Staff Bio
Carolyn Wester, MD, MPH, Director, Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH), National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP)
Role at CDC
As Director of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis, Dr. Wester manages the design and implementation of national programs for viral hepatitis prevention, control, surveillance and outbreak response. Under her leadership in this role since January 2019, the Division has launched plans to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, controlled unprecedented outbreaks of hepatitis A involving dozens of states, and updated national viral hepatitis testing and vaccination recommendations among adults, moving from risk-based to universal recommendations. Under Dr. Wester's leadership, DVH has expanded partnerships with health departments and community partners to establish national viral hepatitis surveillance and to expand integrated prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for people who use drugs.
Prior to joining the CDC, Dr. Wester served as the Medical Director for HIV, STDs, and Viral Hepatitis at the Tennessee Department of Health where, for 10 years, she led the daily operations for the section tasked with the prevention and control of HIV, STDs, and viral hepatitis throughout Tennessee. Under her leadership, this section successfully expanded partnerships and executed cross-program strategic plans. In particular, Dr. Wester launched and expanded the Viral Hepatitis program, integrating it with the HIV/STD section; doubled funding and tripled staff levels; expanded viral hepatitis surveillance, testing, prevention and treatment capacity across the state; and established an HIV / hepatitis C outbreak response plan. Prior to that, Dr. Wester held positions as a Research Associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Director of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery section at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, and an attending physician at the Rush Center for Women's Medicine, Chicago. Dr. Wester has authored or co-authored over 60 articles and given numerous presentations on HIV, viral hepatitis, STDs, and women's health.
Dr. Wester received her Medical Degree from Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine in Hanover, NH; completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in urogynecology at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, IL; and received a Master of Public Health from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA.