Dr. Susan Monarez—Former CDC Director, First Live Interview

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Ground Truths 54 min 3 speakers 8 chapters transcribed
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What background shaped Dr. Susan Monarez's career in public health?

Dr. Eric Topol 0:00
So this is a first live podcast for who I consider a hero, Dr. Susan Monero. A hero, I say, because she stood up for the integrity of science. at a time when we don't see much of that anymore because of a culture of fear and all sorts of other reasons. And so this is going back to Dr. Menier's background. We're going to go through some of the events that she went through in her tenure at CDC, however brief that it was. It wasn't at any time short of happenings. And then we're going to head into the future now that she's a free agent. So, Susan, welcome.
Dr. Susan Monarez 0:50
Thank you so much. This is truly an honor. I mean, I think I've followed you for so long and you know, you've been such an inspiration to me and your Ground Truth sub stack is required reading. I know I read it. I hope everyone does. It's absolutely such a delight to be on with you. And yes, this is the first time that I've had a live conversation to, you know, to a large group. And primarily I waited because I wanted to have a conversation with someone like you who really understands the technical depth and the breadth and the complexity of everything that we do in science. And so it's truly a pleasure to be on with you.
Dr. Eric Topol 1:27
Well, thanks.

How did Dr. Monarez respond to the CDC shooting incident?

Dr. Eric Topol 1:27
And I want to announce, too, that you just started a Substack. It's called, tell me again, your Substack?
Dr. Susan Monarez 1:35
It's called The Road Best Traveled, and it is a passion piece, and it's a place where I hope that people can amplify those individuals, the ideas, the inspiration in the health space. Really inspired by the journey that I've taken facing headwinds and really having to make some critical decisions about how do you choose the best path when, when you are in a place where, of course, there's many different ways that, that one can, can go forward. And I'm, you know, I found a lot of inspiration from people like you and others that when I was going through everything, you know, I just, I just, you know, I, found a place of optimism and found a place to be inspired and i want to put a forum forward where people who are similarly you know who have who have been through different challenges and and what inspired them and how do they keep moving and some of the biggest challenges that we have in health and and what are we who are the who are the change makers that are helping overcome them and what do we do so it's really just it's going to be a passionate place for me well and i want to
Dr. Eric Topol 2:43
give the prelude that you exude optimism and you had to be to do what you've done, I have to say. And as I think has become clear, that's an important quality for healthy aging. And, you know, so it's great that you have that view now. I thought we'd start off with background. that you grew up in rural Wisconsin on a dairy farm, which your father had to sell to then he became a policeman. Is that kind of the skinny on that?
Dr. Susan Monarez 3:17
That's the skinny. I mean, you know, I don't know that I saw it as a privilege at the time, but yeah, when we, when I was a child, you know, my father was idealistic and he, he wanted to become a dairy farmer and an organic dairy farmer back in the seventies before that was really a thing. And there was no economic path for him. Uh, you know, at some point, you know, his dairy cows, um, because he, he tried to keep everything as natural as possible. They got, quite sick and he had to sell off.

What innovative vision did Dr. Monarez have for the CDC?

Dr. Susan Monarez 3:47
And, you know, we faced some really challenging financial times and he became a police officer to make ends meet. And I, you know, my mom was a librarian and worked in other factory jobs or whatnot. But what that does is it grounds you in a way where, you know, you learn to appreciate things besides material expectations. And And I, you know, like I said, at the time, you know, it was difficult, but now it grounds me. It keeps me humble in a place where I don't need to have materialism or financial gain. What I need to have is a positive contribution to others. And that is my core principle.
Dr. Eric Topol 4:28
And so there you were in Wisconsin. Then you went to the top institution at UW-Madison University. You got your baccalaureate and PhD degree there, and you're a full-fledged microbiologist, immunologist.

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