Chief Medical Correspondent, ABC News
2024 John Jay Award Honoree
Dr. Jennifer Ashton (née Garfein) CC’91, VPS’00, HN’16 is the chief medical correspondent for ABC News.
In 2023 alone, she appeared on ABC across all platforms more than 800 times. She is the first woman and only the third physician to hold this position in the history of the network. Since joining ABC in 2012, Ashton has reported on a full range of medical topics, including the maternal mortality crisis, mental illness and suicide, and heart disease.
When the Covid-19 pandemic began, Ashton became fully immersed in the world of infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology, and began her daily communications with leading experts in these fields in order to provide analysis on Covid for the American public. She has visited the CDC headquarters to meet with its director, was invited by Dr. Anthony Fauci to the NIH’s Vaccine Development Lab and has visited the White House to meet with members of the Coronavirus Task Force, including the Vice President, in addition to interviewing the U.S. surgeon general on numerous occasions. Ashton is known for having direct, personal access to these key doctors, relationships that allow her to provide unparalleled insights to millions of ABC viewers.
Ashton holds three Columbia degrees. While at the medical school, she was president of her class for all four years and was awarded the prestigious Herbert J. Bartelstone Award in pharmacology. She did her residency training in ob/gyn (women’s health and surgery) in NYC, and in 2016, earned an M.S. in nutrition. She is board-certified in ob/gyn and obesity medicine and will soon launch a brand focusing on nutritional gynecology, to address menopause and weight management for women 40 and older.
Ashton is a four-time Emmy Award winner for her work in medical reporting and has also received the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in journalism for her work in television covering medical topics. She has received the American Heart Association’s Woman Changing the World Award and Go Red for Women Award, and was one of New York Moves’ Power Women for 2023. Ashton is the author of six books, including the national best-seller The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter — One Month at a Time. Among the others are Life After Suicide: Finding Courage, Comfort and Community After Unthinkable Loss and The New Normal: A Roadmap to Resilience in the Pandemic Era.
Ashton has two children, daughter Chloe Ashton and son Alex Ashton CC’20. She lives in NYC, Los Angeles and Boston with her husband, Tom Werner.
