Five New Vaccine Committee Members Announced

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced the appointment of five new members to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the CDC.

As of September 15, 2025, the newly appointed members are:

Catherine M. Stein, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Population & Quantitative Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Stein is an epidemiologist with over two decades of research experience in tuberculosis and infectious diseases, and has authored 115 peer-reviewed publications. She has collaborated extensively in genetics, biostatistics, and immunology, and has trained numerous doctoral students at Case Western Reserve.

Evelyn Griffin, M.D., Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Baton Rouge General Hospital, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dr. Griffin is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, lifestyle medicine, and functional medicine. With 15 years of clinical practice, she was among the first robotic-assisted gynecologic surgeons in the U.S. and has led efforts to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.

Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, M.B.A., Director of Medication Access and Affordability, AscensionRx, St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Blackburn leads initiatives to optimize medication access for underserved populations and improve affordability in value-based care. She previously served as Chief Pharmacy Officer at the Dispensary of Hope, overseeing formulary and research strategy. She is also a leader in professional pharmacy organizations, host of the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast, and author of How Pharmacists Lead.

Kirk Milhoan, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director, For Hearts and Souls Free Medical Clinic, Kihei, Hawaii. Dr. Milhoan is a pediatric cardiologist and a former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, having served two combat tours in Iraq. He co-founded For Hearts and Souls, an international mission organization dedicated to children with congenital heart disease, and has coordinated pediatric cardiac care in over a dozen countries. He holds a Ph.D. in the mechanisms of myocardial inflammation.

Raymond Pollak, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.R.C.S. Dr. Pollak is a surgeon, transplant immunobiologist, and transplant specialist who has published more than 120 peer-reviewed works and served as principal investigator on NIH transplant biology grants and numerous drug trials. He previously served as Chief of Liver Transplantation and Director of Multiorgan Transplant Programs at the University of Illinois and has held leadership roles with the United Network for Organ Sharing and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

"The new ACIP members bring a wealth of real-world public health experience to the job of making immunization recommendations," said Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Acting Director of the CDC Jim O'Neill, in a press release.

"We are grateful for their service in helping restore the public confidence in vaccines that was lost during the Biden era."

The ACIP provides recommendations to the CDC Director and the HHS Secretary on the use of vaccines for controlling vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. civilian population.

The current ACIP Chair is Martin Kulldorff, PhD, a biostatistician and epidemiologist, formerly a professor of medicine at Harvard University.

The next ACIP meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 18, 2025. This meeting will be available to watch on YouTube.