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Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism (2001)

Chapter: Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
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APPENDIX C

Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches

Marie McCormick, M.D., Sc.D., (Chair), is Summer and Esther Feldberg Professor and Chair of the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. She received her M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School, and her Sc.D. degree from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Dr. McCormick is a member of the Institute of Medicine and has served as chair of the Committee on Preventing Perinatal Transmission of HIV and the Committee on Prenatal and Newborn Screening for HIV Infection, and as a member of the Committee on Unintended Pregnancy. Her research involves epidemiological and health services research investigations in areas related to infant mortality and outcomes of high-risk neonates. Her expertise is in pediatrics, maternal and child health policy, and program evaluation.

Ronald Bayer, Ph.D., is Professor in the Division of Sociomedical Sciences at the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Dr. Bayer received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago. Since 1982, he has been involved in the study of the ethical and policy dimensions of the AIDS epidemic. He served on the National Research Council's Committee on the Social Impact of AIDS and more recently, the Committee on the Elimination of Tuberculosis in the United States. He is author of numerous articles on ethical issues posed by AIDS and tuberculosis, including Private Acts, Social Consequences: AIDS and the Politics of Public Health, and Blood Feuds: AIDS, Blood, and the Politics of Medical Disaster. His most recent coauthored book is AIDS Doctors: Voices From the Epidemic.

Alfred Berg, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Berg received his M.D. from Washington University and his M.P.H. from the University of Washington. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Berg pres-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
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Page 80

ently serves as chair of the third U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. He is also an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Board of Family Practice. Dr. Berg's research interests include clinical epidemiology, evidence-based medical practice, preventive medicine, and clinical practice guidelines.

Rosemary Casey, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Jefferson Medical College, and the Director and practicing physician of Lankenau Faculty Pediatrics. Dr. Casey is Board certified in Pediatrics, and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association. She also serves as editorial consultant on several journals, including Pediatrics, Pediatric Emergency Care, Clinical Pediatrics, and Journal of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association. Her interests include diagnostic problems and behavioral pediatrics. Dr. Casey received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School and completed her residency in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.

Joshua Cohen, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Associate with the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis. Dr. Cohen received his Ph.D. in Decision Sciences from Harvard University. His research includes assessing population risk related to styrene production and use, developing a computer model to quantify the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy being introduced into the United States and contaminating the food supply. In addition, he is the project director for a comparative evaluation of alternative propulsion systems for heavy duty urban vehicles. He is the author of a case study conducted for U.S. EPA demonstrating the application of decision analytic techniques to the evaluation of alternative drinking water treatment technologies. His research focuses on the application of decision analytic techniques to environmental risk management problems, with a special emphasis on the proper characterization and analysis of uncertainty.

Vernice Davis-Anthony, M.P.H., R.N., is Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Community Health at St. John Health System in Detroit, Michigan, where she oversees system-wide management and development of community health policies and programs, strategic planning, marketing and public relations, and government relations. Ms. Davis-Anthony was the former Director of the Michigan Department of Public Health, where she achieved the lowest infant mortality rate in Michigan's history and reduced the teen pregnancy rate in that state. In addition, Ms. Davis-Anthony established the Michigan Task Force of Violence Reduction and Prevention and the Michigan Abstinence Partnership. She was also appointed to serve as a Governor of Wayne State University. She received her M.P.H. from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wayne State University.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
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Page 81

Betsy Foxman, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Director of the Center for Molecular and Clinical Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases. Her research focuses on the combination of epidemiologic field methods and modern molecular techniques to examine the individual and joints effects of host behaviors, host characteristics and agent characteristics on disease risk, especially on urinary tract infection, vulvovaginal candidiasis, lactation mastitis and otitis media. She serves on various professional organizations, including Chair of the Epidemiology Division of the American Public Health Association, is a member of the program committee for the first North American Congress of Epidemiologists, and is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. She received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Constantine Gatsonis, Ph.D., is Professor of Medical Science and Applied Mathematics, and Director of the Center for Statistical Sciences at Brown University. He has served on numerous review and advisory panels, including, as a consultant/ad hoc panel member on the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the Data Safety and Monitoring Board of the VA Cooperative Studies in Health Services, the Commission of Technology Assessment of the American College of Radiology, the NINDS Data Safety and Monitoring Board, and the HCFA Technical Experts Panel. Dr. Gatsonis is the founding editor-in-chief of Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology and is on the editorial board of Academic Radiology, Statistics in Medicine, and Medical Decision Making. His research interests include Bayesian inference and its applications to problems in biostatistics, methodologic aspects of health services and outcomes research, and medical technology evaluation with emphasis on diagnostic radiology. Dr. Gatsonis received his Ph.D. in mathematical statistics from Cornell University.

Steven Goodman, M.D., M.H.S., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Oncology, Pediatrics, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Goodman received his M.D. from New York University, his M.H.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins University, and trained in pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis. He has been a member of two IOM committees: the Committee for a Review of Evidence Regarding the Link between Exposure to Agent Orange and Diabetes, and the Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides: Second Biennial Update. As a statistician for the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, General Clinical Research Center and Pediatric Clinical Research Unit, he has participated in the design and analysis of a wide range of clinical and epidemiologic studies. He is co-director of the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Center, and has served as Statistical Editor for the Annals of Internal Medicine since 1987. His research interests include meta-analysis, statistical inference, the ethics of clinical trials, and the use of likelihood and Bayesian methodology in clinical research.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
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Page 82

Ellen Horak, M.S.N., is Chief of Local Health Services in the office of Local and Rural Health at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Ms. Horak is the Past President of the Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing, as well as Past District President of the Kansas State Nurses Association. She is also a member of the American Public Health Association and Kansas Public Health Association. Ms. Horak received her M.S.N. from the University of Kansas.

Michael Kaback, M.D., Michael Kaback is Professor of Pediatrics and Reproductive Medicine at the University of California in San Diego. He is an Institute of Medicine member and has served on previous IOM committees, including the Committee on Assessing Genetic Risks: Issues and Implications for Health. His expertise is in medical genetics and pediatrics, and his research interests include the applications of human genetic technology to treatment and prevention of hereditary disease and congenital defects; technical, social, psychological, legal, and ethical implications of new genetic technologies; and public health and medical practice implications. Dr. Kaback received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Gerald Medoff, M.D., is Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, and Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Internal Medicine Department at Washington University School of Medicine. He was formerly Head of the Infectious Disease Division at Washington University School of Medicine. He has served on various committees, including the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the Executive Board of the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, and the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. In addition, he was Chairman of the AIDS Research Advisory Committee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Medoff's research interests include AIDS, fungal diseases, other infectious diseases, and antimicrobial agents. He received his M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine.

Rebecca Parkin, Ph.D., M.P.H., is Associate Research Professor at The George Washington University Medical Center. Dr. Parkin received her Ph.D. and M.P.H. from Yale University. She is a former director of scientific, professional, and section affairs at the American Public Health Association as well as assistant commissioner for the Division of Occupational and Environmental Health of the New Jersey Department of Health. She is a member of the National Research Council Water Science and Technology Board, and has served on several NRC committees. She is a liaison member of the DHHS's National Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, and a peer reviewer for the New Jersey Cancer Research Commission. She continues to serve on subcommittees of EPA's Science Advisory Board, and has been a member of study panels of Agency for Toxic Substance Disease Registry. She is currently

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
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Page 83

conducting research in the areas of environmental epidemiology, risk assessment, risk perception and communication, and immunization programs.

Bennett A. Shaywitz, M.D., is Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology and Chief of Pediatric Neurology at the Yale University School of Medicine where he is also Co-Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention. He has served on previous IOM committees, including the Committee to Study Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the Committee on New Research on Vaccines, the Committee to Review the Adverse Consequences of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines, Committee for a Review of an Epidemiology Study of Neurologic Illness and Vaccination in Children, and the Committee on the Reye Syndrome and Medication. Currently, he leads a research group that is using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural basis of reading and reading disability (dyslexia). Recently, he and his colleagues have used this technology to discover differences in brain organization and function in children and adults with dyslexia, and he has now begun to use fMRI to study how the brain changes as children with dyslexia are taught to read.

Christopher Wilson, M.D., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was also a member of the Maternal and Child Health Research Committee of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His research includes laboratory work on the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which functional differences between naïve and memory/effector T-cells are imposed, thereby allowing them to exhibit fixed and heritable patterns of effector functions. In addition, his work includes addressing mechanisms governing the development of immunity following primary function, in particular with the intracellular pathogens M. tuberculosis, Listeria monocytogenes, and herpes simplex virus. Dr. Wilson received his M.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Board on Health Promotion Disease Prevention Liaison

Richard Johnston Jr., M.D., is currently Professor of Pediatrics at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He was formerly the Medical Director of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and Chief of the Section of Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine. Among his previous appointments are the position of Chairman of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Association of American Physicians and the Institute

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
×

Page 84

of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His publications include work on immune diseases in children and mechanisms of host defense and inflammation. Dr. Johnston is a past president of the society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society. He is a member of the Board on Health Promotion Disease Prevention of the Institute of Medicine and has chaired four IOM committees, including Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future, the Assessment of Asthma and Indoor Quality, and the Vaccine Safety Committee. He has served on several other IOM committees, including the Committee to review Adverse Consequences of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines and the Immunology Benchmarking Guidance Group.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
×
Page 79
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
×
Page 80
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
×
Page 81
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
×
Page 82
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
×
Page 83
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Immunization Safety Review Committee Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10101.
×
Page 84
Next: Appendix D: Research Needs and Opportunities Related to the Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism »
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Immunization is widely regarded as one of the most effective and beneficial tools for protecting the public's health. In the United States, immunization programs have resulted in the eradication of smallpox, the elimination of polio, and the control and near elimination of once-common, often debilitating and potentially life-threatening diseases, including measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenza type b.

Along with the benefits of widespread immunization, however, have come concerns about the safety of vaccines. No vaccine is perfectly safe or effective, and vaccines may lead to serious adverse effects in some instances. Furthermore, if a serious illness is observed after vaccination, it is often unclear whether that sequence is coincidental or causal, and it can be difficult to determine the true nature of the relationship, if any, between the vaccination and the illness. Ironically, the successes of vaccine coverage in the United States have made it more difficult for the public to weigh the benefits and complications of vaccines because the now-controlled diseases and their often-serious risks are no longer familiar. However, because vaccines are so widely used-and because state laws require that children be vaccinated before entering daycare and school, in part to protect others-it is essential that safety concerns be fully and carefully studied.

Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism, the first of a series from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee, presents an assessment of the evidence regarding a hypothesized causal association between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, an assessment of the broader significance for society of the issues surrounding the MMR-autism hypothesis, and the committee's conclusions and recommendations based on those assessments.

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