GRANITE CITY HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 1969

Jeffrey A. Lybarger, M.D., M.S., a 1969 graduate of G.C.H.S., is a physician who served for 30 years with the United States Public Health Service. As a specialist in environmental and occupational medicine, he was assigned to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) where he worked to conduct health and medical studies of people exposed to hazardous substances in the environment and the workplace.

Prior to attending Granite City High School, Dr. Lybarger attended Nameoki Elementary School and Coolidge Junior High School.

Dr. Lybarger received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and his Doctorate of Medicine from Southern Illinois University at Springfield. He served his internship at St. Louis University; and he completed medical specialty training in Occupational Medicine and eventually a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Health from the University of Cincinnati. He also completed medical specialty training in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine at the CDC. He is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in both Occupational Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Lybarger began his CDC career in 1977 with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. He was assigned to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) from 1981 to 1983 where he developed a worker safety program for DHEC employees exposed to asbestos. Following this assignment, he moved to CDC headquarters in Atlanta where he eventually was selected to be one of the first physicians assigned to the newly created agency, ATSDR. He organized the first epidemiology program within that agency and in 1989 was selected as the Director of the Division of Health Studies. During the subsequent 12 years as Division Director, he supervised over 100 health-study activities and assisted many state health departments in conducting similar work. He helped coordinate multisite studies including one which evaluated children exposed to lead; this multisite study included the Illinois Department of Health’s evaluation of lead contamination in Granite City. He developed an organized approach to conducting community studies which would also help determine the larger question of the relationship between exposure to environmental contaminants and adverse health conditions. For this effort, he was awarded the U.S. Public Health Service’s (PHS) Meritorious Service Medal, among his other PHS awards.

Dr. Lybarger’s many activities included providing testimony before Congress and numerous Congressional staff briefings regarding the adverse health effects related to the Superfund legislation. He was the physician among the team chosen to evaluate “spy dust” at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1985 and was the final project officer for the health evaluations following the Mt. St. Helens eruptions. He was also the lead investigator evaluating the adverse health effects of exposure to asbestos contaminated vermiculite in Libby, Montana, which identified abnormalities in the chest radiographs of 18% of that community. He has many medical publications and has given numerous talks to professional health organizations including the World Health Organization. In the last five years, Dr. Lybarger has mentored young physicians as a member of the staff of the CDC Preventive Medicine Residency training program. He retired from CDC on July 1, 2009 and is conducting private consultation in medical education.

Dr. Lybarger has been married to Ms. Catherine Murphy for 26 years. They have one son, Andrew. Dr. Lybarger contributes time with the Boy Scouts of America as an assistant scoutmaster and conducts first aid, CPR and wilderness first aid training. He enjoys hiking, photography, glass working, and woodworking.