Brett Leav, MD is Head of Clinical Development for Public Health Vaccines at Moderna. He was responsible for overseeing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine clinical program in adults and children and now leads development of other vaccines to prevent intractable public health challenges, including HIV. Dr. Leav joined Moderna in April 2020 to contribute his deep knowledge and experience in vaccine development to address this global crisis.
Prior to joining Moderna, Dr. Leav led clinical development of novel seasonal influenza vaccines at Seqirus (CSL) and Novartis, where his group designed and conducted clinical trials for global licensure including the FDA approval of the first adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine, Fluad®. Dr. Leav's interest in vaccines began during his tenure as a clinician and researcher at Tufts Medical Center, where he served as Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded research effort to understand the mucosal immune response to the enteric pathogen, Cryptosporidium parvum. This basic science understanding of host immunology was translated to the development and regulatory approval of monoclonal antibodies against rabies and Clostridiodes difficile at MassBiologics, the only non-profit, FDA-licensed manufacturer of vaccines in the United States. He is an author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications resulting from his work.
Dr. Leav received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, Massachusetts. He completed his internal medicine residency at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC and his fellowship in Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Tufts Medical Center after practicing primary care internal medicine for several years in Waltham, Massachusetts. He maintains board certification in Infectious Diseases.
