Leadership

Carol J. Baker, M.D., FAAP, FIDSA, is a Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Texas Children’s Hospital Foundation Chair in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition Chair. She is also the former Head of the Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Baker serves as Past President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). She is the current Chair for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the former President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. She is a member of many professional societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Pediatric Research, American Pediatric Society, Infectious Diseases Society of America and Association of American Physicians.

A widely published researcher in pediatrics and infectious diseases, Dr. Baker has authored or co-authored more than 400 published studies, reviews and book chapters. She also serves as an editor of Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn Infant, associate editor of the 2009 Red Book (28th Edition) and on the editorial advisory committee of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Most recently, Dr. Baker co-authored the book Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story published this year.

Dr. Baker’s work has focused on many aspects of pediatric infectious diseases, including streptococcal infections and vaccine research. In 1997, she was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and has been recognized as a Best Doctor in America™ for the past 11 years.

Dr. Baker received her medical degree and completed her residency at Baylor College of Medicine. She also served fellowships in the Department of Pediatrics, Infectious Disease Section at Baylor College of Medicine and was a research fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a clinical fellow in medicine at Boston City Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Baker received her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.