Current Programs

To characterize the pathogens that cause infections in young infants in developing countries - particularly Bangladesh, Pakistan and India - including a description of incidence, antimicrobial susceptibility and strain properties.

To provide funds for international participants to come to Atlanta to take part in public health courses at CDC or Emory University.

To help CDC teams in Africa and Haiti purchase and distribute insecticide-treated bed nets to protect children and pregnant women from malaria.

To create the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), a standard global surveillance system to monitor adult tobacco use and critical tobacco control measures, to inform, track and implement national and global programs and policies to reduce tobacco use.

The Bob Keegan Polio Eradication Heroes Fund recognizes health workers and volunteers who have incurred serious injury or lost their lives as a direct consequence of their participation in polio eradication activities. The families of the workers, who have been the victims of automobile crashes, military conflicts and other life-threatening events, receive a certificate recognizing the victim’s heroic commitment to polio eradication and a cash tribute.

To provide an opportunity for third- and fourth-year medical and veterinary students to gain public health experience in an international setting. Hubert fellows spend six to twelve weeks in a developing country working on a priority health problem in conjunction with CDC staff.

To evaluate the blood donor recruitment system, the quality of laboratory screening procedures for blood donations, and the current guidelines for the clinical use of blood components in four countries in central Asia. To identify gaps in blood services, make recommendations to address those gaps, and then implement and evaluate proposed interventions in the problem areas.

To evaluate the use of real-time polymerase chain reaction and the Binax NOW® S.pneumoniae immuno-chromatographic test for diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia and sepsis in Thailand.

To estimate the population-based burden, microbiologic etiology and adverse clinical consequences of severe diarrhea among children 0-59 months of age in study sites in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

To examine the population immune response to both the immunizing antigen and the wild polio virus in an endemic country in order to analyze differences in vaccine response among different geographical regions.

To describe species distribution of Candida spp. causing bloodstream infection and its resistance to at least four antifungal drugs (fluconazole, voriconazole, amphotericin B, caspofungin) and to compare the results with previous studies and between public and private health sectors in South Africa.

To improve access to quality emergency obstetric care and reduce maternal deaths in four pilot regions of Tanzania.

To enable a Pfizer Global Health Fellow to work alongside CDC scientists on assignment in China to improve prevention, detection and control of emerging infectious diseases.

To provide a source of flexible funding to CDC teams working in the field to meet critical or emergency needs that could not easily be met through usual government channels. Since it was created in 1999 by a group of CDC employees and retirees, the fund has provided resources for essential services and equipment such as bullet-proof vests for health workers vaccinating children in war-torn Somalia, meals-ready-to-eat for workers in Sudan, satellite phones, incentives for vaccination campaigns in Mexico and India and training in other countries.

To support CDC's work with international partners to develop and evaluate new tools and strategies to improve access to safe drinking water at a household level.

To analyze blood samples to determine what species of human malaria parasites are present in the specimens as part of an evaluation of a global malaria specimen bank.

To evaluate Saudi Arabia's infectious disease surveillance system, help train local and regional disease detectives and improve the country's capacity to monitor for and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

To promote the use of flour fortified with iron and folic acid around the world by encouraging the production and marketing of fortified flour.

Reflecting a lifelong commitment to provide safe water around the world, Dr. Eugene Gangarosa and his wife, Rose, established the Gangarosa Endowment for Safe Water in May 2000 to provide an ongoing source of support for CDC's safe water initiatives.

To create, as a component of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, a standard global surveillance system to monitor adult tobacco use and critical tobacco control measures to inform, track and implement national and global programs and policies to reduce tobacco use.

To expand CDC's capacity to support the development of a WHO Global Hepatitis Program by providing a fellow who will, under guidance from the CDC Medical Officer assigned to WHO,  develop viral hepatitis screening and treatment guidelines and provide expertise on chronic viral hepatitis control at WHO, serve as a resource for viral hepatitis prevention and vaccination activities to WHO regional offices, provide technical support for WHO’s global burden of hepatitis disease project, and develop and support WHO’s Plan of Action for World Hepatitis Day.

To help CDC serve as a Global Reference Laboratory for the rotavirus laboratory network, which provides support to the global rotavirus surveillance network coordinated by the World Health Organization.

To accumulate an extensive, diverse and well-characterized collection of pneumococcal isolates that cause invasive disease and pneumonia, recovered primarily from children in developing countries.

To help CDC serve as a Global Reference Laboratory for the vaccine-preventable invasive bacterial diseases (VPIBD) laboratory network, which provides support to the global VPIBD surveillance network coordinated by the World Health Organization.

To provide technical assistance related to epidemiologic and lab activities for establishing the burden of Hib disease (Haemophilus influenzae type B), documenting the impact of Hib vaccination, and developing and implementing global strategies to address Hib disease.

To help CDC conduct assessments in Kenya to evaluate knowledge, beliefs and acceptability of the HPV vaccine.

To generate evidence-based recommendations via a systematic literature review on how to improve health care providers' performance in low-and middle-income countries.

To test blood and saliva samples from Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa for Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) antibodies and DNA; to measure KSHV seroprevalence and seroincidence; to analyze determinants of KSHV infection; and to examine the response of KSHV infection to antiretroviral therapy.

To encourage transdisciplinary collaboration and build a research field that identifies environmental factors and public and private policies that have the potential to influence physical activity and sedentary behavior.

To focus on the integration of colorectal cancer screening with other chronic disease programs that provide screening and diagnostic services to U.S. adults.

To provide up to three Distinguished Alcohol Research Fellows to help CDC improve public health surveillance on excessive alcohol use by conducting applied public health research, supporting state and local public health capacity in alcohol epidemiology, and supporting the translation of Community Guide recommendations for the prevention of excessive drinking into public health practice.

To identify ongoing interventions aimed at reducing childhood obesity that successfully reduce children's body mass indices.

To help CDC's Newborn Screening Branch collaborate with California's newborn screening program through the ongoing Early Childhood Mortality Collaborative Project.

To help CDC provide reference and quality control materials for laboratory collaboration, including collaborations for the Hormone Measurement Standardization program.

To increase business-sector support for comprehensive smoke-free policies by building a business case for smoke-free environments that shows the economic impact of such policies and by facilitating business-to-business and peer-to-peer sharing of experiences, perspectives and associated outcomes of such policies.

To improve four major areas of newborn screening: 1) developing new screening methods for specific diseases, 2) integrating state public health laboratories in the translation process through collaborative field studies, 3) expanding the global reach of newborn screening, and 4) adapting innovative technologies for screening and quality assurance.

To perform chemical analysis of immunologic and immunomodulatory polypeptides and proteins through state-of-the-art protein chemistry and proteomics characterization methods.

To determine time- and concentration-dependent inactivation of the biological activity of synthetic AMPs and characterize the structure-function relation during peptidyl arginine deiminase (PAD) treatment of LL-37 and defensins and to screen natural inflammatory exudates for the presence of citrullinated AMPs to verify the hypothesis that AMPs are subject of PAD-catalyzed modification in vivo.

To develop and implement a survey of medical students assessing their knowledge of antimicrobial use and resistance as well as their perceptions of how much education they are getting to prescribe antimicrobials wisely.

To demonstrate the efficacy of an antimicrobial stewardship project in long-term care facilities using the syndromic approach targeting urinary tract infections.

To describe the MIC, MEC and prevalence of resistance to echinocandin drugs among a large collection of Aspergillus isolates and to compare these resistance patterns to previous reports.

To support the Birth-Cohort Evaluation to Advance Screening and Testing for Hepatitis C (BEST-C) project, a two-year study that will evaluate the effectiveness of screening all persons born from 1945 to 1965  for Hepatitis C (HCV) in order to increase the proportion of people who are aware of their HCV status.

To increase CDC's capacity to better understand the cost-effectiveness of the different screening, treatment and care options that are now available for persons living with viral hepatitis.

To establish the first comprehensive U.S. longitudinal observational cohort of 15,000 or more patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C in order to improve understanding of chronic viral hepatitis and the impact of screening, care and treatment recommendations.

To develop strategies to control cytomegalovirus (CMV) congenital infection, which affects as many as 10,000 children per year in the U.S.

To help CDC collaborate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to create an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to developing improved tools, skills and capacity to study foodborne viruses. Outcomes of the partnership will be used to systematically identify risk factors and develope risk management strategies to reduce contamination in pre- and post-harvest environments.

To create a multidisciplinary research activity that will improve basic knowledge of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus biology, pathogenesis, vaccine development, and therapeutic and integrated control measures.

To develop a genetically stable inactivated poliovirus vaccine.

To measure the effects of monochromatic ultraviolet light on viral specimens.

To provide synthetic peptides for a study on epithelial cell proliferation.

To evaluate whether two novel, candidate human anti-RSV G monoclonal antibodies have the ability to reduce or attenuate disease pathogenesis in the mouse model for acute RSV infection.

To evaluate the effect of meningococcal conjugate vaccine on "herd immunity" in adolescent communities.

To increase collaboration across the country and across relevant areas of expertise to reduce foodborne illness in the United States.

To support the CDC's national campaign to promote discriminating use of antimicrobial agents. The campaign seeks to change behavior that leads to overuse of antimicrobial agents in adult and pediatric patients.

To enable CDC to apply its Immuno-colorimetric neutralization assay (ICNA) to a population-based study to identify critical determinants of immunity to rubella. ICNA was developed by CDC's Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Herpes virus Laboratory. It detects and quantifies rubella neutralizing antibodies, which are considered correlates of humoral protection.

To compare the immunogenicity of current vaccines for pneumococcal disease (native pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine) with a proposed new vaccination method (microsphere entrapped pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides delivered either subcutaneously or intranasally).

To provide laboratory support for the development of a more thermostatable measles vaccine.

To help CDC study how community-based organizations adapt evidence-based interventions and whether or not those adaptations make the programs more or less effective. The initial study will focus on violence prevention programs, but researchers at CDC believe the outcomes of the research will be relevant to other public health issues and programs.

To help develop a medical protocol for using vehicle telemetry to help improve emergency transport and treatment of crash victims.

To create a 45-minute interactive training course for healthcare professionals on concussion diagnosis and management, and to help CDC launch the Heads Up for Parents education campaign. The training for healthcare professionals and the education campaign for parents are part of CDC's larger Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports initiative that provides information on preventing, recognizing and responding to concussions to coaches, parents and athletes involved in youth sports.

To test whether technology, such as cell phones, Web-based learning and virtual reality software can be used to improve child abuse and maltreatment prevention programs.

To help CDC's Division of Violence Prevention award grants to state domestic violence coalitions to help them incorporate primary prevention strategies into their overall domestic violence programming

The Linda Saltzman New Investigator Award recognizes an outstanding new investigator with 2-10 years of experience working in the field of domestic violence, violence against women or dating violence. Futures Without Violence, CDC and a committee of experts selects an outstanding individual to receive the award every other year beginning 2012. The recipient receives passage to the National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence.

To explore the risk of breast cancer from exposure to acrylamide in a case control study of postmenopausal women with and without breast cancer.

To measure arsenic exposure in a cohort of pregnant women to help determine if there is a link between exposure and gestational diabetes.

To quantify exposure to secondhand smoke by measuring levels of nicotine metabolites and then assess the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and the development of asthma and allergy in children.

To test whether fetal exposure to sufficiently high levels of maternal antibodies could lead to the development of autism spectrum disorders.

To explore the possible association of postnatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates in relation to autism-related symptoms, infant learning, behavior and neurophysiology among infant siblings of children with autism.

To determine whether cash receipts lead to a significant source of trans-dermal bisphenol A exposure by measuring levels in human urine

To evaluate the lifestyle and demographic factors that contribute to the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in human milk.

To measure the levels of gamma-tocopherols, 25-hydroxyvitamine, pesticides and blood lead and study their association with the development of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

To explore the exposure to perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and other polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) among persons living in northern Kentucky and in other communities along the Ohio River. The study will also evaluate whether being served by a water treatment system with granular activated charcoal filters can impact exposure to PFCs through drinking water.

To measure the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls and persistent pesticides in maternal serum and study the association with risk of autism.

To explore whether exposure to environmental toxicants is associated with blood folate concentrations, which may affect neurobehavioral and development disorders.

To study the relationship between exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and immune status.

To assess serum BPA levels in rodents and examine its potential impact on carcinogenesis and obesity.

To measure levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in young children from Krakow, Poland, and to determine whether exposure to these compounds has an impact on neurobehavioral development.

To measure manganese exposure as part of an epidemiologic health study for potentially exposed residents of East Liverpool, Ohio.

The Emergency Response Fund helps CDC respond to public health emergencies and, when needed, allows CDC experts on the frontlines of an emergency to immediately purchase the specialized equipment or services needed to get the job done.

To provide immediate, flexible resources to CDC experts, when their help is requested by health officials in another country to address a public health emergency - whether a natural disaster like the tsunami in Southeast Asia or the earthquake in Haiti or an emerging disease outbreak like SARS or H1N1.

The Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness is a unique national initiative to better prepare business, government and nonprofit leaders to work effectively together during a public health or safety crisis. Through the Summit, leaders learn skills needed for effective action during times of crisis and build organizational connections to strengthen community preparedness for responding to and recovering from emergencies.

To evaluate a new workplace safety program at a helicopter manufacturing facility to reduce work-related musculoskeletal and traumatic injuries.

To investigate the potential relationship between occupational exposure to pesticides and the development of Parkinson’s disease.   

To measure polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and determine the extent of endocrine disruption resulting from exposure to these compounds.

To support CDC's development and promotion of a Web-based policy simulation game that helps users explore the likely consequences of changing one or more aspects of the U.S. health system.

To educate students attending Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) about career opportunities within CDC by offering on-site workshops and meetings, internships and a student CDC Ambassador program.

To provide an opportunity for third- and fourth-year medical and veterinary students to gain public health experience in an international setting. Hubert fellows spend six to twelve weeks in a developing country working on a priority health problem in conjunction with CDC staff.

The David J. Sencer CDC Museum serves as CDC’s gateway to the public, and is dedicated to comprehensive scientific learning and outreach. Composed of innovative permanent exhibits representing the breadth of CDC’s work and history, topical changing exhibits, a theater and a classroom, this facility serves to educate all who visit about public health and the important work of CDC, with a special emphasis on curriculum-based educational workshops and camps targeting middle- and high-school students.

To create a statewide Evaluation Resource Center for nonprofit health organizations in Georgia.

To support an advanced leadership program for nurses in senior executive roles who are aspiring to lead and shape the U.S. health care system of the future.