Dr. Julie Gerberding

t's been a roller-coaster ride at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since Julie Gerberding took the helm in mid-2002. In short succession, the CDC dealt with mass outbreaks of intestinal illness aboard cruise ships; the issue of smallpox vaccinations for homeland defense; the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and monkey pox; the spread of West Nile virus; and more.

For the most part, Gerberding and her agency received good marks for their handling of these public health issues. Although the smallpox program encountered resistance from the health care workers who were supposed to be vaccinated, few have blamed the CDC for the outcome.

Before Gerberding took over, the CDC had been criticized for mishandling its response to the anthrax attacks in 2001 and other emergencies. Its communications with state and local health authorities and with the public were a particularly sore point. Under Gerberding, the agency has taken on more of a leadership role in public health and improved its responsiveness and its communications with the public during emergencies. The new Public Health Information Network will be a vehicle for crisis communications among government officials at all levels. While dealing with these issues, the CDC also has tackled continuing and chronic health issues such as obesity, flu, asthma, and diabetes.

Gerberding herself has become something of a celebrity. Many people recognize her trademark gray-streaked hair and polished style. When Vogue published an article on SARS in mid-2002, Gerberding's accompanying photo showed her wearing an elegant Chanel suit and open-toed stiletto shoes.

At 48, Gerberding has spent much of her professional life dealing with health crises. In the 1980s, she was at the center of the AIDS outbreak. As an intern and resident physician at the University of California (San Francisco), she treated many desperately ill AIDS patients at San Francisco General Hospital. Later, she became the hospital's director of epidemiology.

She stayed on in San Francisco, earning a master's degree in public health at the University of California (Berkeley) and becoming a member of the University of California (San Francisco) medical school faculty.

Gerberding joined the CDC in 1998 as head of its health care quality program. In that position, she worked to reduce medical errors, control hospital infections, and slow the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. She also continued to teach, joining the faculty of Emory University in Atlanta, and became acting deputy director of the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases before taking the agency's reins.

A native of Estelline, S.D., Gerberding earned bachelor's and medical degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.