U. of M. AIDS expert Redfield to head CDC

A doctor with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a longtime AIDS researcher who helped found the school’s Institute of Human Virology, has been named to head the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The appointment of Dr. Robert Redfield Jr., an infectious disease expert, was announced late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Health Secretary Alex Azar lauded Redfield for his contribution to advancing the understanding of HIV/AIDS. His most recent work was running a treatment center for HIV and hepatitis C patients that Azar said will prepare Redfield for fighting the opioid epidemic, one of the CDC’s most pressing issues.

“Dr. Redfield has dedicated his entire life to promoting public health and providing compassionate care to his patients, and we are proud to welcome him as director of the world’s premier epidemiological agency. Dr. Redfield’s scientific and clinical background is peerless,” Azar said.

Redfield was not available for comment. He was also a finalist for CDChead in 2002 under the George W. Bush administration.

His appointment was met with criticism from people who said his background was mostly in research and that he lacked public health experience. He was also at the center of an experimental and controversial AIDS vaccine in the 1990s.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump, saying that Redfield’s controversial positions on issues regarding HIV/ AIDS raised questions about his qualifications. Murray, the ranking minority member of the committee that oversees CDC, also criticized his lack of public health experience.