ROCHESTER, Minn. — Julie Louise Gerberding, M.D., former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., chairperson and CEO of United Therapeutics Corp. (Nasdaq:UTHR), were elected by the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees as public trustees at its quarterly meeting on Aug. 12. They will join the Board of Trustees effective Nov. 10.
“Drs. Gerberding and Rothblatt are two of the most insightful, creative and innovative leaders in health care today,” says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., Mayo Clinic’s president and CEO. “They have been on the forefront of working to solve some of the most serious and challenging health care issues of our time. We are honored to have them as members of our board.”
About Dr. Gerberding
Dr. Gerberding was CDC director from 2002 to 2009. She led the agency through more than 40 emergency responses to public health crises, including SARS in 2003. She is CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health creates and manages research alliances with public and private institutions in support of the mission of the National Institutes of Health to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. The organization works with its partners to accelerate biomedical research that addresses some of the most pressing health challenges worldwide.
Previously, Dr. Gerberding was executive vice president and chief patient officer at Merck & Co., where she was responsible for patient engagement, strategic communications, global public policy, population health and corporate responsibility. She joined Merck in 2010 as president of Merck Vaccines to increase global access to important vaccines among those who need them most.
Dr. Gerberding has received more than 50 awards and honors, including the Department of Health and Human Services’ Distinguished Service Award for her leadership in responses to anthrax bioterrorism and the attacks on 9/11.
Dr. Gerberding received her undergraduate and doctorate degrees from Case Western Reserve University. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine and fellowship in clinical pharmacology and infectious diseases at the University of California, San Francisco, and is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases. Dr. Gerberding also received a Master of Public Health degree at the University of California, Berkeley.
About Dr. Rothblatt
Dr. Rothblatt is chair and CEO of United Therapeutics Corp., a company she started to save her youngest child’s life from a rare illness. She previously created SiriusXM Radio Inc. and other satellite communications systems. She is also responsible for several innovations in aviation and architecture, including the design and piloting of an electric helicopter for Guinness World Records and creating the world’s largest zero-carbon footprint building.
Her company is saving countless lives per year with medicines for pulmonary hypertension and neuroblastoma, and by restoring otherwise discarded donor lungs for transplant. United Therapeutics Corp. is also in preclinical development of manufactured kidneys, hearts and lungs to be delivered via autonomously flown electric vertical takeoff and landing systems.
Dr. Rothblatt led the efforts to create the first genetically modified porcine hearts and kidneys transplanted into humans — called xenotransplantation.
Dr. Rothblatt earned her doctoral degree in medical ethics from the Royal London College of Medicine and Dentistry. Prior to that, she earned her law and MBA degrees from UCLA, which also recently awarded her the UCLA Medal — its highest honor. She is an inventor on several patents and the author of several books. Her most recent book pertains to artificial cognition and cyberconsciousness.
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About Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees
The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees, a 31-member group of public representatives and Mayo Clinic physicians and administrators, is responsible for patient care, medical education and research at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, as well as Mayo Clinic Health System, a network of clinics and hospitals serving more than 60 communities in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.
