Justin R. Ortiz, MD, MS

EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, Dartmouth College, 1995
• Post baccalaureate pre-medical training, Colorado State University, 1996
• Doctor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, 2002
• Certificate in Vaccinology, ADVAC Advanced Course of Vaccinology, 2011
• Master of Science in Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health, 2012 

POSTGRADUATE TRAINING

• Internship and Residency, Categorical Internal Medicine, University of California San Francisco, Department of Medicine, 2005
• Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Influenza Division, 2007
• Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, University of Washington, Department of Medicine, 2010 

Justin R. Ortiz, MD, MS, is a physician-scientist and Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine whose research focuses on the epidemiology, prevention, and clinical investigation of respiratory viral infections, particularly influenza and other emerging respiratory pathogens. His work integrates clinical trials with observational studies of influenza disease burden and vaccine performance, as well as other analytical research—including systematic reviews and policy analyses—to inform vaccine development, regulatory strategy, and immunization policy.

Dr. Ortiz directs the Clinical Core of the NIH-funded Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs), where he leads early-phase clinical trials and controlled human infection studies designed to accelerate the development of next-generation influenza vaccines. His research portfolio includes investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored trials of vaccines for influenza, COVID-19, and other high-consequence pathogens.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Ortiz served as the influenza vaccine research and policy lead in the Immunization Department at the World Health Organization, where he directed international projects to strengthen the evidence base for influenza vaccination and to support immunization policy in low- and middle-income countries. His work helped shape global guidance on vaccine effectiveness evaluation and maternal immunization strategies. Prior to this, as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he helped design international hospital-based influenza surveillance systems that now support global monitoring for multiple respiratory viruses.

Across academic medicine, global public health, and vaccine development, Dr. Ortiz has led multidisciplinary collaborations to advance respiratory virus vaccine development and to inform immunization strategies worldwide. His work has addressed key policy questions—including influenza disease burden, vaccine effectiveness, risk factors for severe disease, and the health and economic value of vaccination—to support evidence-based immunization policy and program implementation.

influenza, respiratory viruses, vaccine development, vaccine clinical trials, vaccine effectiveness, influenza vaccines, pandemic preparedness, emerging infectious diseases, vaccinology, immunization policy, global health

1. Ortiz JR, Sotomayor V, Uez OC, Oliva O, Bettels D, McCarron M, Bresee JS, Mounts AW. Strategy to enhance influenza surveillance worldwide. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Aug;15(8):1271-8.
2. Fell DB, Azziz-Baumgartner E, Baker MG, Batra M, Beauté J, Beutels P, Bhat N, Bhutta ZA, Cohen C, De Mucio B, Gessner BD, Gravett MG, Katz MA, Knight M, Lee VJ, Loeb M, Luteijn JM, Marshall H, Nair H, Pottie K, Salam RA, Savitz DA, Serruya SJ, Skidmore B, Ortiz JR; WHO taskforce to evaluate influenza data to inform vaccine impact and economic modelling. Influenza epidemiology and immunization during pregnancy: Final report of a World Health Organization working group. Vaccine. 2017 Aug 31. pii: S0264-410X(17)31125-8. doi: 10.1016/j.Vaccine.2017.08.037. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28867508. 
3. Ortiz JR, Bernstein DI, Hoft DF, Woods CW, McClain MT, Frey SE, Brady RC, Bryant C, Wegel A, Frenck RW, Walter EB, Abate G, Williams SR, Atmar RL, Keitel WA, Rouphael N, Memoli MJ, Makhene MK, Roberts PC, Neuzil KM. A Multicenter, Controlled Human Infection Study of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in Healthy Adults. J Infect Dis. 2023 Aug 11;228(3):287-298. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad021. PMID: 36702771; PMCID: PMC10420403.
4. Zar HJ, Cacho F, Kootbodien T, Mejias A, Ortiz JR, Stein RT, Hartert TV. Early-life respiratory syncytial virus disease and long-term respiratory health. Lancet Respir Med. 2024 Oct;12(10):810-821. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(24)00246-7. Epub 2024 Sep 9. PMID: 39265601.
5. Deming ME, Toapanta FR, Pasetti M, Golding H, Khurana S, Hamouda T, Fattom A, Liang Y, Tennant SM, McGilvray MF, Bernal PJ, Oshinsky JJ, Datta S, Booth JP, Coughlan L, Neuzil KM, Costley CD, Kotloff KL, Sztein MB, Ortiz JR; rH5 Writing Group. An intranasal adjuvanted, recombinant influenza A/H5 vaccine primes against diverse H5N1 clades: a phase I trial. Nat Commun. 2025 Nov 6;16(1):9321. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-64686-3. PMID: 41198655; PMCID: PMC12592354.

Full bibliography at Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=orZMnLQAAAAJ