Director, Office of Workforce and Career Development, Assistant Surgeon General (Ret.), USPHS

June 2004, Stephen B. Thacker, MD, MSc, became director of the Office of Workforce and Career Development (OWCD). As director of OWCD, Dr. Thacker leads the CDC program responsible for improving health outcomes by ensuring a competent and sustainable workforce.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Thacker served as director of the Epidemiology Program Office (EPO), acting director of the Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), acting deputy director of CDC, and deputy administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). He has also served as acting director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH).

Doctor Thacker received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Princeton University in 1969, and his MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1973. He completed residency training in family medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine in 1976, and was certified by the American Board of Family Practice in 1977. At Duke, Dr. Thacker was also a Robert Wood Johnson clinical scholar.

From July 1976 to June 1978, Dr. Thacker served as an epidemic intelligence service officer for CDC, stationed at the Washington, D.C. Health Department. In 1984, he was awarded an MSc in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and received certification from the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He currently holds appointments at both Emory University School of Medicine and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

He has been published in a broad range of fields in public health, including epidemiology, public health surveillance, meta-analysis, infectious diseases, environmental public health, injury prevention, alcohol abuse, health care delivery, and technology assessment. Dr. Thacker is a retired commissioned officer in the US Public Health Service and currently holds the grade of Assistant Surgeon General (Rear Admiral, Upper Half).