Richard Hughes IV

Richard Hughes IV, JD, MPH, is a nationally recognized thought leader in vaccines and prevention, working and teaching at the intersection of public health and healthcare law and policy. He has led many efforts to expand and protect access to vaccines and preventive services and improve public health outcomes.

Mr. Hughes is a partner at Epstein, Becker & Green where he leads a multidisciplinary team of attorneys and advisors. He was formerly vice president of public policy at Moderna, guiding the company’s policy strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously, he was managing director at Avalere Health, where he founded and led the firm’s vaccines group. Mr. Hughes previously held roles with Merck and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and as a gubernatorial appointee to the Arkansas State Board of Health.

Prior to joining the GW Law faculty, he held an appointment as a professorial lecturer in health policy and management at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. During law school, Mr. Hughes proudly served as a research assistant to renowned health law and vaccines scholar Professor Sara Rosenbaum.

Mr. Hughes received his Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School and his Master of Public Health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is barred in the District of Columbia and before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Hughes is also a member of the National Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health and has been named among Best Lawyers' "Ones to Watch" in Health Care Law.

He publishes regularly in health law and policy journals, frequently writes commentary on Health Affairs Forefront, and is often quoted in the news media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR's Marketplace, The Hill, Forbes, Axios, Bloomberg Law, Law360 and Fierce Healthcare.