Susan Monarez

Susan Patricia Coller Monarez (née Coller, born November 6, 1974) is an American microbiologist and public health official who served as the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, first in an acting capacity from January to March 2025, and then as a confirmed position for under a month from July to August 2025.

Susan Monarez
Official portrait, 2025
21st Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
In office July 31, 2025 – August 27, 2025
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Debra Houry (acting)
Preceded by	Matthew Buzzelli (acting)
Succeeded by	Jim O'Neill (acting)
Acting January 23, 2025 – March 24, 2025
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Nirav D. Shah Debra Houry (acting)
Preceded by	Mandy Cohen
Succeeded by	Matthew Buzzelli (acting)
Personal details
Born	Susan Patricia Coller (1974-11-06) November 6, 1974 (age 50)
Education	University of Wisconsin, Madison (BS, MS, PhD)

Monarez's early career was as an academic microbiologist. She then served in several U.S. government positions as a science administrator, including at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and later as Deputy Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.

Early life

Monarez grew up in rural Wisconsin. According to Monarez, her father was a dairy farmer who had to sell his farm after a disease outbreak in his herd and later became a police officer, while her mother worked in various factory and clerical jobs and as a librarian.

Academic career

Monarez completed a B.S. in microbiology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and then her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology in 2003 at the same institution. Her Ph.D. research advisor was Donna Paulnock, and her research focused on developing technologies to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases, particularly those affecting low- and middle-income countries. Her dissertation explored how trypanosome GIP-sVSG regulates macrophages during Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection.

Monarez was a postdoctoral researcher from 2003 to 2006 at Stanford University School of Medicine in John C. Boothroyd's group, continuing her work in the field of infectious disease research. Her academic work focused on effective remedies for two diseases,African sleeping sickness and toxoplasmosis.

Government career

Monarez was a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science during 2006–2007. She worked as a science and policy advisor at Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) during 2006–2009, and at the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) during 2009–2013.

Monarez served as Assistant Director for National Health Security and International Affairs in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Director of Medical Preparedness Policy on the National Security Council during 2014–2016, where her work included initiatives to combat antimicrobial resistance, expand the use of wearable technology for health monitoring, and improve pandemic preparedness efforts.

At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Monarez served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy and Data Analytics during 2016–2018, overseeing research portfolios for BARDA and HSARPA. In this capacity, she also led international cooperative initiatives to foster bilateral and multilateral collaboration in health research and innovation.

Monarez was the founding director of the Office of Planning, Analysis and Evaluation at the Health Resources and Services Administration during 2018–2022.

In January 2023, Monarez was appointed deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), where she led projects focused on applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve health outcomes, addressing healthcare accessibility and affordability, expanding mental health interventions, combating the opioid epidemic in the United States, addressing disparities in maternal health, and improving organ donation and transplantation systems.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Monarez became Principal Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 23, 2025. Her leadership responsibilities at the CDC included overseeing responses to public health emergencies and emerging diseases.

Donald Trump announced her nomination as permanent Director on March 24, 2025, after he withdrew his previous nomination of Dave Weldon. She was the first appointee to the position requiring confirmation by the Senate due to a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Upon being nominated, she stepped down as Acting Director due to requirements of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed her 51–47 in a party-line vote. Because she has a Ph.D. rather than an M.D. degree, she was the first director without a medical degree since 1953.

On August 27, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated in a post on X that Monarez was no longer CDC Director. It was reported that she was fired because she refused to support directives from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on changes to vaccine policy, including for approvals for COVID-19 vaccines, and to fire her senior staff, and for recruiting Senator Bill Cassidy to intervene in the dispute.

On the day of the firing, attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, representing Monarez, stated that she had not actually been fired yet, and that she would not resign. Later that day, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai announced via email that Monarez had been fired. Zaid maintained that the firing remained invalid because, as a Senate-confirmed official, Monarez could only be fired directly by President Trump himself and not by other White House officials. However, by September 3, she was no longer trying to be reinstated.

Following news of her ouster, at least four other CDC senior officials announced their resignations:

• Debra Houry, Chief Medical Officer
• Demetre Daskalakis, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
• Daniel Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
• Jennifer Layden, Director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, which contains the National Center for Health Statistics

On August 28, it was reported that the Trump administration was planning to appoint HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill as Acting CDC Director.

References

1. Mandavilli, Apoorva; Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (March 24, 2025). "Trump Nominates Susan Monarez to Lead C.D.C.". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025.
2. "Secretary Kennedy Swears in Susan Monarez as CDC Director to Advance 'Make America Healthy Again' Agenda". United States Department of Health and Human Services. July 31, 2025.
3. Monarez, Susan (June 25, 2025). "Senate Confirmation Hearing Statement" (PDF). U.S. Senate Commitee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
4. "ARPA-H Selects Dr. Susan Monarez as Deputy Director". ARPA-H. January 6, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
5. Coller, Susan Patricia. "Macrophage regulation by trypanosome GIP -sVSG during Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
6. "Susan Monarez". Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. Coller, Susan (2003). Macrophage regulation by trypanosome GIP-SVSG during trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection (Ph.D. thesis). University of Wisconsin–Madison. OCLC 53975365.
8. "Lab Alumni". Boothroyd Lab.
9. Dr. Susan Coller Monarez – Senate Confirmation Hearing Statement Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. June 25, 2025
10. "S&T Policy FellowsCentral: Fellow Directory". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
11. "Susan Monarez". LegiStorm. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
12. "Acting Director, First Assistant to the Director, Principal Deputy Director". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 24, 2025. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
13. "Susan Monarez". LegiStorm. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
14. "Susan Monarez". LegiStorm. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
15. Tin, Alexander (January 23, 2025). "Trump administration expected to go outside CDC for acting director". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025.
16. Tirrell, Meg; Valencia, Nick; Gumbrecht, Jamie; Goodman, Brenda (March 24, 2025). "Dr. Susan Monarez named as Trump's pick to lead CDC". CNN. Archived from the original on March 26, 2025.
17. Jacobs, Jennifer; Tin, Alexander (March 24, 2025). "Trump nominates Susan Monarez for CDC director, elevating from acting role". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025.
18. Frieden, Joyce (June 28, 2023). "CDC Director Post Will Require Senate Confirmation Starting in 2025". MedPage Today. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
19. Sekar, Kavya (March 22, 2024). "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): History, Overview of Domestic Programs, and Selected Issues". Congressional Research Service. Congress.gov (CRS Report). "CDC Director Authorization" section. Archived from the original on March 26, 2025.
20. Weixel, Nathaniel; Choi, Joseph; O'Connell-Domenech, Alejandra (July 29, 2025). "CDC director poised for confirmation". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 30, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
21. "Susan Monarez confirmed as Trump's CDC director". AP News. July 29, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
22. Owermohle, Sarah; Branswell, Helen (March 24, 2025). "Trump picks Susan Monarez to run the CDC". STAT. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025.
23. Sun, Lena H.; Diamond, Dan; Weber, Lauren (August 27, 2025). "CDC director ousted, top officials resign after RFK Jr. push to change vaccine policy". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
24. Gardner, Sophie; Lim, David (August 30, 2025). "The meeting that sparked Monarez's dismissal". Politico. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
25. Constantino, Annakin Kim (August 27, 2025). "CDC Director Susan Monarez ousted, four other leaders quit health agency". CNBC. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
26. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Mandavilli, Apoorva; Jewett, Christina (August 27, 2025). "White House Says New C.D.C. Director Is Fired, but She Refuses to Leave". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
27. Milman, Oliver (August 28, 2025). "Fired CDC chief Susan Monarez refuses to step down, defying White House". The Guardian. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
28. Payne, Daniel (September 3, 2025). "After ousting CDC's director, RFK Jr. mirrors her ideas to reform the agency". STAT. Retrieved September 4, 2025. Monarez refused and fought the attempt to remove her, though she has since stopped trying to be reinstated, according to a person familiar with the matter.
29. Choi, Joseph; Weixel, Nathaniel (August 27, 2025). "4 CDC leaders resign over 'weaponizing of public health'". The Hill. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
30. Dunbar, Marina (August 28, 2025). "CDC in crisis: who are the top officials resigning or being forced out?". The Guardian. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
31. Stobbe, Mike; Seitz, Amanda; Megerian, Chris (August 28, 2025). "CDC gets new acting director as leadership turmoil leaves agency reeling". AP News. Retrieved August 28, 2025.

Government offices
Preceded by Mandy Cohen	Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting 2025	Succeeded by Matthew Buzzelli Acting
Preceded by Matthew Buzzelli Acting	Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2025	Succeeded by Jim O'Neill