Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding earned a B.A. in chemistry and biology and a M.D. at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.  She then completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of California at San Fransisco, where she also served as Chief Medical Resident before completing her fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology and Infectious Diseases. In 1990 Gerberding earned a M.P.H. degree at the University of California, Berkeley. She was a faculty member at UC San Francisco and directed the Prevention Epicenter, a multidisciplinary research, training, and clinical service program that focused on preventing infections in patients and their healthcare providers. In 1998 she became the Acting Deputy Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where she played a major role in leading CDC´s response to the anthrax bioterrorism events of 2001. She became the first female director of the CDC in 2002. 

 

Soon after her arrival at the CDC, Gerberding began an organizational restructuring that led to many of the CDC's senior scientists and leaders leaving or announcing plans to leave. Gerberding's leadership of the CDC has been the subject of an inquiry by the United States Senate Finance Committee. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the committee, has announced that the committee is trying to determine whether the upheaval at the agency has jeopardized its scientific mission. Among other things, the committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the receipt of premium bonuses by members of an inner circle of officials at the CDC, at the expense of scientists and others who perform much of the agency's scientific work. Administrators inside Gerberding's office have benefited the most. William Gimson III, the agency's chief operating officer, received bonuses totaling $147,863 between 2002 and mid-2006. The growing share of premium bonuses for CDC administrators has meant less money is available for scientists and other workers. The increase in large cash awards has benefited employees in the CDC's financial, computer and human resources departments.

 

Gerberding has also come under harsh scrutiny by advocates of fighting autism, specifically actress Jenny McCarthy. McCarthy criticized Gerberding on the Chelsea Lately Show, saying that she has not done anything for the autistic community. McCarthy then held up a sign with the phone number to the White House and called for all viewers to ask for Gerberding’s resignation.

 

At the request of the Obama transition team, Geberding announced her resignation on January 9, 2009.

 

Julie Gerberding (Wikipedia)