Top 25 Women in Healthcare - 2005

As the first woman director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Julie Gerberding, 49, oversees an annual budget of $7.7 billion as well as the 12 institutes dedicated to protecting the health and safety of U.S. citizens. At the CDC since 1998, Gerberding has been involved in leading the U.S.' response to infectious diseases, including anthrax and SARS. She became interested in infectious diseases during her training as a physician at the University of California at San Francisco.