From: Maia Lagvilava
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2018 4:01 PM
To: Sopo Belkania
Cc: David Sergeenko
Subject: FW: Leadership Announcement -- Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis

From: Averhoff, Francisco (CDC/DDID/NCHHSTP/DVH) [mailto:fma0@cdc.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2018 2:00 AM
To: David Sergeenko <dsergeenko@moh.gov.ge>; Maia Lagvilava <mlagvilava@moh.gov.ge>; Gamkrelidze, Amiran (CDC ncdc.ge) <a.gamkrelidze@ncdc.ge>
Cc: Glass, Nancy (CDC/DDID/NCHHSTP/DVH) <iub1@cdc.gov>; Nasrullah, Muazzam (CDC/DDID/NCHHSTP/DVH) <hij9@cdc.gov>; Lia Gvinjilia <lgvinjilia@gmail.com>; Irinka Tskhomelidze <irinkatskhomelidze@gmail.com>; Tinatin Kuchuloria <kuchuloria.tatia@gmail.com>; Skaggs, Beth (CDC/CGH/DGHP) <bgs7@cdc.gov>
Subject: Fwd: Leadership Announcement -- Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that Carolyn Wester, MD, MPH, has been selected as the permanent Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) and will be joining the Center on January 22, 2019. Dr. Wester is currently the Medical Director for HIV, STDs, and Viral Hepatitis at the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), a position she has held since 2008.

Over the last ten years, Dr. Wester has led the daily operations for the TDH section tasked with the prevention and control of HIV, STDs, and viral hepatitis throughout Tennessee. Under her leadership, this section has successfully expanded partnerships and executed cross-program strategic plans. In particular, Dr. Wester launched and expanded the Viral Hepatitis program, integrating it with the HIV/STD section; doubled funding and tripled staff levels; expanded viral hepatitis surveillance, testing, prevention and treatment capacity across the state; and established an HIV/HCV outbreak response plan. Prior to this role, she has held positions as a Research Associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Director of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery section at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, and an attending physician at the Rush Center for Women’s Medicine, Chicago.

Dr. Wester has conducted research, serving as the principal investigator or co-investigator of several NIH-funded research studies in Botswana, including a prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV study, the country’s first randomized controlled trial. She has authored or co-authored a myriad of articles and given numerous presentations on HIV, viral hepatitis, STDs, and TB and on such topics as syringe services, women’s and minority health, and opioids. She received her Medical Degree from Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health, Qualitative Methods, from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Department of Medicine.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Wester to CDC and supporting her as the new permanent Director for DVH. I would like to thank Captain Paul Weidle, PharmD, MPH, Team Lead, Health Services Research-Prevention with Positives Team, DHAP, for his expertise, exceptional work, and commitment to public health as the Acting Director for the Division during the interim period.

All the best,

Jono

Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH

Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS

Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention