Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, Professor of Pediatrics Emerita at Vanderbilt University has led many of the pivotal clinical trials of vaccines licensed in the past several decades and has played a major role in their implementation. She has had an extensive experience in leading NIH-funded multicenter initiatives; in designing, conducting, and analyzing pivotal Phase I, II, and III clinical studies on vaccines and therapeutics; in facilitating networking with basic and clinical investigators with a wide range of interests and expertise; and in mentoring many of the investigators who currently lead vaccine research programs globally. She has also been active in evaluating vaccine safety as the former leader of the CDC-funded Center for Immunization Safety Assessment site at Vanderbilt where she and her colleagues assess adverse events associated with vaccines in subjects of all ages. Dr. Edwards has also conducted comprehensive pneumonia surveillance studies in adults and children and established the New Vaccine Surveillance Network at Vanderbilt. She is currently serving on several Data Safety and Monitoring Committees.