Jones Leads National Epidemiology Council; Focuses Energies on Improving Health of Others

NASHVILLE – Tim Jones, MD, state epidemiologist and director of the Tennessee Department of Health Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness division, has assumed the presidency of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists for 2013-2104.

CSTE members have surveillance and epidemiology expertise in a broad range of areas including occupational health, infectious diseases, environmental health, chronic diseases, injury control, maternal and child health, and more. CSTE supports effective public health surveillance and good epidemiologic practice through training, capacity development and peer consultation.

“We are proud Dr. Jones is providing national leadership in the important work of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to protect population health,” said TDH Chief Medical Officer David Reagan, MD, PhD. “His leadership is good for the nation and good for our state, allowing the Tennessee Department of Health to have increased awareness of emerging developments to better protect the health of Tennesseans.”    

Jones has been with the Tennessee Department of Health since July, 1999. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College and a Medical Degree from Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed his three-year residency in family medicine and one-year fellowship in maternal and child health at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island and is certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Prior to moving to Tennessee, Jones practiced with the National Health Service Corps in an underserved area in Utah before joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service in 1997. He is a noted expert in foodborne disease epidemiology, and has offered national and international consultations with the CDC and the World Health Organization. He has traveled extensively in this capacity, including assignments in Alaska, Liberia, Central and South America, Japan, Yemen, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. For more information about TDH services and programs, visit http://health.state.tn.us/.