2020
DEMETRE
C. DASKALAKIS
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIVISION OF DISEASE CONTROL
NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE
Demetre C. Daskalakis, MD, MPH has been serving as the Deputy Commissioner for the
Division of Disease Control at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Daskalakis
directed the public health laboratory and all infectious disease control programs for NYC,
including HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, vaccine-preventable diseases, and
general communicable diseases. His division is among the largest in the Department, employing
more than 1,100��staff, managing over $350��million, and operating 14��clinical facilities.
He received his medical education from the NYU School of Medicine and completed his
residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Dr. Daskalakis also
completed clinical infectious disease fellowships at the Brigham and Women’s Massachusetts
General Hospital combined program and received a Master of Public Health from the Harvard
T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr. Daskalakis focused much of his career on the treatment and prevention of HIV and other
STIs as an activist physician with a focus on LGBTQIA+ communities. He was integral in designing
and leading NYC’s Ending the Epidemic program, credited with decreasing HIV incidence
to a historic low. He has also served as the Health Department’s incident commander
during the measles outbreak of 2018–2019��as well as the current COVID-19��public health
emergency.
HEALTHCARE HEROES