Health Protection in the 21st Century: Exploiting Small World Networks
Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, M.D.
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

From
the cellular level to the Internet, the fascinating phenomenon of small
world networks is shaping the way CDC collaborates and connects both
inside and outside the agency as it confronts today’s health protection
challenges. The newly reorganized CDC is exploiting this new science
not only in response to emerging health threats but also in how it
manages the organization as it transforms itself into the nation’s
leading health protection agency.

Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding will provide an overview of the new CDC
and how its expanding responsibilities encompass new and emerging
infectious diseases, such as pandemic flu and West Nile, as well as
bio-terrorism preparedness, chronic diseases, environmental health and
unintentional injuries.

Before becoming CDC director in July 2002, Gerberding was acting
deputy director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, where
she played a major role in leading the CDC’s response to the 2001
anthrax bioterrorism events, and director of the Division of Healthcare
Quality Promotion, where she developed patient safety initiatives and
other programs to prevent infections, antimicrobial resistance and
medical errors in healthcare settings. Prior to the CDC, she was a
University of California at San Francisco faculty member and director
of its Prevention Epicenter. She earned a B.A. and M.D. at Case Western
Reserve University.

Gerberding is a member of American Society for Clinical
Investigation, American College of Physicians, and the American
Epidemiology Society, and is a Fellow in the Infectious Diseases
Society of America. She is also a member of the Society for Healthcare
Epidemiology of America and previously served on its board for three
years.

Location