The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services,and is headquartered in Atlanta,Georgia.
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services,and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet. The office was formerly known as the secretary of health,education,and welfare. In 1980,the Department of Health,Education,and Welfare was renamed to Department of Health and Human Services,and its education functions and Rehabilitation Services Administration were transferred to the new United States Department of Education. Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.
Julie Louise Gerberding is an American infectious disease expert who was the first woman to serve as the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of May 2022,she is the CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). Gerberding grew up in Estelline,South Dakota,attended Brookings High School,and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Case Western Reserve University. She was the chief medical resident at the University of California,San Francisco where she treated hospitalized AIDS patients in the first years of the epidemic. Gerberding became a nationally-recognized figure during the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States during her tenure as the acting deputy director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases,where she was a prominent spokeswoman for the CDC during daily briefings regarding the attacks and aftermath. Gerberding then served as CDC director from 2002 to 2009,and was then hired as an administrator at Merck.
The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) is a panel of experts that reports to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is tasked with recommending policies on such questions as how to prevent published research in biotechnology from aiding terrorism,without slowing scientific progress.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is an operating agency of the U.S. Public Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on preventing,preparing for,and responding to the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters. Its functions include preparedness planning and response;building federal emergency medical operational capabilities;countermeasures research,advance development,and procurement;and grants to strengthen the capabilities of hospitals and health care systems in public health emergencies and medical disasters. The office provides federal support,including medical professionals through ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System,to augment state and local capabilities during an emergency or disaster.
On December 19,2006,the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA),Public Law No. 109-417,was signed into law by President George W. Bush. First introduced in the House by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA),PAHPA had broad implications for the United States Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) preparedness and response activities. Among other things,the act amended the Public Health Service Act to establish within the department a new Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR);provided new authorities for a number of programs,including the advanced development and acquisitions of medical countermeasures;and called for the establishment of a quadrennial National Health Security Strategy.
Anne Schuchat is an American medical doctor. She is a former rear admiral and assistant surgeon general in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She also served as the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In May 2021,Schuchat stepped down from her post.
The Federal Medical-Biological Agency is the national public health institute of the Russian Federation. The agency is a federal agency under the Government of Russia and is headquartered in Volokolamsk Highway,in Moscow.
Stephen C. Redd is a U.S. physician and rear admiral with the U.S. Public Health Service and an Assistant Surgeon General. With over 30 years of public health and executive leadership experience,Redd served as the Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previously,he was the Director of the CDC's Influenza Coordination Unit,where he served as the incident commander for the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic influenza response.
Brenda Fitzgerald is an American obstetrician-gynecologist who served as the 17th Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Donald Trump administration from July 2017 to January 2018. Her tenure was one of the shortest in the office's history,excluding interim appointments. Previously,she was the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health from 2011 to 2017.
Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency,formerly Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,is an organization under the South Korean Ministry of Welfare and Health that is responsible for the advancement of public health by managing prevention,survey,quarantine,trial,and research on infectious diseases,chronic and rare illnesses and injuries. It was founded in December 2003 and is located in Osong Health Technology Administration Complex in Cheongju. The organization is led by the vice-ministerial-level Commissioner of KDCA.
Syra Madad is an American pathogen preparedness expert and infectious disease epidemiologist. Madad is the Senior Director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program at NYC Health + Hospitals where she is part of the executive leadership team which oversees New York City's response to the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the city's 11 public hospitals. She was featured in the Netflix documentary series Pandemic:How to Prevent an Outbreak and the Discovery Channel documentary The Vaccine:Conquering COVID.
Jodi Beth Black is an American microbiologist and research administrator serving as deputy director of the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health. She was previously the director and vice president of research administration at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and the acting director of the division of extramural activities at the National Heart,Lung,and Blood Institute.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is a public health agency of the African Union to support the public health initiatives of member states and strengthen the capacity of their health institutions to deal with disease threats. The idea of an African CDC was proposed by the government of Ethiopia in 2013,during a TB/HIV special summit in Abuja,Nigeria. From 2013 to 2016,the modalities and statute of Africa CDC were developed,and the specialized agency was officially launched in January 2017.
Stacey Angela Dixon is an American mechanical engineer and intelligence official and Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence in the Biden Administration since August 4,2021. According to Politico,she was selected to serve as acting Director of National Intelligence succeeding Avril Haines,after President Trump was sworn in during his second inauguration on January 20,2025.
Dr. Debra Houry is an American physician. She is the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She previously served as the acting Principal Deputy Director (2021-2023) and the Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2014-2021).
Tara A. Schwetz is an American biophysicist and government administrator who serves as a deputy director of the National Institutes of Health. She previously served as Acting Principal Deputy Director.
Kayla F. Laserson is an American epidemiologist serving as the director of the Global Health Center at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since July 2023. She was previously the deputy director for Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Delivery,India Office of the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation. Laserson served as a commander in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps until 2007.
Since 1980,the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been organized around constituent centers,institutes,and offices (CIOs). Five centers were created in 1980,which was reflected in CDC's contemporaneous name change from the singular "Center" to plural "Centers". The current centers are descended from these five,with the exception of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and National Center for Health Statistics,which were absorbed from outside CDC and have much longer histories.
