Walter Straus | Vice President, Clinical Safety & Risk Management
Moderna Therapeutics

Walter Straus serves as Vice President and Clinical Safety Lead at Moderna Therapeutics. In this capacity, his team leads safety assessment for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine program, from clinical development through post-authorization responsibilities globally. Prior to joining Moderna in 2021, for many years he led teams in scientific affairs, epidemiology, and clinical safety and risk management, supporting the vaccine and infectious disease portfolio at Merck & Co., Inc. Dr. Straus is a former Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization and other non-governmental organizations, and is active as a lecturer at several universities. He has a long standing interest in human research subject protection and is a member of the Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection (SACHRP). Dr. Straus has participated as a member of the CIOMS Working Group on Vaccine Safety, with emphasis on enhancing vaccine pharmacovigilance in low and middle income countries.