Daniel B. Jernigan

Daniel B. Jernigan
Born1963 (age 62–63)
Fort Benning, Georgia, U.S.
EducationDuke University (BS)
Baylor College of Medicine (MD)
University of Texas School of Public Health (MPH)
OccupationsPhysician; public health official
Employer(s)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (career); consultant (post-CDC)
Known forInfectious disease outbreak response; surveillance; pandemic preparedness
Uniformed service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Service years
1996–2019
Rank
Captain

Daniel B. Jernigan is an American physician, public health leader, and retired Captain with the United States Public Health Service. Jernigan is known for his work in infectious disease detection, outbreak readiness and response, and public health surveillance. He served thirty-one years at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in leadership roles including director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), CDC deputy director for public health science and surveillance, and director of CDC's Influenza Division.[1] He received the 2019 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Science and Environment) for his public health service.[2]

Education

Jernigan earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University, and later completed combined medical and public health training, receiving an MD from Baylor College of Medicine and an MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health.[1] He completed residency training in internal medicine and preventive medicine, and he completed a fellowship in CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS).[1][3]

Career

After completing EIS in CDC's Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Jernigan worked as a CDC epidemiologist assigned to the Washington State Department of Health from 1996 to 1999 addressing emerging infections and antimicrobial-resistant infections.[1] Jernigan later moved to CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases, where he developed and implemented national standards for electronic laboratory reporting for notifiable infectious disease surveillance.[4][5]

Jernigan subsequently served as Epidemiology Section Chief for CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. Media coverage and reports described investigations involving healthcare-associated, antimicrobial-resistant, and transplant-associated infections.[6][7]

Beginning in 2006, Jernigan joined CDC's Influenza Division and from 2015 to 2021 served as director of the division, overseeing prevention and control of human, swine, and avian influenza infections in the U.S. and globally. Media reports from this period described his work during severe flu seasons and the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic.[8] Jernigan led developments of surveillance and response innovations including the International Reagent Resource (IRR) for sharing test materials globally, and the Influenza Risk Assessment Tool which later was used for the WHO Tool for Influenza Pandemic Risk Assessment.[9][10]

In 2021, Jernigan became CDC's deputy director for public health science and surveillance overseeing the agency's Data Modernization Initiative.[1] He finished his career at CDC as director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases from 2023 to 2025. In August 2025, news organizations reported that Jernigan was among senior CDC leaders who resigned following the removal of CDC director Susan Monarez.[11][12]

Publications

Jernigan has authored over 160 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters on bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases and on innovations for infectious diseases surveillance and public health informatics.[3]

Outbreak investigations

Jernigan has led over 60 infectious disease outbreaks and public health responses[3] Examples include:

Legionnaires’ disease

Jernigan served as lead officer for an investigation of fatal pneumonia among cruise ship passengers which identified recreational whirlpool spas as a source of transmission.[13][14] This work led to changes in federal vessel sanitation requirements and inspections.[15]

Jernigan served as the lead for the CDC's Epidemiology Team in the Emergency Operations Center during the 2001 investigation into bioterrorism-related anthrax cases.[16] Later reports describe how this effort informed and improved emergency responses subsequently facing CDC.[17]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan

Jernigan led a team supporting the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control in 2003. Reports described the importance of adherence to infection control in stopping spread of SARS.[18][19]

Infections from organ and tissue transplantation

Jernigan supervised CDC teams investigating fatal transplant-associated infections due to rabies, West Nile virus (WNV), lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), and fatal Clostridium infections associated with cadaveric tissue allografts.[20][21][22] Descriptions of investigations and subsequent changes to oversight and regulation have been reported.[23][24]

Jernigan in CDC’s Emergency Operations Center for the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic response.

Human, swine, avian, and pandemic influenza

Jernigan served for 15 years in CDC's Influenza Division as deputy director and later director. During the response to the emerging influenza A(H1N1) pandemic virus, he led a task force responsible for outbreak response, epidemiology, surveillance, laboratory, international coordination, modelling, and other workstreams.[3] Scientific reports described rapid characterisation of the virus and rapid development and deployment of tests by CDC.[25][26] Jernigan subsequently served as lead, Avian Influenza H7N9 Epidemiology and Laboratory Task Force, overseeing teams monitoring influenza A(H7N9) infections spreading in China in 2013.[27]

Ebola, West Africa

In 2014–2015, Jernigan served in leadership roles in CDC's Ebola response, including in Sierra Leone and as overall incident manager for CDC's global response. Reports describe the Freetown, Sierra Leone efforts with “Operation Western Area Surge” in stopping the Western African Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone.[28][29]

COVID-19 pandemic

Jernigan served as incident manager for CDC's global response to COVID-19 and later served as CDC's lead official to the FEMA/HHS National Response Coordination Center (NRCC).[30] A FEMA after-action assessment describes the NRCC's central coordinating role during March 2020.[31]

Daniel B. Jernigan
Allegiance United States of America
Branch
 U.S. Public Health Service
Rank
 Captain
Unit USPHS Commissioned Corps
Awards USPHS Distinguished Service Medal
USPHS Commendation Medal
USPHS Achievement Medal
Presidential Unit Citation (United States)
USPHS Outstanding Unit Citation
USPHS Unit Commendation
USPHS Ebola Campaign Medal
USPHS Crisis Response Service Award
USPHS Global Response Service Award
USPHS Bicentennial Unit Commendation
USPHS Regular Corps Ribbon
USPHS Commissioned Officers Association ribbon

Awards

Jernigan received the 2019 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Science and Environment) for contributions to pandemic preparedness, surveillance innovations, and outbreak response.[2] For work related to public health data systems, he received a HIMSS Changemaker in Health Award (Policy Influencer, 2023).[32] Jernigan received awards and decorations during his 23 years in the United States Public Health Service.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Biography: Daniel B. Jernigan, MD, MPH" (PDF). U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Daniel B. Jernigan, M.D." Service to America Medals. Partnership for Public Service. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Written Statement of Daniel B. Jernigan, MD, MPH (House hearing witness statement)" (PDF). Congress.gov. U.S. Congress. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ Effler, P; et al. (1999). "Statewide system of electronic notifiable disease reporting from clinical laboratories: comparing automated reporting with conventional methods". JAMA. 282 (19): 1845–1850. doi:10.1001/jama.282.19.1845.
  5. ↑ Jernigan, D (2001). "Electronic laboratory-based reporting: opportunities and challenges for surveillance". Emerg Infect Dis. 7 (3 Supp): 538. doi:10.3201/eid0707.017717. PMC 2631816.
  6. ↑ "Bacteria Run Wild, Defying Antibiotics". The New York Times. March 2, 2004. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  7. ↑ "What Killed Brian Lykins?". CBS News. May 14, 2002. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Sleuthing Swine Flu". The Washington Post. May 3, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  9. ↑ "IRR International Reagent Resource". CDC. December 20, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Influenza Risk Assessment Tool (IRAT) Virus Descriptions and Report Summaries". CDC. May 2, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  11. ↑ "CDC director Susan Monarez is fired and other agency leaders resign". Associated Press. August 27, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Inside the Chaos at the C.D.C." New Yorker. September 9, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  13. ↑ Jernigan, DB; et al. (1996). "Outbreak of Legionnaires' disease among cruise ship passengers exposed to a contaminated whirlpool spa". The Lancet. 347: 494–499. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(96)91137-x.
  14. ↑ "Disease Detectives: Officers of the Epidemic Intelligence Service Tackle the Country's Medical Mysteries". The Washington Post. September 19, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Vessel Sanitation Program Operations Manual" (PDF). USPHS/CDC/NCEH. August 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  16. ↑ Jernigan, D; et al. (2002). "Investigation of bioterrorism-related anthrax, United States, 2001: epidemiologic findings". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 8 (10): 1019–1028. doi:10.3201/eid0810.020353. PMC 2730292.
  17. ↑ "Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - Remembering 9/11 and Anthrax" (PDF). TFAH-RWJF. September 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  18. ↑ McDonald, LC; et al. (2004). "SARS in healthcare facilities, Toronto and Taiwan". Emerg Infect Dis. 10 (5): 777–81. doi:10.3201/eid1005.030791. PMC 3323242.
  19. ↑ Braden, CR; et al. (2013). "Progress in global surveillance and response capacity 10 years after severe acute respiratory syndrome". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 19 (6): 864–869. doi:10.3201/eid1906.130192. PMC 3713843.
  20. ↑ Srinivasan, A; et al. (2005). "Transmission of rabies virus from an organ donor to four transplant recipients". New England Journal of Medicine. 352 (11): 1103–11. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa043018.
  21. ↑ Iwamoto, M; et al. (2003). "Transmission of West Nile virus from an organ donor to four transplant recipients". New England Journal of Medicine. 348 (22): 2196–2203. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa022987.
  22. ↑ Kainer, MA; et al. (2004). "Clostridium infections associated with musculoskeletal-tissue allografts". New England Journal of Medicine. 351 (4): 397–8. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa023222.
  23. ↑ "Tissue Recall". NPR. August 15, 2002. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Current Good Tissue Practice for Human Cell, Tissue, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Product Establishments". FDA. November 24, 2004. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  25. ↑ Garten, RJ; et al. (2009). "Antigenic and genetic characteristics of swine-origin 2009 A(H1N1) influenza viruses circulating in humans". Science. 325 (5937): 197–201. doi:10.1126/science.1176225.
  26. ↑ Jernigan, DB; et al. (2011). "Detecting 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection: availability of diagnostic testing led to rapid pandemic response". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 52 (Suppl 1): S36–S43. doi:10.1093/cid/ciq020.
  27. ↑ Jernigan, DB; et al. (2015). "H7N9: preparing for the unexpected in influenza". Annu Rev Med. 66: 361–71. doi:10.1146/annurev-med-010714-112311.
  28. ↑ "Ebola end game in sight as new cases fall sharply in Sierra Leone". Reuters. January 21, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  29. ↑ Bell, BP; et al. (2016). "Overview, Control Strategies, and Lessons Learned in the CDC Response to the 2014–2016 Ebola Epidemic". MMWR Supplements. 65 (3): 4–11. doi:10.15585/mmwr.su6503a2.
  30. ↑ Jernigan, DB; et al. (2020). "Update: Public Health Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak — United States, February 24, 2020". MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 69 (8): 216–219. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6908e1. PMC 7367075.
  31. ↑ "Pandemic Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Initial Assessment Report" (PDF). Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). January 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Celebrating 2023 HIMSS Changemaker in Health Award recipients". HIMSS Iowa. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
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