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Edwin Trevathan, M.D., M.P.H. (born November 3, 1956, Louisville, Kentucky), an American pediatrician, child neurologist, and public health expert, is the current director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), having assumed the positions on July 23, 2007.

Dr. Trevathan has been leading the CDC's efforts in several areas of child health, disability, and blood disorders. Dr. Trevathan is also an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, and is Adjunct Professor of Neurology at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine.

Education and Early Career
Before moving to CDC Dr. Trevathan was Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine and the Neurologist-in-Chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital. While at Washington University Dr. Trevathan led one of the largest child neurology divisions in the world, directed and expanded one of the nation's largest comprehensive centers for childhood epilepsy care and research, and expanded training programs in child neurology and in clinical neurophysiology in order to meet demands for increased clinical services in child neurology and epilepsy. While a professor at Washington University in St. Louis Dr. Trevathan directed clinical research programs funded by private industry and by the National Institutes of Health, and was the principal investigator for the Missouri Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM) that was funded by CDC. Dr. Trevathan also directed one of the largest epilepsy surgery programs for children in the US, and has been a major advocate for early surgery for intractable and life-threatening childhood epilepsy.

Dr. Trevathan received his B.S. (Chemistry and Math) magna cum laude from Lipscomb University, where he was Salutatorian and President of the Student Government. He received his M.D. and his M.P.H. (chronic disease epidemiology) from Emory University, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha (medical honor society). He completed his residency in pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine, and completed his residency in neurology and child neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He was a fellow in clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy at the Children's Hospital in Boston. After completing his clinical training, Dr. Trevathan is board certified in pediatrics, neurology (with special qualification in child neurology) and in clinical neurophysiology. In addition to his faculty positions at Emory University and Washington University in St. Louis, he has also been a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, and was a founding partner of a child neurology private practice in Atlanta.

Dr. Trevathan is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Neurological Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Neurology, the Child Neurology Society, and the American Epilepsy Society.

Professional Background
Dr. Trevathan has previously served as an officer in CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service from 1987-89. HIs prior work at CDC included cancer research in the early 1980's, which established cigarette smoking as a risk factor for cervical cancer. While in the Epidemic Intelligence Service he led a group of world-wide experts in the development of a then newly-recognized neurological disorder characterized by loss of language and motor function, Rett Syndrome. As an expert in childhood epilepsy and the design of clinical trials, Trevathan directed several clinical trials of anti-epileptic drugs, and conducted research on alternative treatments for epilepsy such as the ketogenic diet. Dr. Trevathan has lectured widely to academic, and to community and religious groups on a variety of topics related to child health, disability, and neurological disorders in children.

Dr. Trevathan has been a strong advocate for children and adolescents with neurological disorders. Prior to taking his position at CDC Trevathan was known for his lectures and writings on the need to develop new drugs and other treatments for children with neurological disorders - a segment of society often ignored by pharmaceutical companies and policy makers.

Dr. Trevathan's editorial activities have included his work on the editorial board of Neurology and the Disability and Health Journal, and he has served as a frequent peer reviewer for several journals in the fields of pediatrics, neurology and public health. Dr. Trevathan has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters related to epilepsy and child neurology. Dr. Trevathan is currently a Counselor of the Professors of Child Neurology - an organization of leaders of child neurology academic divisions.

CDC Tenure
In 2007 Dr. Trevathan joined the CDC as the Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Trevathan has strongly advocated for a more substantial investment in infant and child health, as well as public health research looking for preventable causes of birth defects, such as nervous system malformations (e.g., spina bifida) and congenital heart disease. Dr. Trevathan has also led CDC's efforts to bring advances in genetics and brain science into public health research into efforts to discover preventable causes of disabling conditions such as autism and cerebral palsy. Under Trevathan's leadership the CDC's Division of Blood Disorders, which resides in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disorders, has taken steps to address the greater than 200,000 deaths each year in the US due to deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots.