The CDC Leaders

"We want our science to be relevant, to be of the highest scientific quality, and, most of all, to have the greatest impact on worker safety and health."

- John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM

John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM

Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM, began his six-year term as the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in July 2002. A statutory position, the director of NIOSH comes through the Occupational Safety and Health Act and is appointed by the HHS Secretary.

Doctor Howard's background blends medicine and law. Prior to his appointment as director of NIOSH, he served as chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the California Department of Industrial Relations from 1991 through 2002.

He received his doctor of medicine from Loyola University of Chicago, in 1974; his master of public health from the Harvard School of Public Health, in 1982; his doctor of law from the University of California at Los Angeles, in 1986; and his master of law in administrative law from the George Washington University in Washington, DC, in 1987.

Doctor Howard is board-certified in internal medicine and occupational medicine. He is admitted to the practice of medicine and law in the State of California and the District of Columbia, and is a member of the US Supreme Court bar. He has written numerous articles on occupational health law and policy. He's been an assistant clinical professor at various universities, a medical director, and a staff physician. He's also the chair of the Global Network of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health.