As I prepare to leave the Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy (OHAIDP) and federal service at the end of December, I am pleased to inform you that the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health has announced that Richard Wolitski, PhD, has been appointed OHAIDP’s Acting Director effective January 11, 2016.

With over 25 years of experience studying HIV, STD, and hepatitis risk and its prevention in a wide range of populations, Dr. Wolitski brings a wealth of knowledge as well as passion to this new role. Currently at CDC, Rich serves as the Associate Director for Program and Performance Improvement at the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.

He has played key leadership roles in a number of groundbreaking studies including Community PROMISE, Project START, the Seropositive Urban Men’s Study, and the Housing and Health Study. He is an associate editor for AIDS Education and Prevention and serves on the editorial board of AIDS Care. Dr. Wolitski authored the first PEPFAR technical guidance on HIV prevention with men who have sex with men and contributed to the development of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), annual NHAS progress reports, and the recent five-year update to the NHAS.

During my tenure at CDC, I had the pleasure of collaborating with Rich on a number of HIV-related projects and in 2008 we co-edited, along with Dr. Ron Stall, a textbook on health disparities affecting gay and bisexual men in the United States.

Please join me in welcoming Rich to OHAIDP and to Washington, DC.