Susan Coller Monarez grew up in rural Wisconsin.

Her father was dairy farmer turned police officer, and her mother held a string of jobs including factory worker and librarian, she told senators during her confirmation hearing in June.

She was the first CDC director to go through a Senate confirmation process since a change in law in 2023.

She was also the first who wasn’t a medical doctor to head the agency. But Monarez does have a high qualifications in health – she has a doctoral degree in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was previously the deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a federal agency started under the Biden administration to fund health research.

She also worked at the White House in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and on the National Security Council.

She was sworn in by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr on 31 July after a 51-47 Senate vote on party lines with Republicans backing her.

Before that she was the acting director. She was fired on 27 August, less than a month after her swearing-in.

Image source, Reuters