Susan Monarez
{{Short description|American health scientist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox office holder
| name = Susan Monarez
| image = Susan Monarez 2025.png
| caption = Official portrait, 2025
| office = Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
| president = Donald Trump
| deputy = Nirav D. Shah (acting)
| term_start = January 23, 2025
| term_end =
| predecessor = Mandy Cohen
| successor =
| birth_name = Susan Patricia Coller
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|50|2025|3|24}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = University of Wisconsin–Madison (BS, MS, PhD)
}}
Susan P. Coller Monarez (born 1974/1975){{cite web |last1=Mandavilli |first1=Apoorva |author-link1=Apoorva Mandavilli |last2=Stolberg |first2=Sheryl Gay |author-link2=Sheryl Gay Stolberg |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Trump Nominates Susan Monarez to Lead C.D.C. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/health/cdc-director-monarez.html |url-access=limited |website=The New York Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250325001548/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/health/cdc-director-monarez.html |archive-date=March 25, 2025 }} is an American health scientist who is Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2025. She is currently also serving as the Acting Director of the CDC. She was previously Deputy Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
Education
Monarez completed her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2003, where her research focused on developing technologies to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases, particularly those affecting low- and middle-income countries.{{Cite web |title=Susan Monarez |url=https://arpa-h.gov/about/people/susan-monarez |access-date=January 26, 2025 |website=Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126231020/https://arpa-h.gov/about/people/susan-monarez |archive-date=January 26, 2025}}{{PD-notice}} Her dissertation explored how trypanosome GIP-SVSG regulates macrophages during Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection.{{Cite thesis |last=Coller |first=Susan |title=Macrophage regulation by trypanosome GIP-SVSG during trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection |date=2003 |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=University of Wisconsin–Madison |oclc=53975365}}
Monarez was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine, continuing her work in the field of infectious disease research.
Career
Monarez was a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.{{when|date=March 2025}} She held roles in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. National Security Council, where her work included initiatives to combat antimicrobial resistance, expand the use of wearable technology for health monitoring, and improve pandemic preparedness efforts.{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2025 |title=Acting Director, First Assistant to the Director, Principal Deputy Director |url=https://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/director.html |access-date=January 26, 2025 |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126172455/https://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/director.html |archive-date=January 26, 2025 }}{{PD-notice}}
At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Monarez served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy and Data Analytics, overseeing research portfolios for the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.{{when|date=March 2025}} In this capacity, she also led international cooperative initiatives to foster bilateral and multilateral collaboration in health research and innovation.
In January 2023, Monarez was appointed Deputy Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), where she led projects focused on applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve health outcomes, addressing healthcare accessibility and affordability, expanding mental health interventions, combating the opioid epidemic in the United States, addressing disparities in maternal health, and improving organ donation and transplantation systems.
Monarez became Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Acting Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry on January 23, 2025, after being named as the agency's Principal Deputy Director. Her leadership responsibilities at the CDC include overseeing responses to public health emergencies and emerging diseases.{{cite web |last1=Tin |first1=Alexander |date=January 23, 2025 |title=Trump administration expected to go outside CDC for acting director |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-cdc-acting-director/ |publisher=CBS News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124010513/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-cdc-acting-director/ |archive-date=January 24, 2025}} Donald Trump announced her nomination as permanent director on March 24, 2025; she is the first appointee to the position requiring confirmation by the Senate, after an amendment to the Public Health Service Act enacted in 2022.{{cite web |last1=Tirrell |first1=Meg |last2=Valencia |first2=Nick |last3=Gumbrecht |first3=Jamie |last4=Goodman |first4=Brenda |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Dr. Susan Monarez named as Trump's pick to lead CDC |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/24/health/cdc-nomination-trump-susan-monarez/ |publisher=CNN |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250326180023/https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/24/health/cdc-nomination-trump-susan-monarez/ |archive-date=March 26, 2025 }}{{cite web |last1=Jacobs |first1=Jennifer |last2=Tin |first2=Alexander |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Trump nominates Susan Monarez for CDC director, elevating from acting role |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/susan-monarez-cdc-director-nominee-trump/ |publisher=CBS News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250325202951/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/susan-monarez-cdc-director-nominee-trump/ |archive-date=March 25, 2025 }}{{cite web |last1=Sekar |first1=Kavya |date=March 22, 2024 |title=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): History, Overview of Domestic Programs, and Selected Issues |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47981 |department=Congressional Research Service |website=Congress.gov |type=CRS Report |at="CDC Director Authorization" section |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250326182313/https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47981 |archive-date=March 26, 2025 }} If confirmed, she would be the first director without a medical degree since 1953.{{cite web |last1=Owermohle |first1=Sarah |last2=Branswell |first2=Helen |author-link2=Helen Branswell |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Trump picks Susan Monarez to run the CDC |url=https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/susan-monarez-trump-pick-cdc/ |url-access=limited |website=STAT |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250325202920/https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/susan-monarez-trump-pick-cdc/ |archive-date=March 25, 2025 }}
References
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{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monarez, Susan}}
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Category:21st-century American women scientists
Category:American medical researchers
Category:United States Department of Homeland Security officials
Category:Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention