National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowship informational webinar
2025-11-21 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Are you ready to take your reporting to the next level? The Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), in collaboration with the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and the Society of Environmental Journalists, is now accepting applications for the National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships (SHERF), a yearlong program designed to empower early-career journalists covering the critical intersections of science, health and the environment.

This unique fellowship allows participants to keep their current jobs while engaging in hands-on training, exclusive workshops and mentorship from veteran journalists and experts. Fellows will deepen their storytelling skills, gain access to new sources and explore pressing issues shaping public understanding such as climate change, environmental justice, health equity and scientific innovation.

In this webinar, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions about the fellowship and hear from SHERF alumni about their experience. Don’t miss your opportunity to join this dynamic community of science, health and environment reporters driving meaningful change.

Webinar: Key issues before a key CDC meeting
2025-12-02 11:00 - 12:00
This session is crucial for AHCJ members who want clear, authoritative background ahead of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meetings on December 4 and 5.

When the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meets on December 4 and 5, they will be considering changes, some dramatic, that could affect vaccine access and protection throughout the United States, including the hepatitis B birth dose and combination vaccines. The multi-institutional Expert Vaccine Analysis Team, hosted by Georgetown University, and the Association of Health Care Journalists invite you to a journalist briefing ahead of the ACIP meetings.

Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, will explain the history, safety, and effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose and discuss the potential impacts of ACIP changes. Dr. Jesse Goodman, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Attending Physician at Georgetown University, will follow with an overview of related issues ACIP may consider, including adjuvants and combination vaccines. Michael Ninburg, Executive Director Emeritus for the Hepatitis Education Project and past president of the World Hepatitis Alliance, will help ground the science with perspectives on the impact of hepatitis B and its prevention on patients and families.

The briefing will take place on December 2, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET and will include ample time for reporter questions.

Big changes to the CDC's childhood vaccine schedule: What you need to know
2026-01-09 13:00 - 14:00
This week, the CDC changed the agency’s recommended childhood immunization schedule to nearly match that of Denmark, a country that bears little similarity to the U.S. in population, health care system, and public health approach. The move shifts six vaccines from “recommended” to “shared clinical decision-making.”

Hosted by Tara Haelle and offered in conjunction with the Expert Vaccine Analysis Team (E-VAT), this webinar will give you access to quotable experts on vaccine law, the history of the childhood immunization schedule, and the science supporting the longtime CDC schedule to help journalists report on this significant change.

Moderator

Tara Haelle

AHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases, Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist, author, speaker, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic, Scientific American, Texas Monthly, Science News, Medscape/WebMD, The New York Times, Wired, and O Magazine, among others.

She specializes in public health and medical research, particularly vaccines, infectious disease, maternal and pediatric health, mental health, healthcare disparities, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly, NPR, the, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere.

Jesse L. Goodman, M.D., MPH

Director, Georgetown COMPASSAttending physician, Georgetown UniversityJesse L. Goodman, M.D., MPH is a professor of medicine and infectious diseases and an attending physician at Georgetown University and the previous chief of infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota. From 2003-09, Goodman served as director of the federal Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), regulating vaccines, blood and cell and gene therapies, and then as Chief Scientist of the US FDA until 2014, serving in US leadership for numerous public health responses. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served on numerous WHO, CDC, NIH, NAM and other advisory committees and previously served as a member of GlaxoSmithKline’s board, chairing its science committee.

John D. Gräbenstein, Ph.D.

President, Vaccine DynamicsRetired director, U.S. Dept. of Defense Vaccine Military AgencyJohn D. Gräbenstein, Ph.D., is a global vaccinologist, pharmacist, and public-health leader. He served 27 years in the U.S. Army Medical Department and, as a colonel, directed Department of Defense’s Military Vaccine Agency. Gräbenstein served for 13 years as Global Executive Director of Medical Affairs for Merck Vaccines. He operates Vaccine Dynamics, a consulting service on vaccinology and has no conflicts of interest. He is a Member of he National Academy of Medicine.

Sean O’Leary, M.D., MPH

Professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases, University of Colorado Denver AnschutzDirector, Colorado Pediatric Practice-Based Research NetworkSean T. O’Leary, M.D., MPH, is a professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus. He is also an investigator at Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS) and director of the Colorado Children’s Outcomes Network (COCONet), a pediatric practice-based research network.

His research focuses on prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases through understanding clinical, attitudinal, and infrastructural barriers to vaccination, and developing and testing interventions to address those barriers. O’Leary is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on School Health, serves as chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases, and served for many years as AAP liaison to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), serving on many ACIP work groups. He also serves as co-chair of the Policy Committee for Immunize Colorado and has been a speaker at the NFID Clinical Vaccinology Course since 2015.

Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, Ph.D.

Professor of law & James Edgar Hervey ’50 Chair of Litigation, UC San FranciscoDorit Rubinstein Reiss, Ph.D., is a professor of law and the James Edgar Hervey ’50 Chair of Litigation at UC Law in San Francisco. Now a nationally recognized expert on vaccine law, Reiss received her undergraduate degree in law and political science from the Faculty of Law in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and her PhD from the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at the University of California Berkeley. Her current research and activities focus on legal and policy issues related to vaccines. She writes about vaccines mandates, policy responses to non-vaccinating, tort issues and administrative issues related to vaccines, and the anti-vaccine movement.

Building audience with local climate-health stories
2026-01-21 13:00 - 14:00
Climate change is often covered as a vast, global crisis, defined by melting ice sheets, stalled international agreements and the persistent grip of fossil fuels. What gets far less attention are the local stories unfolding across the country: clinics adapting to wildfire, counties redesigning emergency response plans for extreme heat, public health responses to vector-borne diseases and more.

These stories reveal what’s working, who’s innovating and where communities are making progress in protecting public health. For health journalists, this gap is an opportunity — you just need to know where to look. In this webinar, we’ll explore strategies, tools and reporting pathways that can help you find compelling, community-driven stories at the intersection of climate change and public health.

Moderator

Katie Burke

AHCJ Environmental Health Beat LeaderKatie L. Burke is an award-winning editor and serves as senior contributing editor at American Scientist. Burke has a doctorate in biology and a rich background in conservation, forest history, and disease ecology, bringing a profound understanding of scientific nuances to her work.

Moderator

Joanne Kenen

Journalist-in-Residence, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthContributing writer, POLITICO MagazineLong-time health reporter on and off Capitol Hill. Oversaw all the health coverage at Politico for about a decade – now I’m a contributing writer to Politico Magazine, and the Journalist-in-Residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I also teach. I’m a regular on the KHN “What the Health” podcast. I was AHCJ’s first topic leader (on health reform) and the conferences are a highlight of my year. @JoanneKenen

Jenae Barnes

Health and environment reporter, Capital B GaryJenae Barnes covers issues at the intersection of public health, environmental justice, and the lived experiences of Black communities, with a particular focus on the Midwest and national audiences. She is recognized for deeply reported, community-centered journalism, blending investigative rigor with narrative storytelling. Her reporting frequently highlights the impacts of climate change, gender and health disparities, and she has experience amplifying underrepresented voices.

Barnes was selected as a 2024 Pulitzer Center Story Reach Reporting Fellow and participated in the 2023 Wake Forest University Environmental and Epistemic Justice Fellowship. She is also a 2025 participant in the AHCJ German Health Care Study Group, where she will report on the health care experiences of Black expatriates in Germany.

Keerti Gopal

Health and justice reporter, Inside Climate NewsKeerti Gopal covers intersections between climate change, public health and environmental justice at Inside Climate News. Previously, she covered climate activism and movement repression. She is a National Geographic Explorer and has received fellowships from Fulbright, the Solutions Journalism Network, The Lever, and the National Press Foundation.

Matthew Tejada, Ph.D.

Senior vice president, environmental health, Natural Resources Defense CouncilAs the chief visionary and strategist for NRDC’s advocacy to protect human health, Matthew Tejada oversees NRDC’s clean air, water, toxics, and adaptation programs. He is also responsible for leading, scaling, and operationalizing the teams, structures, partnerships, and policy initiatives needed to tackle major health threats facing communities.

Prior to joining NRDC, Tejada served most recently as the deputy assistant administrator for environmental justice within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office for Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. In his 10 years with the EPA, Tejada led all aspects of environmental justice work throughout the agency and in coordination with other federal agencies, including the development of an array of grants and technical assistance vehicles, and the creation and deployment of a nationally consistent screening and mapping tool that highlights environmental justice issues across the United States. His work also direct community engagement, outreach and communication, and management of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

A conversation on 'The Cure for Everything': Where American public health is and where it's headed
2026-01-28 13:00 - 14:00
For the first time in a century, American life expectancy is declining, an unprecedented trend for a wealthy nation and one driven largely by preventable causes of early death. The foundations of public health reforms — sanitation, clean water, safe housing, pollution control, workplace safety, and more — doubled America’s life expectancy between the mid-1800s and today.

But the nation has now spent a century shifting money and attention away from public health and toward clinical medicine. The pandemic exposed the cost of that shift, including widening health inequities, inadequate emergency response coordination, and erosion of public trust.

In her book “The Cure for Everything: The Epic Struggle for Public Health and a Radical Vision for Human Thriving,” Michelle Williams tells the story of how the U.S. overcame a history of infectious disease, poisonous environments, and early death and how it’s still possible to rebalance clinical medicine and public health to prevent hundreds of thousands of annual avoidable premature deaths and improve all Americans’ quality of life.

In this webinar, Williams will talk about key lessons from her book that could inspire lines of investigation for journalists. Linda Marsa, a health journalist who helped Williams with the book, will briefly address how that collaboration worked and how journalists can mine the book for story ideas in their communities.

Moderator

Tara Haelle

AHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases, Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist, author, speaker, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic, Scientific American, Texas Monthly, Science News, Medscape/WebMD, The New York Times, Wired, and O Magazine, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research, particularly vaccines, infectious disease, maternal and pediatric health, mental health, healthcare disparities, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly, NPR, the, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere.

Michelle A. Williams, ScD

Professor of epidemiology and population health, Stanford University School of Medicine Michelle A. Williams, ScD, is a professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford University School of Medicine and former Dean of the Faculty at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, where she also served as the Angelopoulos Professor in Public Health and International Development and currently holds an adjunct professorship. An internationally renowned epidemiologist and award-winning educator, Dr. Williams is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Epidemiological Society. She has authored more than 550 peer-reviewed research articles and is recognized as a leading voice in public health science and global health.

Linda Marsa

Investigative journalist and authorContributing editor, DiscoverLinda Marsa is a former Los Angeles Times reporter and a Discover contributing editor who covers medicine, health, and the environment. Her latest book, which she wrote with Dr. Michelle Williams, “The Cure for Everything: The Epic Struggle for Public Health and a Radical Vision for Human Thriving,” will be published in February 2026. Her work has been anthologized in “Best American Science Writing,” and she has previously authored two books, most recently: “Fevered: Why a Hotter Planet Will Harm Our Health and How We Can Save Ourselves.”

Vaccine injury compensation in the U.S.: Current practices and future prospects
2026-02-12 13:00 - 14:00
The U.S. has relied on the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program since 1986 to ensure that individuals who have experienced a verified injury related to a vaccine have an opportunity to receive compensation without the difficulties and legal fees of pursuing individual litigation against companies or healthcare institutions that likely would not succeed with the high burden of proof needed in such cases.

Recent announcements from the HHS and statements by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., however, suggest he may try to make substantial changes to the program that may threaten petitioners’ ability to receive appropriate compensation or threaten vaccine production and supply in ways similar to those that led to the program’s development. Hear from experts how the U.S. vaccine court came about, how the program works from both the petitioner’s and the government’s sides, how changes might affect vaccine supply and access, and what might result from different potential changes to the program.

Moderator

Tara Haelle

AHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases and Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist, author, speaker, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic, Scientific American, Texas Monthly, Science News, Medscape/WebMD, The New York Times, Wired, and O Magazine, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research, particularly vaccines, infectious disease, maternal and pediatric health, mental health, healthcare disparities, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly, NPR, the, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere.

Anna Kirkland, J.D., Ph.D.

Kim Lane Scheppele Collegiate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Michigan

Anna Kirkland, J.D., Ph.D., is the Kim Lane Scheppele Collegiate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan. She is also an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor. She received her law degree (2001) and Ph.D in Jurisprudence and Social Policy (2003) from the University of California, Berkeley. She holds courtesy appointments with the School of Law, Sociology, Political Science, and Health Management and Policy at Michigan. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Prof. Kirkland is a member of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and served as a committee member on the 2018 National Academies panel charged with studying sexual harassment in the STEM fields of academia. Prof. Kirkland is the author of several books including Vaccine Court: The Law and Politics of Injury (New York University Press, 2016), along with multiple journal articles about vaccine injury compensation.

Michael Milmoe, J.D.

Partner, Law Offices of Leah V. Durant & AssociatesMichael P. Milmoe currently represents vaccine-injured petitioners at the Law Offices of Leah V. Durant, LLC, in Washington, D.C. where he has been a Senior Partner since 2017. Prior to becoming a petitioner’s attorney, he worked at the Department of Justice for 31 years, 28 of which were spent as an attorney in the Vaccine Litigation Section of the Civil Division where he defended Vaccine Program cases. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Milmoe came to the Department of Justice as an Honors Program Attorney in 1986. He was the first attorney hired into the Civil Division’s then newly created Office of Vaccine Litigation in 1988, the same year the Vaccine Act became effective.

Walter Orenstein, M.D.

Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Pediatrics, Epidemiology and Global Health, Emory UniversityWalter A Orenstein, MD, DSc (Hon) is Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Pediatrics, Epidemiology, and Global Health at Emory University. He is also the Director of OrensteinVax, LLC, a consulting firm. Dr. Orenstein worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 26 years and was the Director of the United States Immunization Program for 16 years (1988-2004). He has co-edited the standard textbook in Vaccinology, Plotkin’s Vaccines for the last 6 editions. His work has focused on developing and implementing vaccination policies especially with regard to polio eradication and measles elimination.

Vaccine trends and misinformation among older adults
2026-02-26 13:00 - 14:00
Vaccine uptake for influenza, COVID-19, RSV and shingles among adults over age 60 remains low, according to data from the University of Michigan and the CDC. Older adults with multiple chronic conditions are especially vulnerable to these diseases. Meanwhile, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for some of these viruses are increasing, CDC tracking data points to high respiratory virus activity in Alabama and trending upwards in the Pacific Northwest, California, and parts of the south, including Florida, Louisiana and Arkansas. Misinformation, cost and fear of side effects are just a few of the rationales given for not staying up-to-date on these important preventive measures.

In this webinar, experts in epidemiology and infectious disease will review the latest data and immunization trends. We’ll also discuss how these vaccines may provide additional protective benefits beyond preventing severe disease and how journalists can help counter misinformation.

Moderator

Liz Seegert

AHCJ Health Beat Leader for AgingLiz Seegert is AHCJ’s health beat leader on aging. She’s an award-winning, independent health journalist based in New York’s Hudson Valley, who writes about caregiving, dementia, access to care, nursing homes and policy. Seegert is also a contributing writer for Fortune.com, the American Journal of Nursing, and PBS/NextAvenue.org, reporting on myriad health topics, including social determinants of health and women’s health.

She has written for TIME Health, The Wirecutter, Money.com, Medscape, Consumer Reports, The Guardian and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, The Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.

Jennifer Dowd, Ph.D.

Professor of demography and population health and deputy director, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of OxfordDr. Jenn Dowd has training in Demography, Economics, and Epidemiology, earning a PhD from Princeton University and a postdoctoral fellowship as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at the University of Michigan.

Jenn’s academic work focuses on statistical analysis of large datasets to better understand population health and mortality. She is interested in how the economic and social world “gets under the skin” to impact our biology. This has included deep dives into the biology of stress, infections and immune function, and the human microbiome. In a currently funded 5-year project from the European Research Council (ERC), she explores reasons underlying stalling life expectancy in the U.S. and Europe.

Subscribe to Jenn’s Substack Newsletter: Data for Health

Preeti Malani, M.D., MSJ

Professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases, Michigan MedicineMalani’s research interests focus on at the intersection of infections and aging. She is deputy editor and director of editorial equity for JAMA and the JAMA Network and previously served as the University of Michigan’s chief health officer and as a member of Michigan’s COVID-19 Nursing Home Task Force during the height of the pandemic.

Understanding ChatGPT Health: How large language models are being used to triage care
2026-03-12 12:00 - 13:00
Earlier this year, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, a feature allowing users to incorporate data from their medical records and wellness apps to ask questions about their health and test results, and understand potential treatment options.

In this webinar, panelists will cover how it works, the potential benefits and cautions for this and other ChatGPT platforms, how patients and physicians are using large language models in health care now, and what journalists and consumers need to know.

Moderator

Karen Blum

AHCJ Health Beat Leader for AI and Patient SafetyKaren Blum is AHCJ’s health beat leader for AI and Patient Safety, guiding coverage at the intersection of emerging technology and patient protection. An independent health and science journalist based in the Baltimore area, she previously covered Health IT for AHCJ.

Blum has written for publications such as the Baltimore Sun, Pharmacy Practice News, Clinical Oncology News, Clinical Laboratory News, Cancer Today, CURE, AARP.org, General Surgery News and Infectious Disease Special Edition; has covered numerous medical conferences for trade magazines and news services; and has written many profiles and articles on medical and science research as well as trends in health care and health IT. She has been a contest judge for AHCJ’s Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. Blum also is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and chairs its Virtual Education Committee.

Henry Bair, M.D., MBA

Resident physician, Wills Eye HospitalHenry Bair M.D., MBA, is a resident physician at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Previously, he was a fellow at Stanford University’s Clinical Excellence Research Center, a researcher at the Stanford Center for Policy, Outcomes, and Prevention, and curriculum director of digital health courses at Stanford Medical School. His writings on health policy and digital health have appeared in JAMA Pediatrics, NEJM AI, Digital Health, Public Health Reports, and Academic Medicine, as well as SF Chronicle, The Hill, STAT News, and MedPage Today.

Rachael Robertson

Enterprise and investigative writer, MedPage TodayRachael Robertson is a New York City-based health journalist and audio producer. She covers all things medicine as part of MedPage Today’s investigative and enterprise team, with a particular focus on pop culture, public health, and medical misinformation. Rachael is also MedPage Today’s beat leader for ob/gyn news and the creator, host, and producer of the bi-weekly health news podcast MedPod Today. In 2025, Rachael was one of AHCJ’s inaugural Uncovering Pathways to Better Health fellows. She is a proud graduate of the City University of New York’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Before pivoting careers to journalism, Rachael worked in communications for a New York City elder care organization.

ACIP meeting countdown: COVID vaccine and what else is at stake
2026-03-17 12:00 - 13:00
Don’t miss this opportunity to get up to speed before the March 18-19 CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting. This webinar, co-hosted by the Expert Vaccine Analysis Team and the Association of Health Care Journalists, will provide independent, evidence-based discussion of topics expected to come up during the meeting.

These items include vaccine safety and quality monitoring, data on COVID vaccine safety, possible recommendation votes related to COVID vaccine injuries, and other issues, such as the evidence framework the CDC uses to assess vaccine data and the risk/benefit analysis of vaccines. We will also discuss other emerging topics that may arise before the meeting.

Whether you’re a journalist covering immunization policy, a public health professional navigating a rapidly shifting vaccine landscape, or a researcher tracking the latest safety data, this webinar will help equip you with the scientific context you need to understand what’s at stake. The panel of senior vaccine scientists — including Norman Baylor, Ph.D., Miles Braun, M.D., Fiona Havers, M.D., and Paul Offit, M.D. — will cut through the noise and offer clear, unbiased analysis.

Moderator

Tara Haelle

AHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases and Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist, author, speaker, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic, Scientific American, Texas Monthly, Science News, Medscape/WebMD, The New York Times, Wired, and O Magazine, among others.

She specializes in public health and medical research, particularly vaccines, infectious disease, maternal and pediatric health, mental health, healthcare disparities, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly, NPR, the, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere.

Norman W. Baylor, Ph.D.

President and CEO, Biologics Consulting GroupDr. Norman W. Baylor is an expert in the development and licensure of new vaccines, evaluating numerous vaccines throughout his career including vaccines for acellular pertussis, varicella, pneumococcal conjugate, human papillomavirus (HPV), influenza and shingles. He is currently the president and CEO of Biologics Consulting Group, Inc, where he is responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the company.

Prior to this, he spent 20 years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), most recently as Director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). In this role, he oversaw all facets of the clinical and product regulatory review activity, including quality assurance and oversight of review functions in addition to planning, developing and administering CBER’s broad national and international programs and operational activities for vaccines and related products. Dr. Baylor served as FDA’s liaison to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Vaccine Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines. He served on the board of the Infectious Disease Research Institute and continues to serve as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization on several global vaccine initiatives.

Fiona P. Havers, M.D.

Adjunct associate professor, Emory University School of MedicineFiona Havers, MD, MHS, FIDSA, is an infectious diseases physician and former medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Havers is a senior subject matter expert on vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases and vaccine policy. She was the CDC lead of the Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET) Team in the Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division within the U.S. CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Dr. Havers oversaw the COVID-19 and RSV platforms within RESP-NET, a population-based surveillance platform that covers ~9% of the US population and collects data on COVID-19, RSV, and influenza-associated hospitalizations. Dr. Havers left CDC in June 2025.

The author of >100 publications while at CDC, Dr. Havers’ research interests have focused on the epidemiology, prevention, treatment and vaccine policy for vaccine-preventable respiratory pathogens, including influenza, pertussis, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. She was previously the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Work Group lead for the Pertussis Vaccines Work Group and has worked extensively on COVID-19 and adult RSV vaccine policy, including as senior author on the initial adult RSV vaccine ACIP policy recommendations published in 2023.

Paul A. Offit, M.D.

Director, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education CenterPaul A. Offit, M.D., is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science, medicine, and vaccines.

M. Miles Braun, M.D.

Adjunct professor, Georgetown University School of MedicineIn April 2018, M. Miles Braun MD MPH, was appointed Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Braun directs a new educational initiative to bring integrative approaches to optimize health and quality of life of adolescent and young adult cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. Integrative approaches include mind and body practices, natural products and lifestyle modifications.

Dr. Braun is board-certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. He served for 20 years as a medical officer in the US Public Health Service (USPHS), including at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where he was for more than 8 years Director of the Division of Epidemiology in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He has received more than 20 USPHS awards and authored or co-authored well over 100 scientfic-medical publications, including multiple studies with important clinical impact and epidemiological studies on the causes of various cancers. Dr. Braun has practiced yoga (including meditation) for 25 years, is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT200), has completed multiple trainings and has extensive personal experience with integrative approaches.

HJ26 PitchFest Prep
2026-04-28 16:00 - 17:00
Whether it’s your first or tenth time at PitchFest, please join this virtual session to review the dos and don’ts of your one-on-one with editors. The PitchFest committee will share feedback it has gotten from previous years’ editors and advice on how to make the most of your 10-minute time slots.

This year’s PitchFest will take place at Health Journalism 2026 in Minneapolis.
