Director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)

Ursula E. Bauer, PhD, MPH, is the Director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), a position she assumed on January 4, 2010.  Prior to becoming Director of NCCDPHP, Dr. Bauer held various chronic disease prevention leadership positions at the New York State Department of Health, the Florida Department of Health, and the Louisiana Office of Public Health, where she was stationed as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer.

As NCCDPHP Director, Dr. Bauer sets the strategic direction for the center’s portfolio, focused on surveillance and epidemiology to move data into action; policy and environmental improvements to support health and healthful behaviors; health care system collaboration to strengthen effective delivery of clinical and other preventive services; and links between community and clinic to improve self-management of chronic conditions and enhance quality of life. Together, these strategies drive improvements in health status, including reductions in morbidity, mortality and health care costs related to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, tobacco use, obesity and many other conditions and risk factors.

NCCDPHP has an annual budget of about $1.1 billion dedicated to preventing chronic diseases and promoting health across the life span, in key settings, and with attention to the primary chronic disease risk factors. Under Dr. Bauer’s leadership, the center takes a coordinated, collaborative approach to investing its resources, working across divisions and programs and with grantees and partners to offer a more seamless, mutually reinforcing approach to advancing population health.‎

Dr. Bauer received a PhD in epidemiology from Yale University, an MPH in family health from Columbia University, and a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University‎.