Dr Jennifer Ashton

Dr. Jennifer Lee Garfein Ashton was born on April 23, 1969, in Victorville, California. She pursued her higher education at Columbia University, earning a bachelor’s degree in art history from Columbia College in 1991. Demonstrating a dedication to medicine, she went on to receive her medical degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2000. During her time at medical school, she served as President of her class for all four years and was awarded the Bartlestone Prize in Pharmacology. Her post-graduate training in women’s health and surgery was completed at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center/Mount Sinai West in New York City, where she was honored as Chief Resident of the Year, a first in the program’s history. Further specializing her expertise, Ashton also earned a master’s degree in nutrition from Columbia University in 2016.

Dr. Ashton’s career in television began in 2006 as the first female medical contributor to the Fox News Channel. Her media presence expanded rapidly, joining CBS News as a senior medical correspondent in 2009. In this role, she traveled to Haiti in 2010 with a medical team to treat earthquake victims, sharing her experiences on CBS News. She also held a co-host position on the syndicated talk show “The Doctors” for three years and was a regular expert guest on “The Dr. Oz Show.” In 2012, Dr. Ashton became the medical expert for ABC’s daytime wellness series “The Revolution” before joining ABC News as a senior medical contributor later that year.

At ABC News, Dr. Ashton became the chief health and medical correspondent, reporting on significant health and wellness issues across all ABC News platforms. She also co-hosted “GMA3: What You Need to Know.” She is notable as the only network medical correspondent specializing in Women’s Health and the only doctor with a national media platform who also holds degrees in nutrition and obesity medicine. She is also only the third physician to hold the position of chief medical correspondent in ABC News’ 75-plus-year history. Her extensive contributions include leading ABC News’s COVID-19 coverage, visiting the NIH Vaccine Development Lab, reporting from the White House, and interviewing Dr. Anthony Fauci. She has delivered over 1,500 babies and treated thousands of patients. In April 2024, Dr. Ashton announced her departure from ABC News to focus on her new women’s health and wellness media company, Ajenda, which she launched in March 2024. Dr. Ashton’s work has garnered her numerous awards, including the Columbia DuPont and Emmy® Award-winning journalist and the American Heart Association’s 2023 Women Changing the World Award.