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October 4 , 2004
CDC's Gerberding to give Mary Lynn Morgan lecture

BY Katherine Baust

Julie Gerberding, the first woman director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will present the sixth annual Mary Lynn Morgan Lecture on Women in the Health Professions. Titled “At-Home Health Care Protection— Thank You, Dr. Mom!” the lecture will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Cannon Chapel with a reception to follow.

“Women are the power brokers of family health care decisions,” said Gerberding, a physician who, in addition to directing the CDC, is associate clinical professor of medicine at Emory and associate professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. “Whether it is making an appointment with a pediatrician or makings an appointment for an ailing parent, women usually take the lead in protecting the health care or their loved ones,” she said.

Gerberding’s lecture will pay special tribute to the important contributions women make as guardians of family health and discuss why this underrecognized role needs more careful attention. She will explore the reasons women take on this role, on what resources they base their information, and how this responsibility often results in women putting their own health care needs last. “These answers are more important now than ever as health care becomes more complex and costly,” Gerberding said.

The Center for Women established the Mary Lynn Morgan Lectureship in 1999. Morgan, the second woman appointed to the Emory’s Board of Trustees, graduated in 1943 from Atlanta-Southern Dental College, which became Emory’s School of Dentistry the following year. In 1947 she developed a practice exclusive
to pediatric dentistry, which she continued until 1976. Named a trustee emerita in 1991, Morgan continues to serve on the board’s academic affairs committee.

“Highlighting the work of women who have distinguished themselves nationally and internationally in the health care professions, the Mary Lynn Morgan Lecture has become a forum on diverse topics,” said Ali Crown, director of the Center for Women. “It is a good example of the interdisciplinary nature of our program and how the Center for Women contributes to the ethos of the campus.”

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call 404-727-2031 or go to the Center for Women’s website at www.womenscenter.emory.edu.

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