JHVI Director

Ruth Karron

Ruth A. Karron, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Founding Director of the Johns Hopkins Vaccine Initiative.

Dr. Karron is a pediatrician, trained in infectious diseases, who has extensive experience in the evaluation of respiratory virus vaccines (including vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza viruses, avian influenza, and pandemic influenza) in adult and pediatric populations.  Dr. Karron’s research interests also include the pathogenesis of enhanced RSV disease, the development of immune responses to respiratory viral infections in early life, the epidemiology of RSV and other respiratory viral diseases in resource-poor settings, and public policy issues related to vaccine development and distribution. She has served on a number of national and international vaccine advisory committees and panels, and chaired the FDA’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee from 2006-2008.