Walter Straus is Vice President and Distinguished Vaccine Safety Physician at Moderna, where he oversees vaccine safety for the company’s vaccine pipeline. Prior to joining Moderna, Dr. Straus was an Epidemic Intelligence Officer before joining the permanent staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta). He then worked for 20 years at Merck & Co., Inc., where he led teams in scientific affairs, epidemiology, and clinical safety and risk management, primarily supporting the vaccine and infectious disease portfolio. Closer to the IRB world, Walter is a past Director for PRIM&R and was a member of SACHRP. He is a member of the WHO/CIOMS Working Group on Artificial Intelligence in Pharmacovigilance, and has previously contributed to CIOMS working groups on vaccine safety surveillance.