Heidi Larson, PhD, is a research associate at the Harvard Center for Population and Development and associate research professor of International Development at Clark University. She is a specialist in risk analysis and is currently working on a book on risk and rumor in global health, analyzing the rumor-driven polio vaccine boycott in Nigeria, along with other examples of managing public questioning and rumors in public health.

Heidi has served as a senior adviser to the UN and other international organizations on a number of public-health issues, including AIDS, TB, and child health and vaccines, particularly focusing on the socio-cultural and political determinants of health, including the role of religion and belief systems. She has also advised on anticipating and managing organizational risks and rumor.

Heidi is currently coordinating a UNAIDS-commissioned initiative called aids2031, which is bringing together economists, epidemiologists, and biomedical, social, and political scientists to map future options for the AIDS response. 2031 will mark 50 years since AIDS was first reported.