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Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Dr. James Marks is the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. In this position he has developed and advanced systematic ways to reduce or prevent the consequences of tobacco use and obesity and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Through his leadership, CDC and public health have achieved for chronic disease prevention the kind of recognition and support that the previous century gave to the infectious disease arena.
Dr. Marks has played pivotal roles in developing the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (the largest continually conducted health survey in the world), the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Management System (which allows states to monitor maternal and infant health risks and behaviors), the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (which gives underserved women access to lifesaving screening programs), and the National Arthritis Action Plan (the first public health response to the number one cause of adult disability).
He has received numerous federal, state, and private awards, including the U.S. Public Health Service Distinguished Service Award, the Surgeon General's Award for Distinguished Service, the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Directors' Award for Excellence, the American Cancer Society's Distinguished Service Award, and the National Arthritis Foundation's Special Award of Appreciation.
Dr. Marks received his MD from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He trained as a pediatrician at the University of California at San Francisco. Later, he was chosen as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar, which he completed at Yale University where he received his MPH.