Confronting Religious Extremism in Medicine and Science: The First Amendment and the Fight for Facts

Watch the full event on YouTube here.

Religious extremism is currently undermining public trust in science—and reshaping public policy in ways that are dangerous, unconstitutional, and deeply harmful to public health. 

From vaccine resistance and reproductive health bans to attacks on school curricula, gender-affirming care and medical research, anti-science policies driven by religious fundamentalism are on the rise. These efforts violate the First Amendment’s promise of church-state separation and disproportionately endanger the health, safety, and freedom of women, girls, and gender-diverse communities.

Join us for a vital and evergreen conversation with Dr. Peter Hotez, world-renowned physician-scientist, vaccine expert, and author of the recent book, Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World and Dr. D.J. Kleinbaum, Ph.D and Pittsburgh based scientist, entrepreneur, and Co-founder of Emerald Cloud Lab. 

Together our two panelists will explore: 

• How Christian Nationalist ideology fuels anti-science narratives and policy
• The real-world consequences for medicine, public health, science and education in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and nationwide 
• Why these policies are a direct violation of the First Amendment separation of church and state 
• The connection between antiscience and antisemitism and what’s at stake for the Jewish community and our allies—and how we can fight back
• How anti-science ideology uniquely harms women and girls, from maternal care to reproductive justice, medical autonomy and gender-affirming care 

This webinar is part of the Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in Pittsburgh Project and sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh, underwritten, in part, by Trustee Nancy Weissman, in memory of her beloved mother-in-law, Trustee Jackie Wechsler. 

It is free and open to all, with advance registration required. Register here. 

Speaker Biographers

D.J. Kleinbaum

D.J. Kleinbaum, Ph.D. is the Co-founder of Emerald Cloud Lab (ECL), the world’s first and largest Cloud Laboratory. Prior to founding ECL, D.J. co-founded Emerald Therapeutics, which focused on developing a novel antiviral nanotechnology to detect and instruct the apoptosis of infected cells.  D.J. holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University, where he studied nucleic acid chemistry under the direction of Professor Eric Kool. He also holds an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with concentrations in Computational Biology and Biochemistry from Carnegie Mellon University, and serves on the Advisory Board for the University’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Peter Hotez 

Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine; Co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics; Author of  “The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist’s Warning.”

Prof. Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc (hon) FAAP FASTMH is Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine where he is also Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine. He is also University Professor of Biology at Baylor University. Dr. Hotez is a vaccine scientist, biochemist, and pediatrician who has led or co-led the development of vaccines for parasitic infections-hookworm, schistosomiasis, Chagas disease-currently in clinical trials, and several coronavirus vaccines, including two low-cost COVID vaccines for global health so far administered to 100 million children and adults in India and Indonesia. He is also an ardent vaccine advocate and science explainer who combats antiscience and antisemitism in America, and globally. 

Prof. Hotez has authored four single-authored books with Johns Hopkins University Press, including Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism, Preventing the Next Pandemic, and The Deadly Rise of Anti-science ,and in 2025 will co-author Science Under Siege(Public Affairs)with the climate scientist, Michael Mann. Dr. Hotez obtained his B.A. (phi beta kappa) from Yale University, M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College, and Ph.D. from Rockefeller University. He obtained his pediatric residency and fellowship training from Massachusetts General Hospital and Yale School of Medicine. 

Prof. Hotez is the author of more than 700 scientific papers, and he is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received numerous awards. They include the Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award from AAAS, the Scientific Achievement Award from the AMA, the David E Rogers Award from the AAMC, the Science and Society Award from Sigma Xi, the Porter Prize in public health from the University of Pittsburgh, Winslow Medal from Yale School of Public Health, Mendel Medal in science and religion from Villanova University, Milton Popkin Award from the ADL Southwest, and LBJ Moral Courage Award from the Holocaust Museum Houston. He was named TIME MagazineHealth100 in 2024.

He has three honorary Doctor of Science degrees. Prof. Hotez served as US Science Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa in 2015-16, and he appears frequently on national media to explain biomedicine and pandemics.