The CDC Director

Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, became Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in June 2009. Dr. Frieden has worked to control both communicable and noncommunicable diseases in the United States and around the world.  From 1992-1996, he led New York City’s program that rapidly controlled tuberculosis, including reducing cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis by 80 percent. He then worked in India for five years where he assisted with national tuberculosis control efforts. The program in India has treated more than 10 million patients and has saved more than one million lives.

As Commissioner of the New York City Health Department from 2002-2009, he directed one of the world′s largest public health agencies, with an annual budget of $1.7 billion and more than 6,000 staff. During his tenure, the number of smokers declined by 350,000, teen smoking decreased by half, and New York City became the first place in the United States to eliminate trans-fats from restaurants, rigorously monitor the diabetes epidemic, and require certain restaurants to post calorie information prominently. The Department also greatly increased colon cancer screening and eliminated racial/ethnic disparities in colon cancer screening rates. Under Dr. Frieden′s leadership, the department also established the largest community electronic health records project in the country. The project provided prevention-oriented electronic health records to physicians caring for more than a million New Yorkers, including more than half of the doctors caring for patients in Harlem, the South Bronx, and Bedford-Stuyvesant.  The project is a model for efforts to expand electronic health record use nationally.

Dr. Frieden also provided pro bono assistance to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his global health philanthropy; including helping to establish the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, a strategic program which promotes the implementation of proven interventions which can save more than 100 million lives.

A physician with training in internal medicine, infectious diseases, public health, and epidemiology, Dr. Frieden is especially known for his expertise in tuberculosis control. Dr. Frieden previously worked for CDC from 1990 until 2002. He began his career at CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer at the New York City Health Department.

Dr. Frieden speaks Spanish and graduated from Oberlin College. He received both his medical degree and master’s of public health degree from Columbia University and completed infectious disease training at Yale University. He has received numerous awards and honors and has published more than 200 scientific articles.