Leadership

Office of the Director

CAPT. Daniel B. Jernigan, MD, MPH
Associate Deputy Director

Daniel B. Jernigan, MD, MPH, is a Captain in the United States Public Health Service and serves as Associate Deputy Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Science, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (OSELS). Dr. Jernigan received an undergraduate degree from Duke University, a Doctor of Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health at the University of Texas. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and has completed an additional residency in Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Jernigan joined the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service in 1994, working in the Respiratory Diseases Branch on the prevention and control of bacterial respiratory pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumonia, Group A Streptococcus, and Legionella. In 1996, he began serving on assignment from NCIRD to the Washington State Health Department as a medical epidemiologist and coordinator of national initiatives to improve surveillance for emerging infectious diseases. Dr. Jernigan became the chief of the Epidemiology Section for CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) in 2001. In that role, he supervised numerous investigations and initiatives to characterize various hospital-acquired, device-associated, and antimicrobial-resistant pathogen issues. In 2006, Dr. Jernigan joined the Influenza Division as deputy director.

Dr. Jernigan has authored peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on various emerging infectious diseases topics, and has supervised outbreak investigations of viral, bacterial, and fungal infections associated with emerging and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. He has led epidemiology and surveillance teams for national and international responses, including bioterrorism-related anthrax, the emergence of West Nile virus, SARS, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza, and public health management following natural disasters. During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Dr. Jernigan served as the CDC lead for all domestic and international epidemiology and laboratory activities for the U.S. government’s response. Dr. Jernigan oversees a broad portfolio of influenza diagnostic test research and development efforts, including the CDC Influenza Reagent Resource (IRR) which manufactures and globally distributes test kits and reagents for virologic surveillance and influenza research.