Our guest this week is Karen Andersen, a healthcare strategist on Morningstar's equity research team. She has written a number of influential commentaries and analyses on the healthcare sector, with a focus on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Her most recent work has focused on the outlook for the COVID-19 pandemic, treatments for the disease, and the race for a vaccine. Before joining Morningstar in 2005, Andersen earned her bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Rice University and received her Master of Business Administration from Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business. She is a CFA charterholder.BackgroundKaren Andersen's healthcare commentaries and analysesVirus Containment and Diagnostics"COVID World Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak," The New York Times, Sept. 15, 2020. "Relaxing the Lockdown: Move Slowly, Stay Nimble," by Karen Andersen, Morningstar.com, May 12, 2020.“Slow Burn Likely Until Coronavirus Vaccines Are Widely Available," by Karen Andersen, Morningstar.com, Sept. 1, 2020."Patients Are Waiting Weeks for COVID-19 Test Results. Here's Why That's a Huge Problem," by Jamie Ducharme, Time, July 22, 2020. Contact tracing definition "Treatments for COVID-19," Harvard Health Publishing, Aug. 24, 2020. Vaccine Development and Approval"Vaccine Testing and the Approval Process," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The Drug Development Process," U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Draft Landscape of COVID-19 Candidate Vaccines," World Health Organization, Sept. 9, 2020."Potential Antiviral Drugs Under Evaluation for the Treatment of COVID-19," National Institutes of Health, Aug. 27, 2020. "A Coronavirus Vaccine, or Three, Could Be Available by Year-End," by Karen Andersen, Morningstar.com, Sept. 4, 2020."Morningstar's Guide to the Development of a Coronavirus Vaccine," by Carole Hodorowicz, July 16, 2020. "Coronavirus Vaccine Progress Accelerates," by Karen Andersen and Debbie Wang, Morningstar.com, May 13, 2020.RNA vaccine definition"Pfizer, BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines Fast Tracked by FDA," by Anna Baran, Morningstar.com, July 13, 2020. "All Eyes on BioNTech's COVID-19 Vaccine," by Anna Baran, Morningstar.com, June 26, 2020. "AstraZeneca's Pause on Vaccine Raises Uncertainty," by Damien Conover, Morningstar.com, Sept. 9, 2020. Herd immunity definition "What if 'Herd Immunity' Is Closer Than Scientists Thought?" by Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times, Aug. 31, 2020.