Presidential Award

Jernigan has been a pivotal figure in advancing the role of public health laboratories in infectious disease surveillance and response both here in the US as well as across the globe.

Jernigan’s contributions have helped strengthen the integration of laboratory science with epidemiology, enabling faster detection of pathogens and more coordinated responses to outbreaks. He has championed the modernization of laboratory infrastructure, the expansion of genomic sequencing capabilities, and the development of nationwide laboratory networks that facilitate real-time data sharing.

As early as 2004 when Jernigan was serving as Deputy Director of CDC’s Influenza Division, he was championing the concept of the warm base in public health laboratories to prepare for an inevitable flu pandemic. Under his leadership, the Influenza Division developed the five-target influenza typing and subtyping panel and assured its rapid FDA clearance and deployment just in time for 2009’s Influenza H1N1 pandemic. This test is still central to our national influenza surveillance. During that time, he was also instrumental in establishing and assuring sustainability of the Influenza (now International) Reagent Resource which has been leveraged in many responses and is used to provide standardized reagents, controls and laboratory supplies to public health laboratories throughout the world.

Jernigan was an early adopter of the Public Health Laboratory Interoperability Project (PHLIP), a project born out of a need to ensure all public health entities spoke the same language and communicated standardized information, despite the use of different systems and technologies. He understood the potential and sharing influenza data from public health labs to CDC became the first use case allowing near real time data transmission from public health labs to CDC, providing CDC with the ability to rapidly monitor and respond to changing trends in flu activity. This insight was predictive of Jernigan’s future role in championing and leading CDC’s Data Modernization initiative. He championed and leveraged significant funding to build scalable, secure, and interoperable data exchange throughout the public health system.

Following the H1N1 pandemic, Jernigan worked with APHL to develop the Influenza Virologic Surveillance Right Size Roadmap which endeavors to statistically determine the optimal sampling strategy for influenza virologic surveillance, giving public health goals to prevent too much or too little testing. Again, these efforts brought a novel approach to public health laboratory science. In his final years at CDC, Jernigan championed modern surveillance tools, including genomic sequencing and use of modeling to further infectious disease surveillance.

Through Jernigan’s leadership, public health laboratories across the globe have become more agile and better equipped to respond to both routine surveillance needs and public health emergencies. His efforts have also highlighted the importance of collaboration across all levels of government as well as globally, emphasizing the importance of having laboratory data translate into timely public health action.

Toney has spent her career strengthening public health through science, leadership, and service. She currently serves as Director of the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, where she has guided statewide laboratory operations with passion and integrity. Over the years, she has been a trusted national voice on laboratory quality, biosafety, emergency response and system preparedness. Her leadership has shaped not only her home state, but the broader public health laboratory community.

Toney’s impact is rooted in her many contributions to APHL, including her distinguished service on the APHL Board of Directors and her tenure as APHL President. In these roles, she helped steer the association through periods of rapid change and unprecedented demands on the public health laboratory system.

Among her many contributions, one has truly transformed the future of the public health laboratory system: the APHL Laboratory Director Bootcamp. Denise recognized early that the future of our system depends on preparing new leaders to step into these complex, demanding roles. Through her vision, guidance and leadership; the Bootcamp has become a critical piece of APHL’s workforce development efforts—equipping emerging directors with the skills, confidence, and support they need to lead effectively. Her commitment to mentoring, teaching, and building capacity has strengthened laboratories nationwide and ensured a strong pipeline of future leaders.

Toney’s mentorship has always been grounded in generosity, humility, and an unwavering commitment to public health. Her belief in developing strong future laboratory leaders has made our entire system better and will continue to shape public health laboratories for years to come.

This group of 14 skilled leaders, have led APHL through the current and ongoing fiscal crisis since January 24, 2025. The individuals whose names and roles you see on the screen have been working tirelessly to support the staff, the membership, and our partners to maintain a consistently high quality of information, decision making, and guidance throughout this time and moving forward.

APHL's staff are skilled and experienced in using the incident command system from previous public health emergencies, they quickly assembled for the current fiscal crisis which included responding to many Executive Orders that affected public health, navigating retroactively applied stop work orders, a slowdown of financial payments owed to APHL, a stoppage and then restart of our global health work, following over a dozen lawsuits that potentially impact the association, among other challenging issues. They did all this while facing uncertainty about the future of APHL as an association and in their own personal lives. While we may not have resolution as to what the future of APHL looks like, you all have shown incredible professionalism and resilience.​

Dr. Mandy Cohen served as the 20th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2023 to 2025. She was previously the executive vice president at Aledade and chief executive officer of Aledade Care Solutions, a healthcare company.

Dr. Cohen earned a bachelor's degree in policy analysis and management from Cornell University, a medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine, and a graduate degree in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. From 2017 to 2021, she served as the Health Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Before that, she was the chief operating officer and chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Obama Administration. She also served as the Deputy Director of Comprehensive Women's Health Services at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and is a founding member and former executive director of Doctors for America.

While serving as the Health Secretary for North Carolina, she became very familiar with the needs and intricacies of public health laboratories, having worked very closely with Dr. Scott Shone during the first years of the pandemic. She made it a priority to assure public trust in science and to elevate the voices of public health laboratory professionals beyond the bench.  Even before she took up her position at CDC, she reached out to APHL to learn our thoughts on the laboratory system at CDC and began to think of ways to strengthen the lab system there and across the country. She made public health infrastructure a priority and supported Public Health Laboratories as well as engaging with the commercial lab sector to be able to scale up for diagnostics if needed. She viewed a strong laboratory infrastructure as a foundation for national health security and created the Laboratory Workgroup to the Advisory Committee to the Director to make recommendations and improvements to strengthen the quality of work within CDC laboratories. Recognizing that robust, well-resourced, and interconnected public health laboratories are essential for responding to and anticipating health threats, she not only accepted the workgroup's report but put in place the needed support to begin implementation of the many recommendations. She is truly a dedicated public servant, and we are thankful for her leadership while at CDC.​

During his nearly 40 years at CDC, Dr. Jim Pirkle has made substantial contributions to a broad array of public health issues that impact the health of every American. Board certified in clinical pathology with a doctorate in physical chemistry, Dr. Pirkle has provided critical scientific leadership for 26 CDC labs, six program areas and over 400 scientists.

While Dr. Pirkle has tackled many public health problems, his efforts on human environmental exposure assessments have been particularly profound. His foundational work to improve exposure assessment established biomonitoring as an integral part of public health practice and evidence-based decision-making to reduce or eliminate harmful exposures to chemicals. He helped create numerous unique laboratory methods, leading to successful public health measures to limit harmful exposures, including those from environmental tobacco smoke and lead in gasoline. He originated the "National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals," the most comprehensive assessment of Americans’ exposure to environmental chemicals over time; this report is still used routinely to assess exposures to potentially harmful chemicals.

During his time at the Division of Laboratory Sciences in the National Center for Environmental Health, Dr. Pirkle guided the Division to improve the accuracy and precision of numerous clinical measurements used to diagnose, treat and prevent chronic disease. In recognition of Dr. Pirkle’s extensive expertise and commitment to quality laboratory measurements, in late 2021 he was asked by then-CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to assume the positions of associate director for Laboratory Science and Safety and director of the Office of Laboratory Science and Safety. In this role, he played a pivotal part in the Moving Forward initiative, specifically focusing on CDC’s clinical laboratories to improve laboratory quality and emergency response. His work has resulted in the establishment of a strong quality infrastructure in CDC’s infectious disease laboratories which will serve them, and us, well in future emergencies.

Dr. Pirkle has authored or co-authored nearly 150 published articles and received numerous honors and recognitions, including Emory University School of Medicine’s Arnall Patz Lifetime Achievement Award, the Assistant Secretary for Health's Award for Exceptional Achievement, the Commissioned Corps Distinguished Service Medal, and the Charles C. Shepard Lifetime Achievement Award. Clearly, his accomplishments in support of science and public health are many. Yet, he would say his greatest pride is in the dedication and excellence of the DLS team. His commitment to and affection for the DLS staff cannot be overstated. He is truly a dedicated public servant, and we will miss his leadership greatly.

Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman is a gifted scientist and leader, and a champion within our community for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. Dr. Bibbs Freeman, who has a master's degree in clinical laboratory sciences and a PhD in public health, has been a member of the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) for over 20 years. She currently serves as DCLS' deputy laboratory director.

While at the DCLS she has worn many hats, but one of those hats is that of a Pioneer. Dr. Bibbs Freeman is a thought leader who has led the charge to examine, support and promote DEIA at DCLS and within the APHL community. She has served on the APHL Member DEI Task Force, which is now known as the APHL DEIA Committee, since its inception, and played an essential role in crafting the APHL member values. She also helped to create a space for our members and staff to share ideas and explore new ways of thinking about DEIA. This space, called “The Gathering Place,” has become, one of the most influential and important places where the APHL community can go to dig into what, for some, is really challenging territory. While elevating critical DEIA initiatives and innovations within APHL and public health laboratories.

Dr. Bibbs Freeman also illuminates ways to think about public health laboratory work beyond the technical, the regulatory, the safety aspects—to think about what we do with a greater sense of humanity, what it means to have a diverse workforce, and how to support the diverse populations we serve. She has been an important colleague and mentor to me—not only as a lab director and scientist, but also as a leader in the public health community. She brings a calmness and compassion to everything she does. From testifying before the US Congress on data modernization for public health, to working with underserved and underrepresented populations, to facilitating a legacy of DEIA within APHL, I can only express my humble and grateful thanks to her for being a guiding force for all of us.

Dr. Monroe has served in numerous leadership roles in academia, and as a state health commissioner. She then came to CDC as the director of the Office of State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, and is now the president and CEO of the CDC Foundation, based in Atlanta. She got her early start, you guessed it, in the lab, as a medical technologist. Now we know that was the key to her future successes!

Throughout her career she has been a true supporter of the laboratory.  While serving as the commissioner of Health for the State of Indiana, she elevated the laboratory (and the director) to an assistant commissioner, recognizing its critical role. At CDC, she fought hard to include the laboratory voice in policy and decision making.

Now, in her role at the CDC Foundation, she has supported numerous initiatives that both support and enable the laboratory to do better work. During the pandemic, she oversaw huge growth in the foundation, and its reach. In fact, many of you may have had staff assigned by the CDC Foundation to assist in COVID surge. When Scott called her with the opportunity to support California’s innovative idea of COVID-sniffing canines, she leapt at the chance. And probably took a big chance on pitching this idea because at the time, it was out there in left field.

Dr. Limbago is the associate director for Laboratory Science within CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Since joining CDC in 2005, Dr. Limbago has focused on the challenges facing public health from antimicrobial resistance to the most recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. For those who have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Limbago, there is no question that she exemplifies leadership, quality and collaboration, qualities that highlight why she is so deserving of APHL’s Presidential Award.

Dr. Limbago’s efforts to support and expand the capacity of public health laboratories across the nation as well as her involvement and partnership with APHL continue to be remarkable. She has helped advance science and scientific mentorship through her participation on numerous CDC working groups and steering committees including the Laboratory Science and Safety Council, CDC’s STARS Steering Committee, the LLS Fellowship Advisory Committee and CDC’s Laboratory Safety Review Board just to mention a few. More importantly, Dr. Limbago has been a supportive and knowledgeable voice, always willing to make herself available to answer questions or share the most up to date information about the issues and challenges facing public health and our nation.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Stenzel, director of the Office of in Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not only provided oversight and expertise to FDA’s leadership regarding critical aspects of regulatory diagnostics, he openly shared his knowledge with hundreds of public health stakeholders. With over 20 years of experience in executive leadership, innovation, clinical diagnostics, research and development, and clinical laboratory operations and regulations, Dr. Stenzel has truly become the “face of FDA” to the clinical and public health communities throughout the pandemic.

Dr. Stenzel’s participation on numerous APHL- and CDC-sponsored calls, sharing updates and answering questions about federal regulatory policies and procedures for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, helped so many front-line public health officials navigate through the complexities of the ever-changing guidance and regulations. Dr. Stenzel’s strong partnership and collaboration with APHL and the many public health and clinical laboratories across the nation, is why he was one of my selections for this year’s APHL Presidential Award.

Rob’s dedication to reporting the facts—the information that people want and need to hear—is evident. He has worked hard to understand the technical nuance of public health lab work during this pandemic and to report it in a way that’s understandable to his vast audience. Since early 2020, journalists, like public health lab scientists, have proven their unique role in supporting the public in an emergency and few have demonstrated that to me more than Rob. It’s been a privilege to support Rob’s work and I am so grateful that he has supported ours (not to mention my newfound skill of speaking into two phones at once).

We in the states have a very synergistic partnership with our APHL partners. Never more so than with COVID-19 have we seen the APHL staff come to our service throughout a range of issues as stated above, dedicated ever so much to making the public health laboratory system work the best that it can during the most challenging period of our lifetime. This being said, I as APHL President, bestow the President’s Award to the staff of APHL for their earnest efforts for the past year on the COVID Pandemic response on the behalf of its members.