New CDC Director Named

Dr. Robert Redfield has been named the new director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. The position does not require Senate confirmation. The announcement came on March 21, 2018, a couple of months after former CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald resigned from the position because of her myriad conflicts of interest arising from her failure to divest from investments in tobacco and healthcare companies. Redfield, a virologist and professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has an extensive background in HIV/AIDS research. He manages clinical programs at the Institute for Human Virology that offer HIV care in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region, as well as on an international scale under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). He graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Medicine and did his residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, after which he served as a researcher in the military. Although Redfield has an extensive research background, some lawmakers are concerned with his lack of experience in policy and public health. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, wrote a letter to the White House asking the President to reconsider his choice. She also pointed to some past scientific practices and ethics in Redfield’s research that were controversial, including hi...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news