Dr. Jernigan is known for his work in infectious disease detection, outbreak readiness and response, and public health surveillance. He served 31 years at the CDC in leadership roles, including Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), CDC Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance, and Director of CDC’s Influenza Division.

Dr. Jernigan received the 2019 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Science and Environment) for contributions to pandemic preparedness, surveillance innovations, and outbreak response.

In October Dr. Jernigan received the 2026 D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

He is currently a member of the faculty at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.