Jennifer Layden

Jennifer E. Layden is an American physician, epidemiologist, and public health official. She has worked on public health data modernization, particularly as the director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology (OPHDST) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At the CDC, she led the agency's Data Modernization Initiative (DMI). Before her federal service, she held senior public health roles in Illinois, including state epidemiologist and chief medical officer (CMO) for the Illinois Department of Public Health. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was the deputy commissioner and CMO for the Chicago Department of Public Health. Layden departed the CDC in August 2025.