Politics

A Longtime AIDS Researcher Will Be The Next CDC Director

The Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that Dr. Robert Redfield will become the CDC's new director.

A Longtime AIDS Researcher Will Be The Next CDC Director
Getty Images
SMS

A longtime AIDS researcher has been tapped to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that Dr. Robert Redfield will become the CDC's new director.

The position was left vacant in January after Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald resigned amid reports she purchased stock in a tobacco company while leading the agency.

Redfield is an infectious disease specialist with a focus on HIV and AIDS. He's also a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The CDC director position doesn't require Senate confirmation, so Redfield is expected to be sworn into his new position within a week.