Internationally Recognized Vaccine Expert Dr. Paul Offit to Deliver Graduation Address to the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s 216th Graduating Class

Distinguished alumnus and world-renowned virologist returns to UMSOM to address the Class of 2025

Leading vaccine advocate Paul Offit, MD, an internationally recognized immunologist and virologist, will deliver the keynote address for this year’s graduating medical student class. He is best known as co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, which is universally recommended for infants by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and has been credited for saving hundreds of lives every day.

The graduation ceremony will take place at the historic Hippodrome Theatre on Thursday, May 22 at 1pm. Graduation ceremony details for students and guests can be found here. Faculty information is available here.

Dr. Offit graduated from UMSOM in 1977. A distinguished UMSOM alumnus, he is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is also the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has been engaged with UMSOM as a guest lecturer often sharing his expertise with students and faculty on vaccine safety efforts and public perception of immunizations.

“At a time when it is imperative for us to underscore the global impact of medicine and science, we are honored to have an esteemed alumnus, Dr. Paul Offit, deliver our graduation address,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, who is the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean of UMSOM, and Vice President for Medical Affairs at University of Maryland, Baltimore. “His advocacy and unwavering commitment to public health and to the science that has enabled life-saving vaccines have made him a prominent figure on the national stage, one that our graduating class of future medical leaders will truly appreciate.”

 A renowned leader in vaccine science and public health, Dr. Offit has actively participated in national organizations and earned several prestigious awards including a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, and the Sabin Vaccine Institute Gold Medal. For his rotavirus vaccine achievements, he was honored by Bill and Melinda Gates during the launch of their Foundation’s Living Proof Project for global health.

Dr. Offit is currently a member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which evaluates data on the safety, effectiveness, and use of vaccines and previously served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of medical and public health experts that provide recommendations on immunization schedules and how to best use vaccines to control diseases in the U.S. He is also a member of the prestigious National Academy of Medicine and serves as a founding advisory board member of the Autism Science Foundation as well as the Foundation for Vaccine Research. Further solidifying his influence and leadership in the field, he is co-editor of the foremost vaccine textbook, Vaccines.

With more than 160 scientific papers primarily focused on rotavirus immune responses and vaccine safety, Dr. Offit is an acclaimed author of several medical books for a consumer audience including Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. He most recently published his 13th book, Tell Me When It’s Over: And Insider’s Guide to Deciphering COVID Myths and Navigating Our Post-Pandemic World.

For his outstanding achievements, he has been celebrated by UMSOM with the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics, Distinguished Alumni Award and is named to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.

Learn more about Dr. Offit here.