RFK Jr. lists 8 new appointees to ACIP vaccine advisory committee

There are eight new appointees who will be part of the federal Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), the panel that makes recommendations for vaccines for children and adults.

On June 9, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired 17 sitting members of ACIP. He said the move was a step toward rebuilding public trust in the nation’s vaccine review process, especially regarding the inoculations recommended for children. But major medical groups blasted the move, calling it unprecedented and a coup against health care.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
_{© U.S. Department of Health and Human Services}

Kennedy this week announced eight new members who will attend the ACIP meeting scheduled for June 25.

“The slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians,” Kennedy wrote in a post on social media website X, formerly Twitter.

“All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense,” he wrote. “They have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations. The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well.”

Appointees respond

Some of the new members responded on X or in other news outlets.

“I am honored with this opportunity and humbled by the responsibility,” said new appointee Retsef Levi, PhD, of the MIT Sloan School of Management. Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek also posted a statement from Retsef, who said he views the role of ACIP members as “giving advice based on their best judgment.”

On X, appointee Robert W. Malone, MD, apologized for not being able to give interviews regarding ACIP or other government work, “but those are the rules.” He linked to his website, which includes documents about his work with mRNA vaccines. He also noted, “because of my speaking out about the safety issues of the ‘vaccines’ and being an advocate for multi-drug, early treatment for COVID-19, government, media and big tech have done everything in their power to censor and defame me and my work.”

Who are the appointees?

Kennedy’s X post announcing the members sparked at least 2,700 replies, 5,900 reposts, 30,000 likes, and had approximately 3.2 million views.

Kennedy posted brief biographies of each of the new members; those are included below with light editing for style. Additional details were compiled from online searches and news reports.

Joseph R. Hibbeln, MD
_{© LinkedIn}

• Joseph R. Hibbeln, MD, is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with a career in clinical research, public health policy, and federal service. As former acting chief of the Section on Nutritional Neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health, he led research on immune regulation, neurodevelopment, and mental health. His work has informed U.S. public health guidelines, particularly in maternal and child health. With more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and extensive experience in federal advisory roles, Hibbeln brings expertise in immune-related outcomes, psychiatric conditions, and evidence-based public health strategies.

“Adequate brain nutrition is obviously fundamental to optimal brain health,” Hibbeln wrote in his introduction on professional networking website LinkedIn. “Unfortunately, common diets consumed in the 21st century often provide inadequate brain nutrients and are likely contributing to the high burden of mental illnesses worldwide. Valuing the importance of “Nutrition above the Neck” offers profound opportunities to reduce major depression, suicide, aggressive disorders, ADHD, pain and addictions. In my 30 years a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service it has been my honor, my privilege and my duty to contribute to the origins of this field.

Martin Kulldorf, MD, PhD
_{© X/Twitter}

• Martin Kulldorff, MD, PhD is a biostatistician and epidemiologist formerly at Harvard Medical School and a leading expert in vaccine safety and infectious disease surveillance. He has served on the Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Subgroup of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, where he contributed to national vaccine safety monitoring systems. Kulldorff developed widely used tools such as SaTScan and TreeScan for detecting disease outbreaks and vaccine adverse events. His expertise includes statistical methods for public health surveillance, immunization safety, and infectious disease epidemiology. He has also been an influential voice in public health policy, advocating for evidence-based approaches to pandemic response.

Kulldorff is a co-author of The Great Barrington Declaration, which was critical of the lockdown policies to avoid the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic. National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, was co-author of that document.

Retsef Levi, PhD
_{© MIT}

• Levi is the professor of operations management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a leading expert in health care analytics, risk management, and vaccine safety. He has served as faculty director of MIT Sloan’s Food Supply Chain Analytics and Sensing Initiative and co-led the Leaders for Global Operations Program. Levi has collaborated with public health agencies to evaluate vaccine safety, including co-authoring studies on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and their association with cardiovascular risks. His research has contributed to discussions on vaccine manufacturing processes, safety surveillance, and public health policy. Levi has also served on advisory committees and engaged in policy discussions concerning vaccine safety and efficacy. His expertise spans health care systems optimization, epidemiologic modeling, and the application of artificial intelligence and data science in public health. Levi’s work continues to inform national and international debates on immunization safety and health system resilience.

Robert W. Malone, MD
_{© rwmalonemd.com}

• Malone is a physician-scientist and biochemist known for his early contributions to mRNA vaccine technology. He conducted foundational research in the late 1980s on lipid-mediated mRNA delivery, which laid the groundwork for later developments in mRNA-based therapeutics. Dr. Malone has held academic positions at institutions including the University of California, Davis, and the University of Maryland, and has served in advisory roles for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. His expertise spans molecular biology, immunology, and vaccine development.

Cody Meissner, MD
_{© Dartmouth International Vaccine Initiative}

• Cody Meissner, MD, is a professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a nationally recognized expert in pediatric infectious diseases and vaccine policy. He has served as section chief of pediatric infectious disease at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and has held advisory roles with both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Meissner has been a voting member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, where he has contributed to national immunization guidelines and regulatory decisions. His expertise spans vaccine development, immunization safety, and pediatric infectious disease epidemiology. Meissner has also been a contributing author to American Academy of Pediatrics policy statements and immunization schedules, helping shape national standards for pediatric care.

Online, Meissner has a list of his articles on Muck Rack, a website that compiles published works of writers, and he is author of “Understanding Vaccine Safety and the Roles of the FDA and the CDC,” published in April 2022 by The New England Journal of Medicine.

• James Pagano, MD, is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician with over 40 years of clinical experience following his residency at UCLA. He has worked in diverse emergency settings, from Level 1 trauma centers to small community hospitals, caring for patients across all age groups, including infants, pregnant women, and the elderly. Pagano served on multiple hospital committees, including utilization review, critical care, and medical executive boards. He is strong advocate for evidence-based medicine.

Vicky Pebsworth, OP, PhD, RN
_{© National Vaccine Information Center}

• Vicky Pebsworth, OP, PhD, RN, earned a doctorate in public health and nursing from the University of Michigan. She has worked in the health care field for more than 45 years, serving in various capacities, including critical care nurse, health care administrator, health policy analyst, and research scientist with a focus on public health policy, bioethics, and vaccine safety. She is the Pacific Region Director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. She is a former member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Safety Risk Assessment Working Group and Vaccine Safety Working Group (Epidemiology and Implementation Subcommittees).

Pebsworth had a personal experience that inspired her interest in vaccine safety and effectiveness.

“Her son — her only child — experienced serious, long-term health problems following receipt of seven live virus and killed bacterial vaccines administered during his 15-month well-baby visit which sparked her interest in vaccine safety research and policymaking and chronic illness and disability in children,” said an online biography published by the National Vaccine Information Center in April 2022.

Michael Ross, MD
_{© SMFM 2025 Pregnancy Meeting}

• Michael A. Ross, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, with a career spanning clinical medicine, research, and public health policy. He has served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer, where he contributed to national strategies for cancer prevention and early detection, including those involving HPV immunization. With research experience in hormone therapies, antibiotic trials, and immune-related conditions such as breast cancer prevention, Ross has engaged in clinical investigations with immunologic relevance. He has advised major professional organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and contributed to federal advocacy efforts around women’s health and preventive care. His continued service on biotech and health care boards reflects his commitment to advancing innovation in immunology, reproductive medicine, and public health.

Online, Ross also was listed as an operating partner of Havencrest Capital Management, a physician-founded lower middle-market private equity firm that focuses on health care ventures.