Executive Director Jaime Sepulveda, MD, DSc, MPH, is, as of September 1, taking a year-long sabbatical at the University of Barcelona Institute of Global Health. Dr. George Rutherford has accepted UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood’s invitation to serve as acting executive director of IGHS during Jaime’s absence.

George W. Rutherford, MD, professor of epidemiology, preventive medicine, pediatrics and history, is Head of the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He has worked extensively in public health, with an emphasis on the epidemiology and control of communicable diseases, both domestically and internationally. He has served as state health officer and state epidemiologist for California, director of the AIDS office for the San Francisco Department of Public Health and director of immunizations for the New York City Department of Health. Dr. Rutherford currently serves as an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization and has been involved in the public health response to SARS-CoV-2 since the earliest days of the pandemic.

“Given his extensive experience and leadership at IGHS, I am confident in George’s ability to take on the heft of this role at such a critical time,” Hawgood said.

Upon completion of his sabbatical year in Fall 2022, Dr. Sepulveda will return to IGHS for his remaining term as executive director.