Health Department Appoints Dr. Celia Quinn As Deputy Commissioner of Disease Control
Dr. Celia Quinn will lead the Division of Disease Control, which oversees the agency’s work on infectious diseases from COVID-19 to HIV to Legionnaires’ Disease
August 31, 2021 — The Health Department has appointed Dr. Celia Quinn to serve as the Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Disease Control. Dr. Quinn has been with the agency since 2014, most recently serving as the Senior Science Advisor for the Bureau of Healthcare and Community Readiness in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response. Dr. Quinn also serves as Deputy Incident Commander of the Department’s COVID-19 response.
“Dr. Quinn has worked tirelessly responding to and planning for emergencies that New York has faced and continues to face,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. “I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Quinn in protecting and promoting a healthy city.”
“I'm excited to continue my work with the NYC Health Department of Health in this new role,” said Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control, Dr. Celia Quinn. “Working in public health preparedness has given me the opportunity to work collaboratively with colleagues across the Health Department and beyond to rapidly solve emerging challenges, understand the health equity impacts of disease outbreaks, and build systems that are resilient and ready to respond to protect the health of New Yorkers. I look forward to joining the Division of Disease Control and supporting their ongoing efforts to manage the impacts of infectious diseases.”
Dr. Quinn, a Commander in the US Public Health Service, completed her medical degree and Master of Public Health at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. After completing her pediatric training, in the Residency Program for Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, she joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer. Since 2014 she served as a Career Epidemiology Field Officer assigned to the NYC Health Department.
Dr. Quinn has served in vital leadership roles in recent emergencies that the Department has responded to, including Ebola and Zika. During the Department’s COVID-19 response, Dr. Quinn has served in multiple roles, and is currently the Deputy Incident Commander, overseeing clinical, epidemiologic, and laboratory science elements of the response.
The Division of Disease Control is responsible for overseeing the public health laboratory and the Health Department’s clinical facilities while also responding to a range of infectious diseases, including vaccine-preventable diseases, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), tuberculosis (TB), Legionnaires’ Disease, and foodborne illnesses.
Dr. Quinn will officially assume the role effective today, August 31.
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