50th Annual Fred T. Foard Jr. Memorial Lecture featuring Gina Kolata

4:45-8 p.m.
The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education

Gina Kolata

Gina Kolata, best-selling author and journalist for the The New York Times, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist who specializes in demystifying the science of personal health. Her acclaimed writing has influenced public policy and upended conventional wisdom. She is the author of six books, including the best seller Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It.

In 1918, the Great Flu Pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people virtually overnight. If such a plague returned today, taking a comparable percentage of the world’s population, 150 million people would die. In her bestselling nonfiction account, Kolata unravels the mystery of this lethal virus with the high drama of a great adventure story. From Alaska to Norway, from the streets of Hong Kong to the corridors of the White House, she tracks the race to recover the live pathogen and probes the fear that has impelled government policy. Flu compellingly addresses the prospects for a great epidemic’s recurrence and considers what we can do to prevent it.

This event is free and open to the general public; online registration is required.

4:45–6 p.m.
Poster session and photo exhibit
Find all poster titles and presenter names in this overview (PDF).

Evening Keynote Lecture

6–6:40 p.m.
The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It
Gina Kolata, The New York Times reporter for science and medicine

6:40-7 p.m.
Question-and-answer session

7-8 p.m.
Reception (with heavy hors d’oeuvres)
From 7 to 7:30 p.m., Gina Kolata will sign copies of her book, Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It.