Jennifer Ashton, M.D.

CBS News Medical Correspondent

(CBS)  Jennifer Ashton, M.D., was named a CBS News medical correspondent in March 2009. Dr. Ashton reports for the CBS News broadcast "The Early Show" and contributes to the division's other broadcasts and platforms. Dr. Ashton continues to practice medicine.

Dr. Ashton, a board-certified physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology, is on the attending staff of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, N.J., an affiliate of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Her private medical practice, Hygeia Gynecology, treats women in Englewood for both medical and surgical gynecologic conditions.

Dr. Ashton has covered many major health and medical stories for CBS News. She reported from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the devastating 2010 earthquake, where she was the network's primary medical correspondent on location, and contributed numerous reports on the 2009 global outbreak of H1N1 to "The Early Show" and the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

Dr. Ashton is a regular guest expert on woman's health on the "The Dr. Oz Show."

Before joining CBS News, Dr. Ashton served as a medical contributor for Fox News (2006-09). During that time, she was also a featured expert on XM Radio's “Oprah & Friends” with Dr. Mehmet Oz and appeared on The Learning Channel's "A Baby Story."

Dr. Ashton is a member of several professional organizations and is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She has done clinical research and presented at national clinical meetings in the fields of General Surgery, Critical Care and Gynecologic Oncology. Dr. Ashton serves on the Board of Trustees of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine, is active with many charities and has been recognized for her philanthropic efforts by numerous foundations.

Her first book, "The Body Scoop for Girls," was published in December of 2009 (Avery).

Dr. Ashton was born in Victorville, Calif. She was graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in Art History and from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2000 with a M.D, the same year she was awarded the prestigious Bartlestone Award in Pharmacology. She completed her residency in women's health and gynecologic surgery at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in NYC, an affiliate of Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Ashton served as Administrative Chief Resident and was awarded Chief Resident of the Year upon completing her residency in 2004.

She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Dr. Robert Ashton, a thoracic surgeon, and their two children.