investigators" after last year's anthrax attacks (Neergaard, AP/Nando Times, 6/28). The other candidate, Dr. Robert Redfield, is a career Army physician who was one of the military's chief AIDS researchers and now works at the University of Maryland's Institute of Human Virology. Redfield is a "longtime colleague" of Dr. Robert Gallo, who co-discovered HIV and founded the institute (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/29). Redfield's candidacy surprised public health and AIDS groups in part because he is "known for his search for AIDS treatments, not for prevention," the AP/Nando Times reports. HHS plans to announce a new director "very soon," agency officials said (AP/Nando Times, 6/28).
Other Candidates
The Washington Post today profiles three other "top candidates" for the CDC position, including the following:
- David Fleming: Fleming is the CDC's acting director and "played a key role in decision-making" during last year's anthrax attacks and subsequent investigations, the Post reports. He began his public health career at the CDC and returned to the agency in 2000 after serving as director of Oregon's Center for Disease Prevention and Epidemiology.
- Antonia Novello: Novello is New York state's commissioner of health and served as U.S. surgeon general from 1990 to 1993, during which time she focused on women's, children's and minority health, underage drinking, smoking cessation and HIV/AIDS prevention. She has held positions at NIH and is a kidney specialist and a pediatrician.
- Ed Thompson: Thompson is a Mississippi health officer, a public health physician and the former president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers. Thompson supports "expanding CDC's capacity to monitor chronic diseases and their potential links to environmental exposures," the Post reports (Okie, Washington Post, 7/1).