She is the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As a board-certified emergency physician, she has seen firsthand the impact of infectious diseases, chronic health conditions, and injuries on individuals, families, and communities and strives to address and prevent challenges with implementable, evidence-based practices.

She also volunteered at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and worked as a house staff assistant at Grady Hospital.

Other notable achievements under her leadership included releasing the CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines for Chronic Pain, acquiring the management of the Drug Free Communities program encompassing 700 local coalitions, expanding the National Violent Death Reporting System from 18 to 50 states, and standing up new funding lines in adverse childhood experiences, suicide, drowning, and firearm violence prevention.

Most recently, Dr. Houry served for nearly two years (2021-2023) as CDC’s acting Principal Deputy Director, overseeing improvements to lab quality, updating global health strategy and governance, and elevating cross-cutting initiatives across the agency such as social determinants and mental health.