Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo has been named chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of 16 volunteers that provides Congress with evidence-based recommendations on clinical preventive services. Her term as chair will run for one year.
Bibbins-Domingo is currently the Dr. Lee Goldman Endowed Chair in Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where she serves as professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics.
She is also a general internist at San Francisco General Hospital. As director of the facility's Center for Vulnerable Populations, she leads research on innovation, health policy and community engagement in low-income communities. Her expertise is in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.
Bibbins-Domingo became a member of the preventive services task force in 2010 and was appointed a vice-chair in March 2014. She replaces the immediate past chair Dr. Albert Siu, a New York geriatrician and internist.
Joining the USPSTF as vice-chair is Susan Curry, dean of the College of Public Health and distinguished professor of health management and policy at the University of Iowa. Curry researches disease prevention and behavioral risk-factor modification, with a primary focus on tobacco use. She served as a member of the task force from 2009 to 2014.
The USPSTF was created in 1984 to generate evidence-based recommendations about preventive services, such as screenings and medications. As part of the Affordable Care Act, the group now issues an annual report to Congress that identifies critical evidence gaps and recommends priority areas.
Task Force members are appointed by the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a part of the Department of Health & Human Services. Current AHRQ Director, Dr. Richard Kronick, announced last month that he will step down effective March 18.
