CDC New Chronic Viral Diseases Branch Chief

[shannah]

Uh Oh!

New Chronic Viral Diseases Branch Chief
Posted: December 17, 2010

Elizabeth (Beth) Unger, PhD, MD, has been selected to serve as the Chief of the Chronic Viral Diseases Branch (CVDB) in the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology (DHCPP), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Unger has served as the Acting Chief of CVDB since January 2010 and has 13 years of experience in CVDB, where she has participated in the design and implementation of CFS research and HPV laboratory diagnostics.

During this time, she was co-author on 25 peer-reviewed manuscripts related to CFS, including the often-cited descriptions of the Wichita and Georgia population-based studies. In addition, Dr. Unger has been instrumental in efforts by WHO to establish an HPV LabNet and serves as lead of a WHO HPV Global Reference Laboratory.

She is co-author of 142 peer-reviewed publications and 24 book chapters and serves on the editorial board of six scientific journals. In 2008, for her HPV research accomplishments, she received the Health and Human Services (HHS) Career Achievement Award.

Dr. Unger received an undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA. She then earned her PhD and MD in the Division of Biologic Sciences at the University of Chicago where she also began a residency in pathology. Her residency and fellowship was completed at Pennsylvania State University Medical Center. During this time, Dr. Unger developed a practical method of colorimetic in situ hybridization. This work led to interest in tissue localization of HPV and ultimately to her initial appointment to CDC in 1997 to pursue molecular pathology of HPV and CFS.

http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/news/cvbd/index.html

 

[lancelot]

 

[Esther12]

Not great news, as we were hoping for more of a break from the recent past.

Who knows though, maybe now she's in charge rather than under Reeves she'll be better than we expect. It won't matter either way if XMRV works out.

 

[lancelot]

I'm sure we all hoped for a CFS director who is a true friend to the CFS community. However, i think we should all give her a chance and let her future work speak for her. Looking at her past work in CFS, i can say she did not do much for CFS, but she does not seem to be an enemy either, like the bullshit psychological work that strauss, reeves and jones have done. I just hope she is truly in charge and not riding reeves and jones or she will be the third CFS director to be fired again.

GOOD LUCK DR UNGER! DO US RIGHT!

 

[floydguy]

I'm sure we all hoped for a CFS director who is a true friend to the CFS community. However, i think we should all give her a chance and let her future work speak for her. Looking at her past work in CFS, i can say she did not do much for CFS, but she does not seem to be an enemy either, like the bullshit psychological work that strauss, reeves and jones have done. I just hope she is truly in charge and not riding reeves and jones or she will be the third CFS director to be fired again.

GOOD LUCK DR UNGER! DO US RIGHT!

The press release promotes the Wichita and GA studies. You know the ones where they called people from the telephone directory asking if they're tired? If these are considered to be crowning achievements I see no reason to be optimistic.

 

[lancelot]

The press release promotes the Wichita and GA studies. You know the ones where they called people from the telephone directory asking if they're tired? If these are considered to be crowning achievements I see no reason to be optimistic.

yes, i know she did those studies. Not asking anyone to be optimistic, but we don't need to be pessimistic at this point. i say just give her a chance. We can bitch or cheer her FUTURE work. let's not make us an enemy of hers before she even begins. It's better we make her feel welcomed and make her a friend to the CFS community so that her conscience and emotions lead her to do the right thing. i think this is the best strategy at this point. If she does what strauss and reeves did, we can always jump on her and get her fired.

 

[Hope123]

Well, her input at the last CFSAC meeting in October was not particularly impressive; I felt like she still had at least one foot in the "CFS is a stress-related illness/ mind-body BS" camp but I do agree we need to give her some leeway and see how she does in the future.

Maybe she'll change her mind, much like Susan Vernon did. I don't think the ME/CFS community is demanding; some segments are but I think the majority just want ME/CFS to get the attention it deserves and also proper research including looking at ALL the literature, including non-CDC generated research.

Dr. Unger, if you're reading this, please consider talking to clinicians and patients who have dealt with the illness for years, if not decades. You wouldn't conduct research on another chronic illness like SLE or MS or diabetes just by calling people up, having clinicians see them a few times, and calling it a day, would you? Aside from community-based studies, you'd do clinic-based studies also. Please give ME/CFS the same consideration as other chronic illnesses; we're not asking for special treatment, we're asking for equal treatment.

 

[floydguy]

yes, i know she did those studies. Not asking anyone to be optimistic, but we don't need to be pessimistic at this point. i say just give her a chance. We can bitch or cheer her FUTURE work. let's not make us an enemy of hers before she even begins. It's better we make her feel welcomed and make her a friend to the CFS community so that her conscience and emotions lead her to do the right thing. i think this is the best strategy at this point. If she does what strauss and reeves did, we can always jump on her and get her fired.

I disagree. She's a known entity and been in CHARGE almost a year now. That's plenty of time to show us how she's going to "lead". Clearly she has shown no backbone and has been selected because of this important qualification.

 

[jimbob]

I have to agree with floydguy, clearly she's only a puppet, and we know who the puppetmaster is!

 

[leaves]

Jeesh when does this nightmare ever stop...


Although she should not have been appointed I agree we should give her a chance to prove herself. We cant get her fired, given that fact antagonizing her from the start is not a good strategy. However she better know that she will be VERY closely observed.


Every breath you take and every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take, I'll be watching you
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay, I'll be watching you

 

[Desdinova]

So they've got a new general in the field and are at least for now circling the wagons for the next campaign in this war. The Psychoscamtic mind body defense most not be defeated, sound the trumpets bang the drums cry the Goverment officals.

 

[Marty]

Disaster. It's been 25 years of being called crazy and lazy - let's learn that letter-writing campaigns that object never have worked at the CDC and have just wasted our feeble strength. Stronger action is necessary. We need creative ideas.

 

[lancelot]

. We cant get her fired,

We, the CFS community composed of patient support groups, CFS/ME associations, and CFSAC got Reeves fired. The combination of massive patient complaints, CFIDS Association of America and IACFS/ME complaints, the uncovering of his emory university overpayments, and CFSAC recommendations all contributed to Reeve's firing. WE(esp the patients) have alot more power today with the ability to sway CFS public policies due to our ability to communicate and to coordinate through the internet. I do believe we have the power to fire any CFS director if he/she is proven incompetent and ignorant.

 

[leaves]

You are right ofcourse. What I meant is that at this time, we probably can't.

 

[Esther12]

It's a bit disappointing, but lets not get carried away. We should see what research is getting prioritised over the next year, or give her a chance to lay out her views in interviews, etc.

From what we've seen of her response to concerns about the CDC's 'Personality Disorders' paper, I'm not full of hope. It could well be that they didn't want anyone who would rock the boat while XMRV is so uncertain, but maybe Unger will surprise them (and us) and being in charge will change her approach.

 

[lancelot]

I disagree. She's a known entity and been in CHARGE almost a year now. That's plenty of time to show us how she's going to "lead". Clearly she has shown no backbone and has been selected because of this important qualification.

So what do you want to do about it?

Basic human psychology says that we can make her love us in order for her to help us, make her fear us in order for her to do what we want, or make her hate us in order for her to hurt us. Which do you pick at this time?

 

[Marty]

This may have been the largest and most targeted patient action against the CDC ever and it didn't work. We tried for 20 years to get rid of Reeves until he attained retirement age. We have not succeeded in figuring out how to get power. "Doing the right thing" just is not in their vocabulary. We have to become more aggressive. I hate seeing people count on XMRV; if it ever pans out, it likely is going to take a long time. Remember that people were still denying that HIV caused AIDS well into the 1990's? We must learn from our history and get smarter and face reality and act differently. I'll bet a million letters have gone to the CDC in 25 years and just look where we are. We must fight the Unger appointment. If you question that, review the October CFSAC meeting where Unger spoke.

 

[*GG*]

Disaster. It's been 25 years of being called crazy and lazy - let's learn that letter-writing campaigns that object never have worked at the CDC and have just wasted our feeble strength. Stronger action is necessary. We need creative ideas.

Some pie in the face at public speaking event? (If necessary).

GG

PS I would imagine that fighting her appointment at this time would not be fruitful?

 

[Marty]

Keep thinking. Pies have worked...

CAA spent years "loving up" CDC; it didn't work. Please listen to our history and learn. I was never a noisy activist because I really believed reason could win out. I admit I was wrong. All the reasonable things have been tried over and over for 25 years. Those who don't know our history are doomed to repeat it. We don't have time for that!

Someone suggested picketing CDC on Monday morning with "Fire Unger" signs; that's another creative thought...

Keep thinking.

 

[leaves]

could we write a press release condemning the appointment?

I do agree tho that if we just antagonize her but fail to remove her, that we are worse off. So please be pragmatic and let us not allow emotion to lead.