Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will speak at the UCLA School of Public Health's annual commencement ceremony on Friday, June 13. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. in Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.
As part of the Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta-based CDC is recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting health and safety at home and abroad, providing credible information to enhance health decisions and promoting health through strong partnerships. CDC serves as the national focus for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
"We are thrilled to have a speaker of Dr. Gerberding's stature as this year's commencement speaker," said Dr. Linda Rosenstock, dean of the UCLA School of Public Health. "Our students are fortunate to have the privilege of hearing Dr. Gerberding's perspective on dealing with the pressing public health issues of our time."
Gerberding became director of CDC as well as the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry on July 3, 2002. Prior to her current appointments, she served as acting deputy director of National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where she played a major role in leading CDC's response to the anthrax bioterrorism events of 2002.
Gerberding joined CDC in 1998 as director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, NCID, where she developed CDC's patient safety initiatives and other programs to prevent infections, antimicrobial resistance, and medical errors in healthcare settings.
Prior to coming to CDC, she worked at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) as director of the Prevention Epicenter, a multidisciplinary service, teaching, and research program that focused on preventing infections in patients and their healthcare providers. She also holds appointments as associate clinical professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory University and associate professor of medicine at UCSF.
The UCLA School of Public Health is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research, training future leaders and health professions, translating research into policy and practice, and serving local, national and international communities.
The school is comprised of five departments: Biostatistics, Community Health Sciences, Environmental Health Science, Epidemiology and Health Services. With an overall enrollment of about 600, approximately 240 students graduate each year with advanced degrees from these programs.
Detailed information about the School is available online at www.ph.ucla.edu.
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