Richard Hughes IV was VP of Public Policy at Moderna during the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine[2]. He is a respected vaccine expert with a JD and an MPH[1]. He previously served as Director of Avalere Health, where he founded and led the Vaccines Group[1]. Hughes also served as a lecturer in health policy at George Washington University's Milken Institute of Public Health[1]. During his career, he held positions at Merck, the Association of State and Territorial Health Authorities, and was appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Health.[1] He is currently a partner at the law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green and teaches vaccine law at the George Washington University School of Law[3].