Dr. Graham Barden named North Carolina's CDC Childhood Immunization Champion!

Graham Barden, MD, FAAP
Pediatrician
Coastal Children’s Clinic
New Bern, NC

Growing up as the son of a pediatrician, Dr. Graham Barden learned about the role vaccinations play in protecting children’s lives early on in life. His passion for childhood immunization began during his time at Duke University Medical School, where he witnessed children die from terrible, vaccine-preventable diseases, like meningitis. This experience motivated Dr. Barden to continue his father’s fight to protect children from preventable diseases.

Dr. Barden’s research on vaccine storage, along with his strategies to preserve the life and effectiveness of vaccines, is valued and utilized by hundreds of pediatricians, nurses, and other medical professionals nationwide. His research has demonstrated the importance of using vaccine refrigerators instead of domestic refrigerators to store vaccines. Dr. Barden has tirelessly worked to educate healthcare professionals about the storage and handling of vaccines and to help solve vaccine payment difficulties. He helped to create an American Academy of Pediatrics online course on vaccine storage, and has taught other pediatricians how to upgrade their refrigeration and monitoring systems.

Under his leadership, Dr. Barden’s practice has begun serving Medicaid patients, and has added two satellite locations in communities where there were previously no pediatricians. Additionally, Dr. Barden serves as co-chair of the Pediatric Council of the North Carolina Chapter of AAP. He has helped lead efforts with the state Medicaid office; these efforts have resulted in benefits to practices that encourage them to vaccinate more patients.

Dr. Barden’s academic research on vaccine storage and his commitment to vaccinating underserved populations make him North Carolina’s CDC Childhood Immunization Champion.