Dr. Sarah Y. Park has been named state epidemiologist and chief of the Hawaii Department of Health's Disease Outbreak Control Division, overseeing activities related to emerging infections, disease surveillance and investigations, immunizations and public health preparedness.

Former State Epidemilogist Paul Effler left the post earlier this summer. Park previously worked as the deputy chief of the division under Effler and prior to that was an epidemic intellgence service officer assigned to the Respiratory Diseases Branch in the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

"We are very proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Park as the new leader for Hawai'i's disease surveillance and investigation activities," said Director of Health Dr. Chiyome Fukino, in a news statement.

"Dr. Park brings a lot of experience to the position as a board certified pediatric infectious diseases specialist. We are confident in her ability to take our disease surveillance to new heights which will help us better protect the public's health."

Dr. Park is the recipient of many honors, two of which in 2005 were as part of CDC teams receiving the Outstanding Unit Commendation, the first for work performed on the West Nile Surveillance and Response Team during the 2002 West Nile virus outbreak in the United States, and the second for work performed during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in Asia.