Marta  Gwinn

I'm a medical epidemiologist, retired from the US Public Health Service and CDC. My time there was bookended by the HIV and COVID-19 pandemics. I worked in HIV surveillance during the decade when PCR evolved from a new invention to the workhorse it is today. My interest in genomic technology and its application to epidemiology led me to join CDC's Office of Genomics and Public Health, which had been  established just as the Human Genome Project neared completion. In 2013, I joined the team that became CDC's Office of Advanced Molecular Detection, which aims to integrate pathogen genomics into public health surveillance and investigations. Genomic epidemiology was a critical component of the public health response to COVID-19. Using new science and technology to improve public health and social well-being has been the guiding passion of my career.