Sayone Thihalolipavan, a former New York City health officer, has been named the new San Diego County deputy public health officer. He takes over for Eric McDonald, now the medical director of the Health and Human Services Agency’s epidemiology and immunization branch.
Thihalolipavan, 33, served as medical director of the Clinical and Scientific Unit in the Bureau of Chronic Disease and Tobacco Control of the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He worked on tobacco control, diabetes prevention, alcohol and drug use, vital statistics, lead poisoning, Ebola and other emergency response efforts.
During the Ebola scare, Thihalolipavan was involved in the planning and implementation of quarantine-related efforts, initiating a call center to monitor people coming from Ebola-affected countries, and serving as the Ebola doctor on call to deal with clinical inquiries that arose during non-business hours.
Born in Nigeria, Thihalolipavan was raised mostly in Toronto and Buffalo. He has a wife and a 4-year-old daughter.
– San Diego Metro