Event

University of Michigan School of Public Health Graduation 2009

April 29, 2010
5:30 p.m.
UM Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI
Sponsored by UM SPH
Contact Information: SPHgraduationFAQs@umich.edu or (734) 764-5425

Tom Frieden, CDC Speaker at the 2009 UM SPH graduation will be Dr. Tom Frieden, new director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (More graduation information for graduating students and their families is coming soon.)

BIO: Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., became Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in June 2009. Previously, he served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene since January 2002. One of the world′s oldest and largest public health agencies, the department has an annual budget of $1.7 billion and more than 6,000 staff. During his tenure, the number of smokers declined by 350,000, teen smoking decreased by half, and New York City became the first place in the United States to eliminate trans-fats from restaurants, rigorously monitor the diabetes epidemic, and require certain restaurants to post calorie information prominently. Under Dr. Frieden′s leadership, the department established the largest community electronic health records project in the country.

A physician with training in internal medicine, infectious diseases, public health, and epidemiology, Dr. Frieden is especially known for his expertise in tuberculosis control. Dr. Frieden worked for CDC from 1990 until 2002. He began his career at CDC as an Epidemiologic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer at the New York City Health Department. In that role, he led a program that rapidly reduced tuberculosis, including reducing cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, by 80 percent. He then worked in India for five years where he assisted with national tuberculosis control efforts. The program in India has now treated more than 10 million patients and has saved more than one million lives.