The CDC Leaders

"In this highly connected world, microbes continue to challenge us, both here and globally. We must be alert and prepared to detect these threats and respond as quickly and effectively as we can.”

—Rima Khabbaz, MD

Rima Khabbaz, MD

Director for Infectious Diseases

Rima Khabbaz, MD, is the Deputy Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Director for Infectious Diseases. Previous CDC positions include director of the  National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases (NCPDCID); director, acting deputy director, and associate director for epidemiologic science in  the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID); and  deputy director  and associate director for science in  the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases (DVRD). Her first job at CDC was as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer in NCID′s Hospital Infections Program. She later served as a medical epidemiologist in NCID′s Retrovirus Diseases Branch and made major contributions to defining the epidemiology of the non-HIV retroviruses, specifically human T lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) I and II, in the United States as well as in developing guidance for counseling HTLV–infected persons. Following the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome outbreak in the southwestern United States in 1993, she led CDC′s efforts to set up national surveillance for this syndrome.   She  also played a key  role in developing and coordinating CDC′s blood safety and food safety programs related to viral diseases.  She served in leadership positions during several of CDC’s responses to outbreaks of new and/or reemerging infections, including Nipah, Ebola, West Nile, SARS, and monkeypox, and she led the CDC field team to the nation′s capital during the public health response to the anthrax attacks of 2001.

Dr. Khabbaz is a graduate of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, where she obtained both her bachelor′s degree in science (biology/chemistry) and her medical doctorate degree. She trained in internal medicine and completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. In addition to her CDC position, she serves as clinical associate professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory University. 

Dr. Khabbaz has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific articles, book chapters, and reviews. She is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), a member of the American Epidemiological Society, and a member of the American Society for Microbiology and of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She is a graduate of the Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of North Carolina and the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. She served on IDSA′s Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee and serves on the society′s National and Global Public Health Committee. She also is a member of the Institute of Medicine′s Forum on Microbial Threats.