About Gene
Dr. Gangarosa’s family history inspired his career commitment to safe water and sanitation, as four of his thirteen siblings died in infancy before his parents came to America — ultimately because of contamination and scarcity of water. He was the junior member of the team that first investigated cholera with modern scientific tools. Throughout his long and illustrious career, he has been involved in virtually every aspect of the prevention, control, and treatment of intestinal infections. Now he tells the story of the giants who inspired him in his field — of which he himself is one.
Dr. Gangarosa with a pediatric patient in Bangkok, Thailand.
​Eugene J. Gangarosa, MD, MS, FACP is an Emeritus Professor in the Center for Global Safe Water, Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. He began his career in public health immediately after completing his residency in internal medicine. He joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1964 as Chief of the Epidemic Intelligence Service. Soon after, he became the CDC's Chief of the Enteric Diseases Branch of the Bacterial Diseases Division.
In 1978, Dr. Gangarosa took an early retirement from the CDC to become Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Public Health at the American University of Beirut. In 1982, Dr. Gangarosa joined Emory as professor and director of the Master of Public Health program within the School of Medicine — which eventually evolved into the Rollins School of Public Health. As well as teaching and doing research, Dr. Gangarosa has published extensively on problems related to infectious diseases.
He has received CDC’s highest award for distinguished scientific contributions, the Medal of Excellence; Emory University’s highest honor, the Thomas Jefferson award, for outstanding contribution to institutional development, Wade Hampton Frost Distinguished Lecture Award from the American Public Health Association, and Charles Hatcher Jr. M.D. Award for Excellence in Public Health.
Note added in memoriam
Eugene John Gangarosa died peacefully on August 11, 2022, four days after his 96th birthday and eight days before his 72nd wedding anniversary.
Rest in peace, our beloved Gene.