(US and Canada) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has named Travis Hoppe as Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. In this role, he is supporting the agency’s efforts to advance the use of artificial intelligence in public health operations, innovation, and data strategy.

Hoppe announced the appointment in a LinkedIn post: “I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve stepped into the role of the acting Chief AI Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

Prior to this role, Hoppe served as Associate Director for Data Science and Analytics at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Drexel University and completed postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health. His federal roles include serving as the CDC representative to the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) for AI/ML and as a standing member of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM).

In his announcement, Hoppe highlighted several ongoing CDC initiatives, including an enterprise GenAI chatbot, which he said has generated more than $3.5 million in savings and a 500% return on investment. He also referenced projects such as rapid Legionella outbreak detection and enhanced foodborne illness tracking, developed by the agency’s AI Community of Practice, which now includes over 2,200 members.

Hoppe also mentioned that he is working under the leadership of CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jennifer Layden and CDC director nominee Dr. Susan Coller Monarez, with support from Acting Deputy Ben Rogers.