Less than five months into her tenure as deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jennifer Shuford will leave the agency next month, a spokesperson said.
His departure is the latest example of the change in leadership that has shaken the nation’s top health agencies under the Trump administration.
Shuford’s last day will be Nov. 12, the CDC spokesperson said. In a statement provided on Shuford’s behalf, she said she was leaving to spend more time with her family.
“I am so grateful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead the CDC. It has been an incredible experience and I will be forever grateful,” she said.
The spokesperson said Satish Pillai, who is leading the agency’s Ebola response, will serve as acting deputy director and chief medical officer while the CDC searches for a permanent successor.
President Donald Trump announced in April that Shuford had been nominated to lead the CDC, and she began her dual role in June. Previously, she served as chief epidemiologist for the state of Texas during the Covid pandemic, then was appointed in 2022 as commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. In this role, she oversaw the response to the measles outbreak centered in West Texas last year, which resulted in more than 750 cases and the deaths of two school-aged children.
The CDC has lost several senior leaders over the past year and a half. The agency was without a permanent director for about a year after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired CDC Director Susan Monarez in August 2025, just 29 days into her role. The Senate confirmed the current director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, in August.
In February, CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Ralph Abraham resigned, and Dr. Allison Arwady, director of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, announced her departure in June.
The agency also saw a wave of departures last year after Monarez’s firing: Four top officials resigned, three of whom cited concerns about political interference in the CDC’s scientific process.
Schwartz announced Shuford’s departure in an email to staff Tuesday morning, which was viewed by NBC News.
“I am deeply grateful for Dr. Shuford’s exceptional leadership and commitment to the CDC and public health, especially as she has navigated an exceptionally demanding, high-level, and constantly evolving environment over the past several months,” Schwartz wrote.
Other federal health agencies have also experienced significant leadership upheaval this year.
Calley Means, a central advocate of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, resigned last week from his role as a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Marty Makary also resigned in May as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration after opposing the Trump administration’s moves to expand access to flavored e-cigarettes. That same month, the FDA’s vaccine chief resigned and the head of the FDA division that regulates over-the-counter and prescription drugs said she had been fired.
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