Director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)

Karen Hacker, MD, MPH
Karen Hacker, MD, MPH

Karen Hacker, MD, MPH, is the Director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), a position she assumed in August 2019. NCCDPHP has an annual budget of about $1.2 billion and more than 1,000 staff members dedicated to preventing chronic diseases and promoting health across the life span.

Dr. Hacker leads an executive team that sets the strategic direction for the center’s portfolio, which focuses on:

  • Surveillance and epidemiology to move data into action.
  • Policy and environmental improvements to support health and healthy behaviors.
  • Health care system collaboration to strengthen delivery of clinical and other preventive services.
  • Links between community and clinical services to improve self-management of chronic conditions and enhance quality of life.

From 2013 to 2019, Dr. Hacker served as Director of the Allegheny County Health Department in Pennsylvania, where she was responsible for a population of 1.2 million residents in 130 municipalities, including Pittsburgh. Under her leadership, the Department achieved national public health accreditation in 2017. Dr. Hacker also launched the Live Well Allegheny initiative, aimed at reducing smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.

Previously, Dr. Hacker was the Senior Medical Director for Public and Community Health at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts, where she oversaw the Department of Community Affairs and directed the Population Health Agenda for achieving cost-saving health care reform. Between 2002 and 2013, she held a variety of leadership roles at the Cambridge Public Health Department and the Institute for Community Health (both part of the Cambridge Health Alliance).

Dr. Hacker received her MD from Northwestern University School of Medicine and her MPH with honors from Boston University School of Public Health.