CDC Names Two New Directors

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced that Dr. F.E. (Ed) Thompson Jr., has been named Deputy Director for Public Health Programs and Services, CDC and ATSDR, and Dr. Harold Jaffe has been named Director, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP).

In his new role at CDC, Thompson will be responsible for enhancing the impact of CDC's public health programs and improving service to state and local health agencies and other partners.

Thompson has been with the Mississippi State Health Department since 1980, and has been the State Health Officer for the health department since 1993. He assumes his new position at CDC on October 28.

"Dr. Thompson has worked in the field of public health for over 20 years and will be a valuable asset to the leadership team here at CDC," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC Director. "He brings with him to CDC valuable insight into the issues and challenges facing state and local public health personnel, who are key CDC partners."

Thompson received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and his master's degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.

Dr. Jaffe, a nationally- and internationally-respected HIV/AIDS expert, has been acting director of NCHSTP since September 2001. In announcing his appointment today, Dr. Gerberding said, "Dr. Jaffe is a highly-respected contributor to the science of HIV/AIDS."

In light of the expansion of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, one of Jaffe's first steps will be to convene a summit in early December. It will be aimed at getting input from a broad array of community leaders, public health officials, scientists and other interested groups on what CDC needs to know about HIV/AIDS and what the agency needs to do to address those issues.

Jaffe joined CDC in 1974 as a clinical research investigator with the venereal disease control division. In 1981, he became an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and joined the CDC task force to study the earliest cases of AIDS. Prior to his current position, Jaffe was Director of the Division of AIDS, STD and TB Laboratory Research, and Associate Director for HIV/AIDS for CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID). He received his medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Both Jaffe and Thompson have authored or co-authored numerous articles published in scientific and medical journals. Jaffe's articles have focused on STDs and HIV/AIDS. Thompson has co-authored articles on such topics as immunization requirements, influenza, HIV/AIDS and tobacco.

From 1988-1993, Thompson was a member of the Executive Committee for the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), and he was president of that organization from 1992-1993. Thompson was a member of the Executive Committee for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) from 1998-2001, and president of ASTHO from 1998-1999. In addition, Thompson is currently a member of CDC's Advisory Committee to the Director and serves on several ASTHO committees, including the Infectious Disease Policy Committee and the Anti-terrorism Preparedness Task Force. He was also a member of the Secretary's Council on Public Health Preparedness.

Jaffe has been a member of the AIDS Research Advisory Committee, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health and the AIDS Malignancy Working Group, National Cancer Institute for the National Institutes of Health, and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Human Retrovirology.

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