Virologist Robert Redfield Named as Next CDC Director

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has named University of Maryland School of Medicine Professor Robert Redfield director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reports Scientific American . Redfield, a virologist, can assume the position without Senate confirmation. He is renowned for his extensive AIDS research, and supervises clinical programs offering HIV care to thousands of people around Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Redfield also oversees international care and treatment programs under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. He advocated for mandatory HIV testing in the 1980s, and has helped deploy an HIV-screening program at the Department of Defense. Forthcoming challenges for Redfield will include navigating this season's spike in flu cases, and any related work on flu vaccine research. Other key responsibilities will include implementing the White House's plan to combat the opioid crisis and stay ahead of emerging infectious diseases. HHS Secretary Alex Azar says Redfield's background as a clinician running a treatment network for HIV and Hepatitis C patients in Baltimore will enable him to "hit the ground running" with the opioid epidemic.