Heidi Larson, PhD
Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science and Director, The Vaccine Confidence Project, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Clinical Professor, Department of Health Metrics Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
Dr. Heidi J. Larson is Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She is also Clinical Professor and Director of European Initiatives at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle and Associate Professor, Centre for Evaluation of Vaccination, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Dr. Larson’s research focuses on the analysis of social and political factors that can affect uptake of health interventions. She previously headed Global Immunization Strategy and Communication for UNICEF and chaired the GAVI Advocacy Task Force. She served on the FDA Medical Countermeasure Emergency Communication Expert Working Group, and is Principle Investigator of the EU-funded (EBODAC) project on the deployment, acceptance, and compliance of an Ebola vaccine trial in Africa.
The Vaccine Confidence Project has developed multiple metrics to measure population confidence in vaccines, from a survey-based Vaccine Confidence Index™ to monitoring media and social media, qualitative research to understand the drivers of vaccine reluctance and refusal, and tracking the ecology of rumors and transnational influences on public trust in vaccines.
Twitter: @ProfHeidiLarson