DPDM Leadership

Christopher R. Braden, MD

Acting Director of the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM)

Christopher Braden, MD, is the acting director of the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM). Dr. Braden‘s permanent position is principal deputy director for NCEZID. Prior positions include director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases; associate director for science in the Division of Parasitic Diseases; and chief of outbreak response and surveillance within the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch, Division of Foodborne, Bacterial, and Mycotic Diseases at the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases. Dr. Braden also served as a medical epidemiologist in CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.

Dr. Braden earned his BS at Cornell University in 1983 and MD at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 1987. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine, and then a fellowship in infectious diseases at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston. He went on to become an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at CDC in 1993. He served as a commissioned officer in the US Public Health Service, and he is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Epidemiological Society, and an associate editor for the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. 

An author of more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters, Dr. Braden’s major areas of interest include molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases, infectious diseases surveillance and outbreak investigation, and national programs on food safety. 

Monica Parise, MD

CAPT US Public Health Service (Ret.)

Monica Parise is the Deputy Director for Science and Program for the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM) in CDC’s Center for Global Health.

Joni Young

Joni Young is the Deputy Director of Management and Operations in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Michael Aidoo, PhD

Michael Aidoo is the Associate Director for Laboratory Science (ADLS) in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Termika Smith, Ed.D, MPA

Termika Smith is the Acting Deputy Director for Policy and Communications in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Brian Raphael, PhD

Brian Raphael is the Acting Chief of the Laboratory Science and Diagnostics Branch in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Peter McElroy, PhD, MPH

Peter McElroy is the Chief of the Malaria Branch in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Audrey Lenhart, PhD, MPH

Audrey Lenhart is the Chief of the Entomology Branch in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.

Paul Cantey, MD, MPH

Paul Cantey is the Chief of the Parasitic Diseases Branch in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.