Biography

Esther Sumartojo, PhD, MSc
Associate Director for Science and Public Health

Esther Sumartojo joined CDC in 1989 and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in 2003. Her responsibilities as Associate Director for Science are to advise center leadership on matters of science and science policy; to direct and oversee adherence to federal and CDC science regulations and policies; to maintain a team of specialists in areas including biostatistics, health economics, public health informatics, and science administration to support center scientists; to represent the center on science-related committees and workgroups at CDC and nationally or internationally; and to engage in research activities.

Dr. Sumartojo has 25 years experience in behavioral and epidemiologic research, intervention research, and evaluation. After joining CDC, Dr. Sumartojo conducted behavioral research on patient adherence to TB medications and provider approaches to TB treatment, and initiated a program of behavioral research in the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination. In 1996, she joined the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention to lead the Behavioral Intervention Research Team, where she initiated and led a variety of research projects related to HIV prevention in high-risk populations. From 2001 to 2003, she served as Deputy Associate Director and Acting Associate Director for Science in the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention.  Her experience includes consultations with the WHO, The World Bank, and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment; and service on study sections for the NIH and the Universitywide AIDS Research Program at the University of California.  Her current interests relate to prevention of congenital cytomegalovirus, population health, and evaluating the impact of public health programs.   

Dr. Sumartojo completed a BA at Case Western Reserve University in 1967 and undergraduate courses in psychology at the University of Adelaide in South Australia from 1972 to 1975. She earned a PhD in Social Psychology from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University in 1983, and an MSc in Communicable Disease Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1995.

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