AGE: 52
OCCUPATION: Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1
PRO: Under the first female CDC chief's watch, employee morale is reportedly up — after some initial discontent spurred by the infectious disease specialist's departmental restructuring.
CON: A Department of Health and Human Services panel concluded that the family of an autistic child deserved compensation because the disorder was brought on or exacerbated by vaccination. Gerberding worries the ruling — the first and only one of its kind, after several studies to the contrary — will drive parents away from vaccination programs. Meanwhile, renowned non-scientist Jenny McCarthy is slamming Gerberding for lack of attention to the alleged vaccine-autism connection.