DHDD Newsletter - April 2019

A Note from the DHDD Director:

Dear colleagues –

Our Division recently had the opportunity to present to CDC leadership at this month’s Data Driven Regular Review (D2R2) – an internal program meeting that promotes dialogue with agency leadership and allows for receiving feedback and ideas for collaboration. Dr. Eric Carbone, Chief of the Disability and Health Branch (DHB) in DHDD and Catherine Okoro, a Senior Scientist in DHB, presented on using disability and health state Medicaid analyses to help inform improvements of health of people with intellectual disabilities. We look forward to advancing this work with our partners and state programs.

– Dr. Georgina Peacock, Director, DHDD
dhdddirector@cdc.gov

2019 Muscular Dystrophy Association Conference

DHDD scientist, Natalie Street (RDHO), along with Tiffany Smith (DHDD/CTR) and Bailey Wallace (DHDD/ORISE fellow), attended the Muscular Dystrophy Association conference in Orlando, FL, and presented the poster “Cross-sectional Characterization of Individuals with Myotonic Dystrophy from the Pilot of the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (MD STARnet).”

MD STARnet is funded through CDC and it is the only research program designed to collect health information on everyone with muscular dystrophy (MD) living in specific areas of the United States. Click here to learn more about how the CDC works to improve the health and quality of life for individuals with MD.

DHDD’S mission is to lead inclusive programs to optimize the health and development of children and adults with, or at risk for, disabilities.