Kawsar Talaat, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases) in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. A physician, Dr. Talaat is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases. In 2007, Dr. Talaat began working on vaccine clinical trials at the Center for Immunization Research. She has served as the Principal Investigator for Phase 1 or 2 trials for a variety of vaccines, including influenza (pandemic and seasonal), malaria, Ebola, and bacteria that cause diarrhea including Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and Shigella. In addition to her extensive experience in the design and conduct of Phase 1 and 2 clinical vaccine trials, Dr. Talaat has also conducted several human challenge studies to look at the efficacy of novel therapies and vaccines for ETEC and Shigella. Human challenge studies are useful tools to help determine early if a treatment or a vaccine will be effective. Another area of interest for Dr. Talaat is the safety of existing vaccines. A member of the CDC Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment group and Deputy Director, clinical research for the Institute for Vaccine Safety, Dr. Talaat has served on several working groups looking at vaccine safety. She has also co-authored a WHO-sponsored systematic review of the safety of influenza vaccines in children.