Don't Let Politics Affect Science

This weekend, Dr. Julie Gerberding resigned as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and will be replaced by an interim deputy director. I hope that President-elect Barrack Obama's replacement will be made on the basis of merit rather than politics.

The CDC is one of the major branches of the Department of Health and Human Services. One of its major roles is to make sure America is prepared for new health threats. One of its major focuses has been on disease prevention and therefore it is my opinion that its new director should have strong roots in clinical medicine as well as research.

The CDC has turned into a very large bureaucracy with offices in 54 countries around the world, and even though it is one of the best run government agencies in the country, it must reengineer itself to meet the health challenges of the new Century.

As we look at where America is in terms of disease prevention, these are the areas where we need to do a better job_ heart disease, diabetes, pregnancy care and bioterrorism.

I've never truly understood how scientific government positions are chosen. I wish that we would have more transparency so that we can understand on what merit some of our top scientists are chosen.

I have recently read some of the top names that are circulating as a possible director of the CDC, which include the health directors of many of our cities, including Dr. Thomas Friedman, the health commissioner of New York City.

However, I would suggest that if we really want change to occur in the CDC, the new director should have a strong clinical research background. So here's my list of some candidates that I hope will be considered:

Dr. Charles Lockwood - Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale University. Dr. David R. Bickers - Chairman of Dermatology at Columbia University. Dr. William C. Wood - Chief of Surgery at Emory Dr. Michael Lincoff - Director of Clinical Research at Cleveland Clinic

These are a few great scientists I hope the Obama transition team will look at. And, as I said, politics should not play a role in choosing our top scientists - and I hope it doesn't.