ARLINGTON, Va., April 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) issued the following statement after the appointment of ASTHO board member and Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, as CDC deputy director and chief medical officer:

"We applaud the appointment of Dr. Shuford to serve as deputy director and chief medical officer for CDC," says ASTHO CEO Joseph Kanter, MD, MPH. "She is widely respected within the public health and governmental leadership communities. As the current commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services and a valued member of the ASTHO board of directors, Dr. Shuford has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a steadfast commitment to evidence-based public health. Her experience leading one of the nation's largest and most complex state health agencies—particularly her work as a frontline infectious disease physician and chief state epidemiologist—makes her uniquely qualified to help lead CDC."

"Dr. Shuford understands the vital relationship between federal, state, local, territorial and tribal public health departments. We are confident that her clinical expertise and proven track record in crisis management and health promotion will be invaluable assets to CDC and the nation," Kanter added.

Dr. Shuford graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. She completed an internal medicine residency at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where she served as chief resident. Dr. Shuford completed an infectious disease fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and earned her Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Shuford serves on the faculty of the DSHS Preventive Medicine and Public Health Residency Program. She is a member of the Travis County Medical Society, the Texas Medical Association, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/astho-statement-on-appointment-of-texas-commissioner-jennifer-shuford-md-mph-as-cdc-deputy-director-302746153.html

SOURCE Association of State and Territorial Health Officials