Prevention Matters

Dr. Richard Besser will leave the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Septemer to join ABC News as its Senior Health and Medical Editor. Dr. Tim Johnson, ABC's 30-year veteran health news reporter, has been promoted to ABC's Chief Medical Editor .

Besser, currently the director of the CDC's Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response, served as Acting Director for the CDC from January to June 2009. At the time of the swine flu outbreak, he became the public face of the CDC's response to H1N1 .

"He is an incredibly talented physician, and I look forward to him joining our team," Johnson said in a press release."