Dr Carol J. Baker | Head of Infectious Disease Professor of Pediatrics
Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Baker is professor of pediatrics and of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Previously, she was head of the section of infectious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine for 25 years.
 
Dr. Baker is immediate past chair of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. She is a past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and was a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases from 1997-2012.
 
Dr. Baker’s work has focused on all aspects of pediatric infectious diseases, particularly neonatal infections and their prevention through maternal immunization as well as vaccine-preventable diseases. Her policy work in the early 1990s led to the US recommendations for intrapartum chemoprophylaxis to prevent early-onset group B streptococcal disease in neonates. In 1997, Dr. Baker was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award and in 2007 of the Distinguished Physician Award, each from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. In 2008 she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Baylor College of Medicine, in 2010 and 2011, respectively, the Mentor Award and a Society Citation for outstanding achievements in the field of Infectious Disease, from the IDSA.  Working as an advocate for
 
A widely published researcher in pediatrics and infectious diseases, Dr. Baker has authored or coauthored more than 400 articles, reviews, and book chapters. She also was an associate editor of the 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012 editions of the AAP’s Red Book.