Infectious diseases specialist and researcher H. Keipp Talbot, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine and Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has won the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2025 Anthony Fauci Courage in Leadership Award.
The award citation from IDSA praises Talbot as “a quintessential public servant-scientist and dedicated public health leader,” and credits her work as “an international researcher in respiratory virus epidemiology and vaccinology, with contributions ranging from basic science to clinical and population health research to policy. Her work has consistently informed policy and directly impacted human health.”
According to the IDSA, the award “is given to a person who has demonstrated courage in leadership and a commitment to promoting scientific integrity, advocating for sound science and advancing the field of infectious diseases at their institution or in their local, national or global communities.” Anthony Fauci, MD, served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022.
The award is given by the IDSA “in recognition of the values and attributes that Dr. Fauci has exhibited throughout his career, including courage in leadership in speaking scientific truth, perseverance in the face of opposition, and serving as a change agent for health care and patients around the world.”
Talbot is a past chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research has focused on viral respiratory illnesses in older adults, with special interest in prevention through immunization.
Talbot, who holds the Vaccinology Research Directorship at VUMC, joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2006. She studied ceramic engineering and physiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her MD is from the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, and her Master of Public Health degree is from Vanderbilt. She completed her training at Vanderbilt with an internship, residency and chief residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in infectious diseases. Talbot is a past member of the board of directors of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
