State Health Officer Named to Second Term

[PRESS RELEASE]

JACKSON, Miss. – Today [Wednesday October 14th] during its quarterly meeting, the Mississippi State Board of Health reappointed Dr. Mary Currier for a second term as State Health Officer of Mississippi.

Dr. Currier was first appointed to the position in January 2010. She began her Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) tenure in 1984 and has served in various capacities including two terms as State Epidemiologist, from 1993 to 2003, and again since 2007.

Board Chairman Dr. Luke Lampton commended Dr. Currier saying, “The Board’s unanimous vote today clearly recognizes Dr. Currier as an exceptional leader of great integrity and competence. She is an outstanding asset not only for our agency but also for our state at large. We need her continued leadership in her role as State Health Officer for years to come.”

Dr. Lampton added that during Currier’s tenure, Mississippi reduced its infant mortality rate, infectious disease rates such at tuberculosis and syphilis, and increased vaccination rates among 2 year olds. Mississippi’s strong immunization laws are now recognized as the national model.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dr. Currier received her master’s degree and preventive medicine residency training in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Currier’s bachelor’s degree is from Rice University, and she attended Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

She has 30 years of state service experience and more than 25 years serving in public health. Prior to serving as State Epidemiologist, Dr. Currier was a medical consultant with the MSDH, where she began her career as a staff physician for the prenatal care, family planning, STD, and pediatrics programs.

She is a member of the Mississippi State Medical Association, the Mississippi Public Health Association, and is the Southeast Regional Representative to the Board of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Currier is Board certified in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health.

Dr. Currier’s second term begins in January and expires in January 2022.