Nancy Snyderman Resigns: NBC News Chief Medical Editor Steps Down Over Ebola Quarantine Scandal

NBC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman resigned from her position Thursday over breaking the terms of her voluntary Ebola quarantine last year. The quarantine was prompted after she reported from an Ebola-infected area, where one of her colleagues contracted the virus.

In a statement released Thursday, Snyderman, who had been at the network for nine years, said that she was “stepping down from my position as Chief Medical Editor at NBC News. … I will be shortly taking up a faculty position at a major U.S. medical school.

“Covering the Ebola epidemic last fall in Liberia, and then becoming part of the story upon my return to the U.S., contributed to my decision that now is the time to return to academic medicine,” Snyderman added.

Snyderman caused public outrage during the height of the Ebola outbreak in October 2014, when she was spotted in a vehicle outside a New Jersey restaurant, while she was supposed to be undergoing a voluntary 21-day quarantine after reporting on the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.

Ashoka Mukpo, an American freelance journalist who was working with Snyderman on her assignment in the country, was subsequently diagnosed with the Ebola virus. Mukpo later recovered after treatment.

NBC News was flooded with angry comments over her actions. Snyderman insisted that she was no risk to the public, and apologized for her actions. Her apology, however, was deemed half-hearted by many commentators, and failed to stem the tide of public anger.

An NBC News spokesperson said: “Throughout her career with NBC News, Dr. Nancy Snyderman has provided her expertise on countless health and medical topics that are vitally important to our audience. She's been a valuable voice both on air and in our newsroom, and we wish her all the best."

Snyderman's departure is the latest blow to NBC News, which has seen Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams suspended for six months, after his repeated claims that he was on-board a U.S. helicopter shot down in Iraq were revealed to be untrue.