Tania Cedeño Benavides, a specialist in Family and Community Medicine from Granada, has been appointed as the new director of the National Epidemiology Center (CNE) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII). With expertise in public health and health management, Cedeño previously held the position of General Director of Quality, Transformation, and Knowledge Management in the Ministry of Health of the Principality of Asturias.
Cedeño graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Granada and completed her MIR in Family and Community Medicine at the Granada Teaching Unit. She began her professional career as a specialist in healthcare in 2009, working in various healthcare facilities and management units in Granada. Cedeño also holds a Master’s Degree in Research and Advances in Preventive Medicine and Public Health from the University of Granada, as well as a Master’s Degree in Health Management and Management.
In 2016, she took on positions in the Poniente Public Health Agency and later worked at the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital. At the end of 2019, she assumed the coordination and management of the pandemic as the Director of Health Care and Public Health in the Health Service of the Principality of Asturias. Over the past year, she has served as the General Director of Quality, Transformation, and Knowledge Management in Asturias.
Cedeño has now taken over as the director of the CNE-ISCIII, replacing Marina Pollán, who continues her work as a researcher at the center and as the scientific director of the Center’s Epidemiology and Public Health Area. The ISCIII National Center for Epidemiology is responsible for conducting research, providing training and consulting services, and engaging in scientific and technical activities for the National Health System and the Spanish System of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
The CNE focuses on epidemiological research, public health surveillance, and the management of the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE). It conducts studies on chronic and communicable diseases and generates information on notifiable diseases in Spain. The center is divided into two main areas: the Department of Chronic Diseases, which includes units dedicated to cancer and environmental epidemiology, cardiovascular and metabolic disease epidemiology, and aging, neurodegeneration, and mental health; and the Department of Communicable Diseases, which addresses issues such as antimicrobial resistance, vaccine-preventable diseases, and sexually transmitted diseases.
The appointment of Tania Cedeño Benavides as the new director of the CNE-ISCIII signals a new phase of leadership and expertise in epidemiological research and public health surveillance in Spain.