Biographies - Polio

In July, 2014, Dr Nathanson retired as Associate Dean for Global Health Programs in the Perelman School of Medicine, 2004-2014. Before that, he served as Vice Provost for Research, at the University of Pennsylvania, from 2000 to 2003, where he was responsible for oversight of the whole research enterprise of the University. From July, 1998 to September, 2000, Dr. Nathanson served as Director of the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at the National Institutes of Health responsible for coordinating the scientific, budgetary, legislative, and policy components of the NIH AIDS research programs, as well as for promoting collaborative research activities in domestic and international settings.

Dr. Nathanson received a BS and MD at Harvard University, followed by clinical training in internal medicine at the University of Chicago, and postdoctoral training in virology at the Johns Hopkins University. Early in his career, Dr. Nathanson spent two years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the Centers for Disease Control, where he headed the Polio Surveillance Unit. He spent 20 years on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University, mainly in the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health. Following that, he chaired the Department of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania for 15 years, finally serving for two years as Vice Dean for Research and Research Training. Dr. Nathanson is particularly known for his contributions to the field of viral pathogenesis, having edited the definitive text on this subject. He has also made significant contributions to the epidemiology of viral diseases.

Dr. Hinman is Director for Programs at the Center for Vaccine Equity, a program of the Task Force for Global Health, a not-for-profit organization affiliated with Emory University. He received his B.A. from Cornell University, MD from Western Reserve University, and MPH from Harvard University. Since 1965 he has been involved in public health programs at state, national, and international levels, primarily working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At CDC he served as Director of the Immunization Division (1977-1988) and the National Center for Prevention Services (1988-1995). In addition, he has worked for the State Health Departments of New York and Tennessee. He retired from the U.S. Public Health Service in July 1996, having attained the rank of Assistant Surgeon General. He has authored or co-authored more than 400 publications. He has served on the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association and the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as well as Chairing an Advisory Committee of the World Health Organization. He is an Adjunct Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, where he teaches courses in “Immunization Programs and Policies” and “Health and Human Rights.”

Walter A. Orenstein, MD, is a Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, Global Health, and Pediatrics, as well as Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center and Director of the Emory Program on Vaccine Policy and Development having returned to Emory University in October 2011. From 2008 through 2011, Dr. Orenstein was Deputy Director for Immunization Programs in the Vaccine Delivery department of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His primary focus at the foundation had been on polio eradication, measles control, and improving routine immunization programs. Between 2004 and 2008, he was a Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Emory University, Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center and Director of the Emory Program on Vaccine Policy and Development among other responsibilities. Prior to 2004, Dr. Orenstein worked for 26 years in the Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 1988-2004, he was the Director of the United States Immunization Program. He is a former Assistant Surgeon General of the USPHS. Dr. Orenstein successfully developed, promoted, facilitated and expanded new vaccination strategies to enhance disease prevention.

Dr. Orenstein has authored and co-authored numerous books, journals and reviews. Along with Stanley Plotkin, MD and Paul Offit, MD, Dr. Orenstein co-edited Vaccines, 6th edition in 2013 – the leading textbook in the field. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. In 2006, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine. He is a past Chair of the WHO’s Poliomyelitis Technical Consultative Group. He served as the Chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) under the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2011 to 2016. He is also currently a member of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization Polio Working Group. On July 1, 2016, Dr. Orenstein became the President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) for two years.

Dr. Orenstein received his Bachelor of Science at The City College of New York in 1968, and his degree in Medicine from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1972. He completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Southern California Medical School. Dr. Orenstein also completed a residency in preventive medicine at the CDC. In 2006, he received an honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Wake Forest University.