Health
Acting director of CDC named
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 9, 2009
Richard Besser, MD, was named Jan. 22 to be acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and acting administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. He replaced Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, who stepped down as director when the Bush administration left office.
Dr. Besser has a long history with the CDC, having begun his career at the agency's Epidemic Intelligence Service, where he worked on food-borne illnesses. He also served as the epidemiology section chief in the Respiratory Diseases Branch, acting chief of the Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch of the CDC's National Center for Infectious Disease and as the medical director of the CDC's national campaign, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work.
Dr. Besser received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a residency and a chief residency in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/02/09/hlbf0209.htm.
