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NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

Gerberding Named CEO of FNIH

Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding stands smiling in red blazer with arms folded

Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health appointed Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding as its next chief executive officer. She will assume her role on May 16. 

“The board sought a visionary, trailblazing leader and I am tremendously excited we have found that person in Julie Gerberding,” said Dr. Steven M. Paul, chair of the FNIH board of directors. “FNIH has generated terrific momentum collaborating with NIH, other government agencies and the private sector to deliver breakthrough biomedical research discoveries.”

Before joining FNIH, Gerberding served as chief patient officer and executive vice president, Population Health & Sustainability at Merck. She joined the company in 2010 as president of vaccines. Previously, she served as CDC director from 2002-2009 and was the first woman to hold the position. 

Prior to joining CDC, Gerberding was a tenured member of the faculty at the University of California San Francisco, where she completed her residency and fellowship in infectious disease and clinical pharmacology.

“It is hard to imagine a more accomplished and respected public health leader than Julie Gerberding at the helm of FNIH,” said acting NIH director Dr. Lawrence Tabak. “The foundation has been a critical partner to NIH in addressing some of the most vexing health challenges of our times. I am excited to work closely with Julie to make even more progress to achieve our shared mission to enhance health, lengthen life and reduce illness.”

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