Last week, Dr. Jennifer Shuford ‘95 announced she would resign as deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Nov. 12, just six months after she began in June.
Shuford studied chemistry at Colorado College as a Barnes Scholar, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1995. Outside of class, she played bass in the CC Orchestra.
The Otis A. Barnes Scholarship is a full-tuition merit award for students studying chemistry and biochemistry. CC awards two Barnes scholarships annually, funding “talented and passionate” students in their studies for all four years.
In a statement to The Washington Post about her resignation, Shuford said she is leaving to spend more time with family and did not reference policy conflicts as a reason for her departure.
“I am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC,” Shuford said. “It has been an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful for it.”
However, citing two sources familiar with the matter, the Washington Post claimed that disagreements with the administration over vaccine policy played a role in Shuford’s decision to leave the agency, which has been shaken by controversy and mass layoffs under Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In April, President Trump appointed Shuford, a board-certified physician and epidemiologist, as part of a four-person leadership team to restore confidence in the CDC. She is a known vaccine proponent with more mainstream views than Kennedy, who has repeatedly questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
The public health community celebrated Shuford’s appointment. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), a national nonprofit representing public health leaders, praised Shuford as “widely respected within the public health and governmental leadership communities” and “uniquely qualified to help lead CDC.”
Colorado College also celebrated Shuford’s appointment in a May social media post, praising her “exceptional leadership and a steadfast commitment to evidence-based public health.”
After graduating from CC, Shuford earned an M.D. from the University of Texas and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Harvard University before completing residencies in Dallas, Texas and at the Mayo Clinic.
Shuford, who served as commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services from 2022 until her appointment to the CDC, rose to national prominence in 2025 for her effective leadership during the West Texas measles outbreak, which infected 762 people and killed two children, marking the largest U.S. measles outbreak in more than 30 years.
Shuford led a successful $10 million response effort, focusing on vaccination, testing and awareness campaigns, which eventually contributed to the outbreak’s resolution in August 2025.
During a CNN appearance, Shuford urged families to vaccinate their children with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, calling it “highly effective” and “the reason why measles was eliminated from the United States in 2000.”
This clear guidance marked a divergence from Secretary Kennedy’s mixed messaging on the vaccine and early silence from other state officials, including Texas Governor Greg Abbot. She also publicly pushed back against Kennedy’s assertion that measles outbreaks are “not unusual,” saying the situation needed to be taken “very seriously.”
Health officials have identified declining vaccination rates as a direct contributor to the reemergence of diseases like measles. Currently, only 10 states have a 95% MMR vaccination rate — the threshold required for population immunity — presenting a major risk of outbreaks expanding.
Measles cases have continued to surge across the country in 2026. With more than 4,800 confirmed cases, the situation is now severe enough that the U.S. could lose measles elimination status. The CDC is also confronting surges in other diseases, including cyclosporiasis and Ebola.
This rising prevalence of these diseases has some former CDC officials worried that experts like Shuford are leaving the agency. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a high-profile critic of Kennedy who resigned last year as the CDC’s top immunization official, warned that Shuford was the only truly “qualified” senior leader at the agency, which he said has declined so greatly under Kennedy that it no longer resembles “the CDC I know.”
Dr. Satish Pillai, who currently leads the CDC’s Ebola response, will take over as interim deputy director while the Administration seeks a permanent replacement. Current CDC Director Erika Schwartz, who praised Shuford’s work at the agency, will also remain in place.