Sydney Redepenning is a researcher for CIDRAP’s Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP) and the Director of Podcast Content and Strategy. Dr. Redepenning serves as the RSV Pathogen Lead for VIP’s respiratory pathogen evidence reviews. As Director of Podcast Content and Strategy, she oversees scientific and editorial content of CIDRAP’s podcasts, including the Osterholm Update and Superbugs & You, as well as the development of new podcasts.
Dr. Redepenning joined CIDRAP in December 2019 as an undergraduate student worker. She worked on the Osterholm Update podcast as a researcher and editor, provided teaching assistant support for undergraduate public health courses, collected data for CIDRAP’s Influenza Vaccine Roadmap Research & Development Funding Tracker, and supported senior leadership communication efforts. Upon completing her BS in Health and Wellbeing Sciences in 2022, Dr. Redepenning continued her work at CIDRAP as a graduate research assistant while pursuing her MS in Environmental Health, during which time she became an Executive Producer of the Osterholm Update, while continuing work on the Funding Tracker and with senior leadership communication efforts, including the CIDRAP Leadership Forum. She completed her MS in January 2024, with her thesis focusing on the association between different sources of pandemic information and pandemic-related beliefs and behaviors among US college students.
Dr. Redepenning continued her work at CIDRAP while pursuing her PhD in Environmental Health, and in August 2024, transitioned to a researcher role. Dr. Redepenning completed her PhD in August 2025. In her dissertation, Vaccine Policy & Vaccine Politics: An Analysis of United States Vaccine Mandate Policies and State-Level Election Results, Dr. Redepenning analyzed nine years of National Immunization Survey data and its relationship with state vaccination mandate policies and election results.
