Out former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, will become chief medical officer of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which focuses on LGBTQ+ health care, in New York City starting in February.
In August, Daskalakis published a scathing resignation letter, quitting the CDC shortly after news broke that CDC director Susan Monarez had been ousted by the Trump administration only weeks after being sworn in. Days later, he was “very respectfully” escorted out of the building.
Daskalakis' new role will see him return to the institution where he first trained as a young physician.
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“New York City is home for me, and my number one professional objective right now is to make sure that the full breadth of the LGBTQ+ community has a strong medical home,” Daskalakis, who graduated from Columbia University for undergrad and New York University for medical school, said in a press release announcing the new position on Wednesday.
He described Callen-Lorde as “the obvious wellspring” for that mission.
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Daskalakis’s appointment comes during a broader shift in city leadership. Both he and Callen-Lorde CEO Patrick McGovern were named to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s Transition Committee on Health, signaling the incoming administration’s intent to center LGBTQ+ equity in New York’s public health infrastructure.
According to its 2024 annual report, Callen-Lorde cared for more than 22,000 patients over roughly 156,000 visits, serving a racially and gender diverse population in which more than a third of patients identify as transgender or nonbinary.
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Kimberleigh Joy Smith, Callen-Lorde’s executive vice president of public policy and communications, told The Advocate in a statement that patients increasingly rely on the clinic for stability in a destabilizing national climate.
“Our promise is simple: We’re here for you. Always,” she said.
She added that 2026 brings “an opportunity to make significant progress in ending the HIV epidemic,” particularly with new tools like twice-yearly injectable PrEP.
McGovern said Daskalakis is uniquely positioned to lead that effort. “Demetre follows the science, and so does Callen-Lorde. He’s also someone who knows how to get things done, having delivered win after win for our communities during his career. That’s why this match meets the moment,” he said in a press release.
Related: Health officials and experts praise CDC’s Demetre Daskalakis for standing up in blistering resignation
In a recent interview with The Advocate, Daskalakis explained his high-profile departure from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August. “CDC is not the CDC you knew from before. It’s now a weapon,” Daskalakis said.
He added that what worries him most is that transgender people may mistake federal hostility by the Trump administration for provider indifference. “That’s not the case,” he said. “This is when you engage.”
Daskalakis is doing just that.
“It’s also essential for our community to unite in defending the rights and meeting the health needs of every single one of our LGBTQ+ siblings,” he said. “Together, we will overcome attacks against our community. Being a proud trans man or woman, being a powerful gay, lesbian, or bisexual person, being comfortable in your own skin, this is the kryptonite to those who are trying to silence our voices.”
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