Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, is Professor of Pediatrics Emerita at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency and infectious disease fellowship at Northwestern University and her postdoctoral training in Immunology at Rush Medical School in Chicago. Dr. Edwards joined the Vanderbilt Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Division in 1980 and has remained since that time. Dr. Edwards has been very active in vaccine research, in providing clinical care to children with infectious diseases, and in training medical students, residents, fellows, and practicing pediatricians in pediatric infectious diseases and vaccines. Dr. Edwards has evaluated the safety, immunogenicity, and effectiveness of most vaccines licensed for children during the past four decades with NIH funding. In 1998, she received a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct active population-based surveillance to monitor the impact of vaccines. This surveillance network continues and was pivotal in assessing the impact of COVID-19 vaccines. For the past two decades, Dr. Edwards has also led the CDC-funded Center for Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) site at Vanderbilt, where she and her colleagues assess adverse events associated with vaccines. Dr. Edwards also received a CDC contract to conduct comprehensive pneumonia surveillance studies in children and adults.