COVID-19 Conversation: Top Vaccine Questions

Professor of Health Sciences Program Director - Master of Health Administration (MHA) Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology Waters College of Health Professions Georgia Southern University Joey has been a professor of health administration for the past 26 years with Georgia Southern University on the Armstrong campus in Savannah, GA. He has been a practicing clinical pharmacist for the past 30 years and has also served as a consultant to public health and pharmaceutical industry companies during that past 30 years. He has over 50 published articles and research presentations in the fields of health services research, pharmaceutical economics, and health policy since 1995.

Gretchen Kreckel Garofoli, PharmD, BCACP, CTTS, is an Associate Professor at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and completed a Community-Based Pharmacy Residency at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Her current practice site is Waterfront Family Pharmacy in Morgantown, WV where she focuses on immunizations, diabetes care, medication synchronization, adherence packaging, and medication therapy management. She also serves as a site coordinator and preceptor for the PGY-1 community-based pharmacy residency program at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy. Dr. Garofoli's areas of interest include immunizations, diabetes management, medication therapy management, compounding, and program development and implementation in the community pharmacy setting. Dr. Garofoli was the 2011 recipient of the West Virginia Pharmacists' Association Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award, the 2015 recipient of the American Pharmacists' Association Distinguished New Practitioner Award, and the 2018 recipient of the West Virginia Pharmacists' Association Excellence in Innovation Award. She is currently serving as the coordinator of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management Immunizing Pharmacists Special Interest Group for the 2020-2021 Academy year. Her research interests include immunizations, diabetes, pharmacist provided screenings, and the impact of pharmacy-based patient care programs.

In his role as chief scientific officer, Ross McKinney Jr., MD leads an array of AAMC programs that support all aspects of medical research and training. He also represents the AAMC nationally on issues related to research and science policy, administration, and workforce development, and education and training. Dr. McKinney joined the AAMC in 2016 after serving as a member of the Duke faculty since 1985. During his time at Duke, he was director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, vice dean for research at Duke University School of Medicine, and director of the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine. Among his career highlights, Dr. McKinney was first author of the key Phase I and II studies on Zidovudine (AZT) use in children, and he conducted research on the natural history, prevention, and treatment of pediatric HIV disease. Dr. McKinney received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1975. He earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics, and fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, at Duke University Medical Center.

Yan Leyfman has been recognized as one of the top international researchers in oncology by the American Society of Hematology and American Society of Clinical Oncology. Most recently, he was recognized as the 2020 Emerging International Scholar in Immunology & Immunotherapy by the International Society of Immunology & Immunochemistry (iChem). Dr. Leyfman has contributed to the development of several anti-cancer therapies that have recently entered clinical trials and his successes have been recognized by such prestigious organizations as the Barry M. Goldwater Research Foundation, Sigma Xi, New York Times, USA Today, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and Harvard Medical School. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was recruited to join the Global COVID-19 Taskforce to serve as a Special Advisor for Immunology, Oncology and Cellular Therapeutics and was made Director of the Immunology Division, which produced a cohesive mechanism of action for SARS-CoV-2, a new prognostic assay to predict patient outcomes, and the first synergistic paradigm between the flu and SARS-CoV-2, termed "COVI-Flu" along with therapeutic interventions for both. This was published as the cover article in the journal, Shock, received over 32 million views and was amongst the top five COVID-19 articles worldwide, according to QxMD, in its first week. Yan was recognized as a 2020 New York State & City Manhattan Hero for his community service and research contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic and by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for research excellence.