Posted on Feb. 18: U.S. Centers for Disease Control director outlines global public health threats

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/gerberding2.jpg” caption=”Julie Gerberding”]She's the chief U.S. disease detective, a top sleuth in solving a health mystery at home and abroad.

As the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Julie Gerberding is leading the front lines tackling threats to public health ranging from bioterrorism to SARS, West Nile Virus, mad cow disease and currently avian influenza or bird flu.

Gerberding will share her expertise and perspective on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when she presents the annual Redman Lecture at McMaster University in a presentation called “Twenty-first Century Health Threats: Preparedness in a Small World.”

Gerberding became the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in 2002. Prior to her appointment she was acting deputy director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases where she played a major role in leading CDC's response to the anthrax bioterrorism events of 2001.

Her earlier work also included developing the CDC's patient safety initiatives and other programs to prevent infections, antimicrobial resistance and medical errors in healthcare settings. Before joining the CDC in 1998, she worked at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) where she was the director of the Prevention Epicenter, a multidisciplinary service, teaching and research program that focused on preventing infections in patients and their healthcare providers. Gerberding is an associate clinical professor medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory University and an associate professor of medicine at UCSF.

The Redman Lecture is an annual event organized by the Faculty of Science to bring distinguished scientists and scholars to McMaster to share their knowledge about the scientific world. Previous speakers have included Nobel laureates and world-renowned experts in various disciplines. The Redman Lecture was established in 1952 using funds from a bequest on behalf of Dr. Lawrence Vincent Redman, a science professor and researcher who invented Redmanol and did research on phenol condensation products.

McMaster University is a leading centre for the investigation of infectious diseases in Canada, with recent research on West Nile virus and development of a potential SARS vaccine. McMaster is well-known for its innovative educational approach and focus on interdisciplinary learning, and is home of a Public Health Research Education and Development program.

This free public lecture will begin at 8 p.m. in the Health Sciences Centre, Rm. 1A1.

Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay