Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s deputy director, has resigned, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Shuford, who also served as chief medical officer, was hired for the role in April. Her last day will be Nov. 12, the CDC said.<\/p>\n
“I am leaving to spend more time with my family,” Shuford said in a statement. “I am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC. It has been an amazing experience and I will be forever grateful for it.”<\/p>\n
In a separate statement, Dr. Erica Schwartz, the CDC’s director, thanked Shuford for her time at the federal health agency.<\/p>\n
“I am deeply grateful for Dr. Shuford’s outstanding leadership and commitment to CDC and public health, especially as she has navigated an exceptionally demanding, high-profile and constantly evolving environment over the past several months,” Schwartz said.<\/p>\n
In the interim, Satish Pillai will serve as acting CDC chief medical officer and deputy director.<\/p>\n
Shuford is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases and received her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, according to her bio on the CDC website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before joining the CDC, Shuford served as Texas’ chief state epidemiologist, later becoming commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.<\/p>\n “In this role, Dr. Shuford oversaw statewide public health programs, including infectious disease response, health promotion, epidemiology and emergency preparedness,” her bio reads.<\/p>\n Shuford was appointed in April with two others at the same time Schwartz was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the next CDC director.<\/p>\n “These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC,” Trump wrote in a social media post at the time.<\/p>\n Shuford has been a vocal supporter of vaccination, saying areas with declining measles vaccination rates are at an increased risk of outbreaks.<\/p>\n In February 2025, when a measles outbreak was spreading in western Texas, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said measles outbreaks were “not unusual,” adding that they happen every year.<\/p>\n