Stephen C. Redd is a U.S. physician and rear admiral with the U.S. Public Health Service and an Assistant Surgeon General. With over 30 years of public health and executive leadership experience, he currently serves as Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previously, he was the Director of the CDC's Influenza Coordination Unit, where he served as the incident commander for the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic influenza response.
Following residency training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Redd joined CDC in 1985 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the National Center for Infectious Diseases, where he investigated outbreaks of bacterial respiratory diseases, such as Legionnaires’ disease, conducted laboratory studies, and conducted nationwide surveys. Following his EIS training, Redd joined the CDC’s International Health Program Office, where he worked on childhood survival projects in Africa to develop diagnostic and treatment strategies for malaria and acute respiratory infections. Redd has investigated and led the U.S. response for some of the most notable public health outbreaks, including Legionnaires’ Disease in the 1980s and measles in the 1990s; he later served as an integral part of CDC’s Anthrax Response in 2001. Redd also led a team that evaluated the effect of air pollution regulations on deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. In 2005, Redd was deployed on behalf of CDC to coordinate federal efforts and work closely with Louisiana health officials to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Influenza Coordination Unit and H1N1 Pandemic Response
In 2006, in order to have a more comprehensive agency approach to its far-reaching influenza activities, the CDC created the Influenza Coordination Unit to prepare for and respond to severe influenza pandemics. From 2006 through 2014, Redd served as the director of the CDC’s Influenza Coordination Unit and was responsible for ensuring CDC’s readiness for an influenza pandemic. Redd worked across CDC, with state and local governments, and other federal agencies to develop and test response plans connecting international, federal, state and local efforts. When the H1N1 pandemic influenza virus was first identified in April 2009, Redd was named Incident Commander where he led CDC’s H1N1 response, including case surveillance, public communication and education, developing and disseminating clinical guidance, and vaccination efforts. The CDC’s emergency response was active from April 2009 to March 2010. During the response, 81 million Americans were vaccinated, and over one million cases, 18,000 hospitalizations and 600 deaths were prevented through vaccination and antiviral treatment.
Redd has authored over 120 scientific publications on a variety of topics, including: pandemic influenza, Legionnaires' disease, acute respiratory infections, malaria, measles and asthma.
Personal life
Redd is married and has two adult children. His wife, Judy is a radiologist in private practice in Atlanta. He and his family attend Christ the King Cathedral. Redd's son was a Boy Scout and achieved Eagle Scout rank, and Redd served as an Assistant Scout Master in an Atlanta Area Council Troop. Redd also volunteers with the Atlanta Commissioned Officers Association on a regular basis.
