CDC's deputy director resigns after being hired in April

Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's deputy director, has resigned, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

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.

"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."

In a separate statement, Dr. Erica Schwartz, the CDC's director, thanked Shuford for her time at the federal health agency.

"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.

In the interim, Satish Pillai will serve as acting CDC chief medical officer and deputy director.

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.

Before joining the CDC, Shuford served as Texas' chief state epidemiologist, later becoming commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

"In this role, Dr. Shuford oversaw statewide public health programs, including infectious disease response, health promotion, epidemiology and emergency preparedness," her bio reads.

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.

"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.

Shuford has been a vocal supporter of vaccination, saying areas with declining measles vaccination rates are at an increased risk of outbreaks.

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.

But in an appearance on CNN the same month, Shuford described Texas' measles outbreak as "unusual" for the state.

"We haven't had this sort of an outbreak since the early 1990s and it's seriously impacting the population in that region," she said. "This community has had some falling vaccine coverage rates in recent years and so we're trying to correct that, trying to get vaccines out there to protect our population and to try to get rid of this measles outbreak that's affecting them right now."

Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, while still in her role as chief state epidemiologist, Shuford appeared in a video posted on Facebook explaining how COVID-19 vaccines work, including efficacy and side effects.