HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Senate Confirmation of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dr. Nicole Lurie

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
announced today that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Nicole
Lurie as the next Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS. Dr.
Lurie, an internationally recognized leader in public health, most recently
served as co-director of the RAND Corporation Center for Domestic and
International Health Security, senior natural scientist and professor of policy
analysis at the RAND Corporation.

Dr. Lurie has spent the last several years working with HHS, the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and state and local health departments on pandemic influenza
preparedness and other public health issues. Previously, she served as Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health at HHS. She has a long history in the
health services research field, primarily in the areas of access to and quality
of care, managed care, mental health, prevention, public health infrastructure
and preparedness and health disparities.

"Dr. Lurie brings a wealth of experience to HHS at a critical time for our
nation," said Secretary Sebelius. "Her knowledge and expertise will be essential
to ASPR and to the entire Department as we continue to develop and implement an
action plan for a coordinated national response to the H1N1 virus."

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) was
established under the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006 to
improve the nation`s preparedness and response to natural and man-made
disasters. The ASPR serves as the Secretary's principal advisory staff on
matters related to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies such as
pandemic influenza. ASPR also coordinates interagency activities between HHS,
other federal agencies, state, tribal, territorial, and local officials
responsible for emergency preparedness and response.

A brief biography is included below:

In addition to serving as Senior Natural Scientist and the Paul O` Neill Alcoa
Professor of Health Policy at the RAND Corporation, she directed RAND`s public
health and preparedness work as well as RAND`s Center for Population Health and
Health Disparities. She has previously served in federal government, as
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health in the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services; in state government, as Medical Advisor to the Commissioner
at the Minnesota Department of Health; and in academia, as Professor in the
University of Minnesota Schools of Medicine and Public Health.

Dr. Lurie attended college and medical school at the University of Pennsylvania,
and completed her residency and MSPH at UCLA, where she was also a Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar. She served as Senior Editor for Health
Services Research, on editorial boards and as a reviewer for numerous journals.
She has also served on the council and was President of the Society of General
Internal Medicine, on the board of directors for the Academy of Health Services
Research, and on multiple other national committees.

She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the AHSR Young Investigator
Award, the Nellie Westerman Prize for Research in Ethics, the Heroine in Health
Care Award, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine`s Distinguished
Alumni Award, and is a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Dr. Lurie continues to practice clinical medicine in the health care safety net
in Washington, DC.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are
available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

HHS Press Office
202-690-6343

Copyright Business Wire 2009