U.C President elect Joe Biden announced yesterday that he has chosen Dr. Rochelle Walensky, currently chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, to run the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Walensky has conducted pioneering research on HIV/AIDS and has worked closely as a collaborator and much esteemed colleague with the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation in the past. Her research has focused on equity and access to treatment and prevention and has included topics such as the cost effectiveness of various antiretroviral treatment in stopping the spread of HIV and best strategies for HIV prevention in constrained settings.
“We are delighted by the news that our good friend and colleague Dr. Rochelle Walensky will be heading the American CDC under President Biden’s administration. Her passion for evidence based public health, her undeniable competence and her willingness to speak her mind and the truth make her the perfect person to lead the CDC during the next phase of the Coronavirus pandemic and the next HIV chapter,” said DTHF COO Linda-Gail Bekker.
