Kara Bickham

Kara Bickham currently serves as the Chief Development Officer at IAVI since August 2024. Previously, Kara held the position of Vice President Clinical Research and Development at Pfizer, leading clinical franchises for pneumococcal conjugate and GBS vaccines. Kara has extensive experience in leadership roles, including Chief Medical Officer at Affinivax Inc., where responsibilities included setting company strategy and overseeing clinical development. At Merck, Kara advanced through multiple roles, culminating in Executive Director, driving product development strategies for both Vaxneuvance and Zostavax. Early in the career, Kara focused on pediatric infectious diseases and immunology research at prestigious institutions such as Weill Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University. Kara Bickham holds an M.D. from UT Southwestern Medical Center, a Bachelor's Degree in Neuroscience from Texas Christian University, and a certificate in Advanced Vaccinology from the University of Geneva.