About NNii

Louis Z. Cooper, MD

Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Columbia University

Dr. Louis Cooper is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and a past (2001-2002) President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was the interim director of NNii from 2002 to 2003.

Since 1964, Dr. Cooper has been extensively involved in vaccine research. At Bellevue Hospital in New York, Dr. Cooper created the Rubella Project, a vaccine research program, which evolved into a multidisciplinary team dedicated to defining and resolving the rubella problem. This project enabled Dr. Cooper to translate scientific information into public policy, legislation and program building in health, education, and social services.

Dr. Cooper served as Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center for 25 years, becoming Chair, Emeritus in 1998. He has served on numerous advisory bodies at the federal, state, and city level, including chairmanships of the Medical Society of the State of New York Committee on Medicaid and the Public Policy Committee (PPC) of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AAP’s Center for Child Health Research from 2003 to 2006. He was the founding Co-Chairman of the Campaign for Healthy Children, which is best known for designing, advocating, and facilitating implementation of the Child Health Plus Program, New York’s effort to guarantee health insurance for every child in the state. He also served as chair of the CDC Blue Ribbon Panel on Vaccine Safety and is a Trustee of the Sabin Vaccine Institute.

Dr. Cooper is a graduate of Yale University and received his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine.