Manisha Juthani, MD, Commissioner of Connecticut Department of Public Health, Announced as Next ASTHO President

Juthani plans to focus presidency on the importance of public health and public health communications

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) named Manisha Juthani, MD, as the organization's 83^rd president. Dr. Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health succeeds Scott Harris, MD, MPH, state health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

As Connecticut's health commissioner who assumed the role in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Juthani led the state's efforts to transition the public health response as Connecticut emerged from the pandemic. Her efforts then refocused on revitalizing and strengthening public health systems in areas of urgent public health importance including maternal health, opioid use, sexually transmitted diseases, and environmental health risks. She prioritized the recruitment and retention of a strong public health workforce and promoted collaboration with local health departments to improve the health of residents across Connecticut.

"When I assumed the role of commissioner, I quickly realized the invaluable resource that ASTHO was to state health officials," says Manisha Juthani, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA, FACP, ASTHO president. "Whether it was providing up to date public health content, connections to federal partners, venues for colleagues to learn from each other, or resources to navigate new and old challenges, I knew I would receive more than I could ever give to this organization. I am humbled to be elected president by my peers and hope to lead us through a time of transition while elevating the critical role public health has played in maintaining the health and safety of all."

"It's an honor to welcome Dr. Manisha Juthani as our next president," says ASTHO CEO Joseph Kanter, MD, MPH. "Dr. Juthani brings a wealth of experience to this role. She has been instrumental in supporting the well-being of people in Connecticut through her leadership and is a respected member of the ASTHO Board of Directors. Dr. Juthani's commitment to advancing health outcomes and her innovative approach to public health will be invaluable as we work to address the most pressing health challenges facing our nation. I am confident that under her leadership, ASTHO will continue to thrive."

Dr. Juthani's career in medicine and public health spans more than two decades. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her MD from Cornell University Medical College. She completed internal medicine residency training at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Campus and served as chief resident at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center before beginning her infectious diseases fellowship at Yale School of Medicine in 2002.

In 2006, she joined the Yale faculty and became professor of medicine, serving as director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program from 2012 to 2021. Her federally funded research has focused on infections in older adults, with widely recognized contributions in pneumonia prevention and antibiotic stewardship. She has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, BBC, and numerous other media outlets for her research and expertise. She was appointed commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health in 2021, becoming the first Indian American to serve as commissioner in the state.

In addition to her leadership at the Connecticut Department of Public Health, she has been an influential educator, researcher, and physician, mentoring the next generation of infectious disease specialists while guiding critical public health policy.

Daniel Edney, MD, state health officer for the Mississippi Department of Public Health will serve as ASTHO president-elect.

ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.

SOURCE Association of State and Territorial Health Officials