CDC Announces New Director of Division of HIV Prevention

Cross-posted from: CDC National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention Communication Center

Dear Colleagues:

I am delighted to announce that Robyn Neblett Fanfair, MD, MPH (CAPT, USPHS), has been selected as the permanent Director of the Division of HIV Prevention (DHP), National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), CDC. Dr. Neblett Fanfair has led the Division as the Acting Director since August 2022 and will continue to provide her scientific leadership and expertise to manage, direct and coordinate the work of the Division to reduce new HIV infections, advance health equity, and improve the health of people with HIV.

Dr. Neblett Fanfair began her career as a HIV prevention researcher, clinician, and public health practitioner in Baltimore. She conducted research in sexual networks and HIV and aging as a clinical research track fellow in the Johns Hopkins Division of General Internal Medicine. She served as a primary care provider for people with HIV at the Moore Clinic Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Neblett Fanfair joined the Baltimore City Department of Health as the Medical Director for the Druid Sexual Health Clinic. She joined CDC in 2010 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Mycotic Diseases Branch.

In 2012, Dr. Fanfair joined NCHHSTP as a Medical Epidemiologist in the Division of STD Prevention where she worked on projects focused on syphilis, mycoplasma, and herpes. In 2015 she joined DHP, as a Medical Epidemiologist to lead a randomized controlled trial assessing a collaborative data to care model to improve HIV care continuum outcomes. In 2018, she became Team Lead of the DHP Treatment Research Team. In this role, Dr. Neblett Fanfair led research activities to enhance engagement and retention in HIV care, increase viral suppression, and improve equity in health and life for persons with HIV. She also led the division’s Treatment pillar workgroup in support of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative (EHE). In November 2021, Dr. Neblett Fanfair was selected as the Principal Deputy Director of DHP and in August 2022 became the Acting Division Director.

Beyond these roles, as a CAPT in the USPHS she remains active in preparedness and response, deploying to support emergency responses for Ebola, Zika, Hurricane Irma/Maria, and COVID-19. A board-certified internist she serves as a primary care provider for Veterans with HIV at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Dr. Neblett Fanfair has authored or co-authored many scientific articles and is in demand nationally as a speaker and spokesperson for HIV treatment and prevention.

Dr. Neblett Fanfair received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, her Doctor of Medicine from the New York University School of Medicine, and her Master’s in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She trained in Internal Medicine at Cornell-New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Neblett Fanfair and supporting her as she leads the Division of HIV Prevention to help ensure a future free of HIV.

Sincerely,

/Jonathan Mermin/

Jonathan H. Mermin, M.D., MPH
RADM and Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS
Director
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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