Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar March 21 appointed Robert Redfield, MD, to become the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The position does not require Senate confirmation, and Dr. Redfield was officially sworn in March 26. Dr. Redfield is a co-founder of the University of Maryland’s Institute of Human Virology and served as Chief of Infectious Diseases and Vice Chair of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
In his statement, Secretary Azar commented, “Dr. Redfield has dedicated his entire life to promoting public health and providing compassionate care to his patients, and we are proud to welcome him as director of the world’s premier epidemiological agency… His more recent work running a treatment network in Baltimore for HIV and Hepatitis C patients also prepares him to hit the ground running on one of HHS and CDC’s top priorities, combating the opioid epidemic.”
Dr. Redfield’s nomination follows the Jan. 31 resignation of the previously appointed CDC Director, Brenda Fitzgerald, MD [see Washington Highlights, Feb. 2].