In this webinar, moderator Tara Haelle and an expert panel — including Paul Offit, M.D. (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), and Jessica B. Steier, DrPH, PMP (Founder and CEO of Unbiased Science) — help reporters navigate the science behind autism, vaccines, and the expected Health and Human Services report on autism causes.
Facilitated by: Jesse Goodman, M.D., MPH, Chair of the E-VAT — Expert Vaccine Analysis Team.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get the context and insights you need to report accurately and confidently.
Additional resources
Webinar presentation, Jessica Steier.
“The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism,” New York Times op-ed, Steier.
“Confounding by indication case study 1: Induction of labor and cesarean delivery risk,” AHCJ article, Tara Haelle.
“Confounding by indication case study 2: Hormonal contraception and risk of depression,” AHCJ article, Haelle.
“Tylenol, antibiotics and asthma risk: Confounding by indication case study 3,” AHCJ article, Haelle.
The Evidence Collective, a science and health communication group founded by Steier and Dr. Katelyn Jetelina of Your Local Epidemiologist.
Vaccine Safety Datalink, CDC.
“3 new vaccination reports offer well of useful resources for journalists,” AHCJ article, Haelle.
“National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit,” a framework on assessing evidence that Jesse Goodman helped with.
Tara Haelle
AHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases & Medical Studies
Tara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist, author, speaker, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic, Scientific American, Texas Monthly, Science News, Medscape/WebMD, The New York Times, Wired, and O Magazine, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research, particularly vaccines, infectious disease, maternal and pediatric health, mental health, healthcare disparities, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly, NPR, the, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere.
Director, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center
Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology, University of Pennsylvania
Paul A. Offit, M.D., is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science, medicine, and vaccines.
Founder and CEO, Unbiased Science
An accomplished public health expert specializing in science communication, Dr. Jessica Steier is committed to providing clients — and the general public — with accurate, unbiased, and methodologically sound information. Through her podcast and other public avenues, she strives to connect citizens with accurate evidence about the forces that affect all of our lives.
While working in both the private sector and academia, she has built a career founded on providing data-driven solutions in real-world environments and communicating the importance of “old school” scientific values in contemporary education and public discourse. At her professional core, Steier is dedicated to rigorous scientific inquiry and bettering the health and welfare of communities.
She is the CEO of Vital Statistics Consulting (VSC), which specializes in health program and policy evaluation using data science and advanced analytics. With a team of expert consultants, VSC helps its clients improve healthcare outcomes while managing the cost challenges of this demanding sector.
Steier is also the founder of “Unbiased Science.” It underpins a diverse social media platform dedicated to translating complex scientific concepts into everyday language. The essence of this endeavor is pushing back against the wave of pseudoscience and misinformation that the Internet and other social forces have recently unleashed. Its motto — “No Nonsense, Just Science” — is meant to capture Steier’s direct and impassioned approach to disseminating technical knowledge in our technologically-driven culture.
Jesse L. Goodman, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Georgetown University COMPASS
Professor of medicine and infectious diseases
Chair, Expert Vaccine Analysis Team (E-VAT)
Jesse L. Goodman, M.D., MPH is Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Attending Physician at Georgetown University. He was previously Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota where his laboratory isolated the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis.
From 2003-2009, he served as Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), regulating vaccines, blood and cell and gene therapies, and then as Chief Scientist of the U.S. FDA until 2014, serving in U.S. leadership for numerous public health responses. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served on numerous WHO, CDC, NIH, NAM and other advisory committees and previously served as a member of GSK’s board, chairing its science committee.