Geneviève Chêne has been appointed Executive Director of Santé publique France

CP-nominationDG-041119.pdf

Published on 4 November 2019

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Geneviève Chêne was appointed Director General of Santé publique France by a decree of the President of the Republic, published in the Official Journal on October 30, 2019.

Her term is three years, renewable once. She takes office today. Since François Bourdillon’s departure in June 2019, Martial Mettendorff has served as interim director general.

Geneviève Chêne, born in 1962, is a professor of biostatistics and public health. Since 1999, she has taught at the Institute of Public Health, Epidemiology, and Development (ISPED), a division of the University of Bordeaux that she has led since June 2017.

She also headed the public health division at the Bordeaux University Hospital for eight years, covering all areas of public health (health information, risk analysis, and risk management for patients and healthcare professionals). In early 2019, she helped establish a department there entirely dedicated to supporting the development of prevention services at the institutional level, within the Regional Hospital Group, and across the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

With training in medicine, epidemiology, and biostatistics, her professional career has enabled her to gradually cover numerous fields of public health.
She led an Inserm research team in the field of clinical and public health research on HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases. More recently, her work has focused on neurodegenerative diseases and brain aging.

She was also a member of the advisory committee for the development of the 2013–2017 National Health Strategy and served as director of the Inserm Institute of Public Health and the Institute for Public Health Research for three years, from 2014 to 2017.

Geneviève Chêne: “I feel a mix of enthusiasm, pride, and a sense of responsibility at being appointed to lead a government agency with essential public service missions. Santé publique France, an independent scientific advisory agency, is a major player in public health policy. I know I can count on the commitment and professionalism of its staff to successfully carry out the magnificent mission of serving the health of the population.”

“I am very pleased to welcome Geneviève Chêne as the new director of Santé publique France. Her extensive experience in public health at ISPED and throughout her career as a university professor, her international involvement, and her tenure at INSERM make her a highly accomplished professional, recognized by all, committed and determined, who, through her managerial skills, will be able to drive a new phase of progress for Santé publique France, building on the foundation laid by François Bourdillon. ” Marie-Caroline Bonnet-Galzy, Chair of the Board of Directors of Santé publique France