Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP
Professor of Public Health Practice, School of Global Health
Associate Vice President, Vaccine Research & Education Chief Medical Officer, Dry January USA Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, and Professional & Medical Education Meharry Medical College
Dr. Michael C Caldwell joined Meharry Medical College in August 2021. He provides leadership for health communications, vaccine research & education, as well as alcohol research, education and treatment.
He leads the National and Global Centers for Clinical Trial Diversity at Meharry focused on building the pipeline of Black and diverse physician Principal Investigators and leadership, to improve the infrastructure of the United States clinical trial system. This is an academic-private partnership with Clinical Research Associates of Nashville.
He also serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Dry January® USA, a program of Meharry Medical College and School of Global Health.
Dr. Caldwell is a nationally recognized public health leader and in 2020, served as the Director of Public Health and Chief Medical Officer for Nashville/Davidson County, TN. He led Nashville’s health response to a devastating tornado in March 2020, and had the principal authority for COVID policy and response throughout his time as Director; this included the review and approval of all events in Nashville over 25 people including the Grand Ole Opry, Titans Stadium and the Presidential Debate at Belmont University on October 22nd where he assured compliance with all directives.
He has more than 25 years’ experience in public health, health administration, biopharma and vaccine research. He previously served as Director of Scientific Affairs & Public Health, Vaccines for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where he launched the recently approved shingles vaccine and focused on adult immunization. He has been Field Medical Director, AstraZeneca, Infectious Diseases as well as Neuroimmunology Medical Manager for Syneos/Viela Bio.
He is a graduate of Columbia University with a BA in Art History, an Internal Medicine physician trained at the Mount Sinai Medical Center with a Master of Public Health from Harvard, and he completed a Preventive Medicine residency program at State University of New York, Albany where he served as a resident physician at the ABC News Medical Unit throughout 2014.
He is nationally recognized for his innovative public health work, research and leadership. He is a Past President of the National Association of County & City Health Officials (www.naccho.org) and is dedicated to health and human rights. He is a champion of the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights that was authored by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1948. He previously served as the Commissioner for Dutchess County, NY from 1994-2013, the home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Dr. Caldwell provided early leadership to bring COVID research vaccine trials to the Nashville community and led an effort to advance the public health department’s engagement with our community research partners. He currently serves as an investigator for many clinical research studies including many vaccine clinical trials including ones for CMV, RSV, FLU, COVID as well as combination RSV-FLU-COVID research vaccines.
Most recently he has emerged as a national expert on RSV and health equity, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-recommends-1st-maternal-rsv-vaccine-protect-babies/story?id=103420977
“Dry January® USA has a home. It’s in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s at Meharry Medical College, and we’re just getting started.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the XPLR NASH Podcast
“Join us in celebrating a groundbreaking moment for wellness and community! Dry January® USA, hosted by Meharry Medical College, is leading the charge in promoting an alcohol-free lifestyle.” with Dry January® USA, Meharry continues its legacy of empowering individuals and communities to make informed decisions about their health.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Dry January® USA’s YELLOW Announcement
“[We] really are excited about this because we get to tell more people about Meharry Medical College and what we have been doing, why we exist.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the AFTER Magazine. Read more Here.
“I am so happy to be at Meharry Medical College and to be able to work with President Hildreth and the medical students, all the faculty members, and all the public health students as well – to be able to advance the mission of Meharry, which has been here almost 150 years.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the XPLR NASH Podcast
“As the nation’s largest historically Black academic health sciences center, Meharry Medical College continues to lead the charge in reducing health disparities and promoting health equity for underserved communities.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Samhita Ravi’s Presentation to the Metro Nashville Davidson County Committee Meeting on Public Health & Safety
“We see our role as educating the community about what alcohol does to you, principally trying to make sure that we translate a lot of the new science that’s coming out.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the AFTER Magazine. Read more Here.
“We feel one of our roles, in addition to just translating and highlighting research, is to highlight other great stories of people… around the country doing things to help your community.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the AFTER Magazine. Read more Here.
“Dry January® USA is now officially hosted by Meharry Medical College, marking a significant step in promoting health equity and awareness about alcohol consumption.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Dry January Official Home at Meharry Medical College
“Dry January® USA is more than a movement—it’s a step toward a healthier future, one day at a time.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Samhita Ravi’s Presentation to the Metro Nashville Davidson County Committee Meeting on Public Health & Safety
“Meharry Medical College’s involvement with Dry January® USA underscores our commitment to community health and preventive care.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Dry January Official Home at Meharry Medical College
“Our partnership with Dry January® USA aligns with Meharry’s mission to address health disparities and educate communities on the impacts of alcohol.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Dry January Official Home at Meharry Medical College
“January may be over, but Dry January USA is just getting started.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the Dry January USA Finale 2023 at IL FORNO Nashville
“We know that [Dry January® USA] provides people opportunities to make choices that they didn’t know they had before.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the AFTER Magazine. Read more Here.
“Sharing personal journeys of sobriety can break the stigma and encourage others to seek help.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Addiction & Country Music Sobriety Stories
“Let’s create a powerful wave of change this January and make yellow the color of wellness and hope!” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Dry January® USA’s YELLOW Announcement
”Representing happiness, positivity, and caution, yellow will become the emblematic hue of Dry January® USA to inspire a healthier and more mindful lifestyle around alcohol consumption.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Dry January® USA’s YELLOW Announcement
“Alcohol’s negative impact ripples across communities, affecting our bodies and minds, burdening our health care systems, and leaving a trail of shattered lives.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Good Morning America
“So, it gets me a little frustrated when we are celebrating October breast cancer awareness month with pink alcohol cocktails, which essentially is a risk factor for cancer, but nobody brings [non-alcoholic adult beverages]. So, I really would love to see moving forward that October pink cocktails also kind of connect with Dry January to say, hey, we want you to celebrate fighting breast cancer by not having more alcohol or at least having that as an option, and educating people about it.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the Talefeather Podcast with Nick Crutchfield
“[Alcohol] consumption dehydrates our skin and increases inflammation, which promotes premature aging.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on ABC News
“Alcohol consumption is a leading risk factor for oral cancer; raising awareness is crucial for prevention.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Meharry Medical College: Alcohol and Oral Cancer Awareness
“Reducing or removing alcohol consumption can lead to improved sleep, increased energy, and better skin health.”– Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on WGN Radio
“Even for a short period of time, you will gain much more than you realize by reducing and eliminating alcohol use from your life.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Good Morning America
“Your mental health will improve, you will be more present with increased clarity of thought and you will have more meaningful relationships.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on Good Morning America
“By embracing Dry January, individuals can take proactive steps toward better oral health, reducing the risk factors associated with alcohol consumption.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Meharry Medical College: Alcohol and Oral Cancer Awareness
“We are very excited about the technological advances in these non-alcoholic beverages, so that you can go out and if you want to get a beer, a wine, or a cocktail – typical adult beverages that everyone else might have – but you can just get yours without the alcohol in it.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the XPLR NASH Podcast
“For people who are in recovery, [non-alcoholic adult beverages] might trigger them to go back to drinking. That is a small percentage of people and it is real and we want people to know that these beverages aren’t absolutely for everyone.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the XPLR NASH Podcast
“The data that I’ve seen is that 80-85% of people who drink non-alcoholic adult beverages – they are drinkers. They just want to drink less. So when you think of the ability for people – if they want to have two or three beers [and throughout they] substitute the same taste without the alcohol – it is really exciting to help people to think about their alcohol use and to try to drink less – because there is really nothing good about alcohol.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the XPLR NASH Podcast
“Nashville is this sort of growing international city. It’s being born. So, I think it’s at its own crossroads.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the XPLR NASH Podcast
“Dry January is growing and I’m so pleased to be representing Meharry Medical College, our new School of Global Health right here in Nashville, Tennessee – the one and only music city, as well as whether you know it or not, the bachelorette party capital of the world. So we know how to party, we know how to drink alcohol, and there’s a lot of room for adult non-alcoholic beverages.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on the Talefeather Podcast with Nick Crutchfield
“The stories of country music artists overcoming addiction serve as powerful testimonies, offering hope and inspiration to those facing similar struggles.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Addiction & Country Music Sobriety Stories
“Artists like Morgan Wade and Jason Isbell highlight the benefits of sobriety, shedding light on the positive changes that come with an alcohol-free lifestyle.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Country Musicians’ Sobriety Advice
“Their openness about sobriety challenges the cultural norms in the music industry, promoting healthier choices.” – Michael C Caldwell MD MPH FACP on The Tennessean – Country Musicians’ Sobriety Advice
