The CDC Director

Julie Louise Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H.

From the Director

Welcome to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each day at CDC, we try to imagine a safer, healthier world. A world where infants are born healthy and cared for -- so, as children, they can arrive at school safe, well-nourished, and ready to learn. A world in which teenagers have the information, motivation, and hope they need to make healthy choices about their lifestyles and behaviors. A world in which adults enjoy active and productive lives in safe communities where they can remain independent and engaged with family and friends throughout their senior years.

Imagining this safer, healthier world brings us closer to reaching our vision of "Healthy People in a Healthy World-Through Prevention."

For over 60 years, CDC's mission has been dedicated to protecting health and promoting quality of life through the prevention and control of disease, injury, and disability. We are committed to programs that reduce the health and economic consequences of the leading causes of death and disability and that ensure a long, productive, healthy life for all people.

We take our role very seriously, as CDC protects the health of Americans on many levels and in many arenas. We conduct surveillance on a wide range of health threats -- from infectious diseases to bioterrorism to environmental hazards. When diseases break out around the globe, CDC responds at a moment's notice, lending its expertise and resources to conduct outbreak investigations and provide technical assistance.

We also provide funding for state and local health departments, community based organizations, and academic institutions for a wide array of public health programs and research. Each day, Americans benefit from those activities through the safety and health tips we promote directly to the public, the training and education we offer our partners, and the guidance and recommendations we provide for health care providers.

So much has changed in the world since the CDC was founded in 1946. We have had to find new ways to carry out our mission and meet new threats head-on, whether a terrorist attack or the next global epidemic of an infectious disease like SARS or avian flu. As we look forward to the next 60 years and beyond, we will continue to position ourselves as the nation's health protection leader.

CDC is an exciting place to work, multi-faceted, constantly in motion. And it makes a real difference in the world, again and again. I am privileged to serve as the Director, and encourage you to explore the wealth of life-saving information on the CDC Web site.