RFK Jr. says his new vaccine panel has a GW University professor. The school says he doesn't work there

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said one of his picks for a crucial vaccine advisory panel is a professor at George Washington University. But News4 found the doctor hasn't worked at the school in years.

Kennedy named eight new members to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, days after firing the entire group. ACIP is an independent panel that reviews vaccine data and advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a post on X Wednesday, Kennedy listed the new ACIP members. He described one of them, Dr. Michael Ross, as a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

But a spokesperson for GW University told News4 Ross hasn’t taught there in eight years, and VCU said Ross hasn't taught at their school in four years.

An online search of Ross' name shows his bio on the site for Havencrest, a private equity fund. He's listed as an operating partner of the company.

"A Professor of Pediatrics at George Washington University and a Professor of OB-GYN at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Ross serves on the boards of multiple private healthcare companies," the bio states.

Kennedy's other selections for ACIP include some well-known vaccine critics, including Dr. Robert Malone, an anti-vaccine activist who suggested this year, without evidence, that recent pediatric deaths from measles were due to medical error. Malone told News4 he’ll do his best to serve with unbiased objectivity and rigor.

Vicky Pebsworth is the director of research and patient safety at the National Vaccine Information Center, which is considered a leading source of misinformation about vaccines.

Retsef Levi teaches at the MIT Sloan School of Management and does not have a medical degree. He has previously said, “We have to stop giving MRNA vaccines, or Covid vaccines, immediately.” Levi told News4 his goal is to improve people’s health and regain public trust around vaccines, using data and science.

Martin Kulldorff is one of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, a pandemic strategy that decried lockdowns and advocated for letting people at minimal risk of dying get exposed to Covid.

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Joseph Hibbeln formerly worked at the National Institutes of Health. His research has focused on omega-3 fatty acids, including the neurocognitive development of children whose mothers consumed seafood during pregnancy.

One newly appointed member, pediatrics professor Dr. Cody Meissner, served on ACIP from 2008 to 2012.

Dr. James Pagano is an emergency medicine physician, according to Kennedy's post.

"It's disturbing. I think if you go around the table, there's a lack of expertise and experience and institutional memory," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. "And what do you do now? Where do you go for information? Where do you go for advice? And I guess the answer, for right now, is go to your doctor and hope that he or she can figure it out."

The 17 members of the of the previous ACIP panel had more than 460 years of medical experience combined.

"It was a bit shocking. None of us had any idea that something like this would happen," Noel Brewer, an ACIP member who was fired, told MSNBC. "One of the implications of this is a bit of chaos in health care. It's unclear what insurance will cover and it's unclear who providers should look to when they're trying to understand what's the best practice for delivering HPV vaccine and other life-saving vaccines."

Kulldorff, Malone, Meissner and Pebsworth are included in the dedication of Kennedy’s 2021 book, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” about the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The acknowledgments were first noted by STAT.

News4 reached out to HHS to ask about the discrepancy with Michael Ross’ employment and for comment regarding on doctors’ concerns about potential vaccine misinformation. News4 has yet received a reply.

NBC News contributed to this report.