In episode 59 of Going anti-Viral, Dr Demetre Daskalakis joins host Dr Michael Saag to discuss his career in public health and the turnover in leadership at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr Daskalakis is an infectious diseases physician who served in leadership roles at the CDC from 2020 to 2025. He was director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and was previously director of the Division of HIV Prevention at the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. In 2022, he was appointed deputy coordinator of the White House response to the mpox outbreak. Dr Daskalakis discusses his career in public health and leadership roles in infectious diseases. Dr Saag and Dr Daskalakis have a detailed discussion about applying lessons learned from the HIV epidemic in the national response to the mpox outbreak and they discuss Dr Daskalakis’s role at the CDC in response to the current measles outbreak. They also address ideologic-driven changes at the CDC under the direction of Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services including the firing of Dr Susan Monarez and Dr Daskalakis’ subsequent resignation. Finally, they discuss the current direction of the CDC and the outlook for public health without scientific leadership. They also discuss the possibility of a renaissance for public health in the future where it can be reimagined to focus on people instead of historic funding paradigms. 

0:00 – Introduction

1:21 – Career path in public health and leadership in infectious diseases 

4:01 – Applying lessons from the HIV epidemic in response to the mpox outbreak

9:48 – Transition to CDC and challenges with the new administration

13:50 – CDC role in response to the current measles outbreak

17:45 – Management of the CDC by Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services 

21:22 – The firing of Dr Susan Monarez from the CDC and Dr Daskalakis’s resignation

28:35 – The lack of scientific leadership remaining at CDC and future outlook 

Resources

Episode 50 - How Vaccines Get Approved in the US: The RSV Story and the Role of the ACIP – Dr Yvonne Maldonado

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Produced by IAS-USA, Going anti–Viral is a podcast for clinicians involved in research and care in HIV, its complications, and other viral infections. This podcast is intended as a technical source of information for specialists in this field, but anyone listening will enjoy learning more about the state of modern medicine around viral infections.

Going anti-Viral’s host is Dr Michael Saag, a physician, prominent HIV researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and volunteer IAS–USA board member. In most episodes, Dr Saag interviews an expert in infectious diseases or emerging pandemics about their area of specialty and current developments in the field. Other episodes are drawn from the IAS–USA vast catalogue of panel discussions, Dialogues, and other audio from various meetings and conferences.

Email [email protected] to send feedback, show suggestions, or questions to be answered on a later episode.

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