On Jul. 3, 2002, Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H., became the first woman Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Before becoming CDC Director and ATSDR Administrator, Dr. Gerberding was 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 2001.

She 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