About our Health Officer

Jyothi Gunta MD, MPH 

Jyothi Gunta MD, MPH was appointed Director of the Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County in April 2023, replacing Alina Alonso, MD upon her retirement. Dr. Gunta is a board-certified physician in Preventive Medicine/Public Health and board certified in Occupational/Environmental Medicine with training and experience in family medicine, evidence based preventive care, occupational medicine, epidemiology, research, education and policy. She earned her Master’s Degree in Public Health from NOVA Southeastern University.

In addition, Dr. Gunta is a certified Medical Review Officer (MRO) and a certified Department of Transportation (DOT) medical examiner. She has several years of experience as a medical director in family practice, preventive health services, obesity medicine, urgent care and occupational and environmental health. She has demonstrated leadership within multiple healthcare systems and outpatient practices including the Veterans Health Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She played an integral part in one of the most intensive projects of COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring in U.S. history and contributed to the description of health and functional outcomes following vaccination. This data was published in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health Journal. She received her Medical Doctor (MD) from Saint Petersburg State Medical Academy (I.I. Mechnikov) in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Dr. Gunta completed her internship in pediatrics residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i before entering Preventive Medicine/Public Health residency program at the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County where she also served as the chief resident. She is fluent in three languages besides English. Her professional interests include obesity medicine, occupational medicine, health equity, education and policy. Outside of medicine, she enjoys tennis, international travel, learning new languages, and spending quality time with family and friends.