Press Release

CDC Director Announces New Center Directors

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding announced today new directors for four of the agency’s national centers, including the newly created National Center for Health Marketing.

"I am excited about the leadership team we are assembling at CDC. These individuals are leading scientists in their fields and will strengthen our scientific foundation on all fronts. With their unique skills and abilities, the agency is certainly in good hands and in terrific position to meet the daily challenges to protect the nation’s health," Dr. Gerberding said.

The announcement of these key positions marks another important step forward in the transformation to a "new CDC" that began two years ago. Since that time, CDC has worked with hundreds of employees, other agencies and organizations to strengthen the agency and prepare for the public health challenges ranging from SARS and pandemic flu to obesity and traumatic brain injury. Two months ago, Congress accepted CDC’s new strategic orientation, which includes the creation of four new coordinating centers and two national offices.

The new directors announced today include Jay Bernhardt, PhD, as director of the National Center for Health Marketing (NCHM), one of two new national centers created during the reorganization. Dr. Bernhardt is the Founding Director of the Center for Public Health Communication and an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Before coming to Emory, he was an Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Behavior at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Building CDC’s capacity for health marketing is a key strategic imperative. A health marketer well respected in the marketing field and a leader in web-based health communication, Dr. Bernhardt will help expand CDC’s influence in shaping the way its vital health protection information reaches the public.

"Dr. Bernhardt’s outstanding knowledge and experience in health communications, e-health, consumer research, and mentoring of health professionals will make him an invaluable addition to CDC," Dr. Gerberding said.

In a second announcement, Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H., was named director of the National Center for Environmental Health. Dr. Frumkin is Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, and Professor of Medicine at Emory Medical School, in Atlanta. He is an internist, environmental and occupational medicine specialist, and epidemiologist. He founded the Environmental and Occupational Medicine Consultation Clinic at The Emory Clinic and directed it from 1991 to 2000.

"We’re privileged to have Dr. Frumkin move down the street from Emory to CDC. We have a long and rich history of successful collaborations with Dr. Frumkin, who as a world renowned leader in environmental health, will serve our country well," Dr. Gerberding said.

In addition, Janet Collins, PhD, was named director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). Dr. Collins previously served as the Acting Director for the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention where she worked closely on the integration of that center into the Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases. She is a behavioral scientist with a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Stanford University and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from San Diego State University.

"Dr. Collin’s wealth of knowledge and experience at CDC are invaluable for this key position charged with battling some of our nation’s biggest health challenges including obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions," Dr. Gerberding noted.

Filling the position of the director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control is Ileana Arias, PhD, who has been acting director at the center since June 2004. Before being named as the acting center director in June 2004, Dr. Arias was the Chief of the Etiology and Surveillance Branch in the Division of Violence Prevention in CDC's Injury Center. A clinical psychologist by training, Dr. Arias had been on the faculty of the Psychology Department at the University of Georgia since 1985 before coming to CDC.

"Dr. Arias has brought vision and strength to the center at a time when it confronts the increasingly important issues of family violence, child maltreatment, quality of life for seniors, and acute care injury and disability," Dr Gerberding said.

More announcements about the appointments of additional center directors are expected soon.
 

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