Speakers

Dr. Orenstein has authored and co-authored numerous books, journals and reviews. Dr. Orenstein co-edited Plotkin’s Vaccines, 8th edition in 2024 – the leading textbook in the field. 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) from 2012 to 2016. He is also currently a member of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Ebola Working Group. He is the former Chair of WHO’s Immunization and Vaccines Related Implementation Research Advisory Committee (IVIR-AC). Between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2018, Dr. Orenstein was the President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). He is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine (2006-IOM); a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2018); a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (1980); as well as numerous other prestigious organizations.

Dr. Orenstein served as Chairman of the Technical Consultative Group on the Global Eradication of Poliomyelitis of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1996 – 2004 and a member of the WHO SAGE (Strategic Advisory Group of Experts) Working Group on Polio Vaccine from September 2008 – 2020. He was Chairman of the WHO Immunization and Vaccines-related Implementation Research (IVIR-AC) from 2019 to 2024.

Dr. Orenstein’s research focus has been on assessment of vaccine effectiveness in observational studies, methods to overcome vaccine hesitancy, ways to enhance uptake of recommended vaccines, and ways to facilitate polio eradication and sustain that eradication. In addition, Dr. Orenstein was a Principal Investigator for an NIH funded Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (Emory CEIRR), with a focus on better understanding influenza pathogenesis and host response.