034: Disease Expertise with the Big Cheese: CDC Deputy Director Anne Schuchat

microTalk

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the front lines of the war against infectious diseases, and Anne Schuchat, M.D. has been the Deputy Director of CDC since 2015. She has been at the CDC since 1988 and has served in a variety of leadership roles, including stints as the acting director in 2017 and 2018. Dr. Schuchat has played key roles in a number of emergency responses by the CDC, including the bioterrorist attacks in 2001, the SARS outbreak in 2003, and the H1N1 outbreak in 2009. She has worked all over the world combatting a number of infectious disease threats. Dr. Schuchat discusses current and future disease threats, the difference between perceived versus actual threats, and her experience with Hollywood during the filming of the movie Contagion. microTalk recorded this discussion with Dr. Schuchat at the American Society for Microbiology Microbe 2018 meeting in Atlanta Georgia. The microCase for listeners to solve is about Patricia Zaragoza, a backup dancer turned celebrity who gets sick after helping with relief efforts post-hurricane Maria.

Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Anne Schuchat, M.D. (Centers for Disease Control) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D., (UTSA) Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)