DPDM Leadership

Monica Parise, MD

CAPT US Public Health Service

Monica Parise is currently Director of the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM) in CDC’s Center for Global Health. Dr. Parise’s priorities are to reduce the global burden of malaria and the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs); to prevent and control parasitic diseases in the United States, including the neglected parasitic infections (NPIs); and to research better diagnostic and epidemiologic methods to more effectively prevent disease.

Dr. Parise joined CDC in 1993 as a member of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) in the Malaria Branch. After a two-year EIS rotation she completed a CDC preventive medicine residency at the Puerto Rico Department of Health—before returning to the Malaria Branch as a Medical Officer at CDC headquarters in Atlanta. While in the Malaria Branch, she served as Team Lead of both the Domestic Response Team and the Malaria in Pregnancy Team. Dr. Parise served as Chief of the Parasitic Diseases Branch from 2005-2014. She served as Associate Director of Science and Program, DPDM from 2014-2016, before becoming Division Director in 2016.

Dr. Parise received her BSN and MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She completed a fellowship in infectious disease with the Infectious Disease Training Program at Harvard University, including work with Harvard School of Public Health conducting parasitic disease research in Brazil. Dr. Parise is board certified in infectious disease and internal medicine.

Barbara Marston, MD

Barbara “Barb” Marston is the Deputy Director for Science and Program in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Joni Young

Joni Young is the Deputy Director of Management and Operations in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Namita Joshi, MA, MPA

Namita Joshi is the Deputy Director for Policy and Communications in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Michael Aidoo, PhD

Michael Aidoo is the Associate Director for Laboratory Science (ADLS) in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Peter McElroy, PhD, MPH

Peter McElroy is the Chief of the Malaria Branch in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Audrey Lenhart, PhD, MPH

Audrey Lenhart is the Chief of the Entomology Branch in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.