What Have We Learned from Prior Epidemics and Pandemics?

12:40-2:20 p.m.
The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education

Dr. Nandita Mani

12:40-12:45 p.m.
Session Host and Moderator: Nandita Mani, PhD, MLIS, Associate University Librarian and Director, Health Sciences Library, UNC-Chapel Hill

12:45-1:05 p.m.
“What Have We Learned from Recent Viral Outbreaks and Influenza Epidemics That Could Help Prevent Another Pandemic?”
Yoshihiro Kawaoka, DVM, PhD, Professor, Virology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine; Professor and Head of Virology, University of Tokyo

Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka

Yoshihiro Kawaoka, DVM, PhD, established the technique of reverse genetics, which allows the generation of ‘designer’ influenza viruses to develop candidate H5N1 influenza virus vaccines. Critically, he discovered that infection with the 1918 influenza virus caused an abnormal immune response. Dr. Kawaoka also studies Ebola virus, and he developed systems that allow the analysis of Ebola under safer laboratory conditions. In recognition of his achievements, Dr. Kawaoka was awarded the Robert Koch Award in 2006, the Medal of Honor (Purple Ribbon) in 2011 and the Japan Academy Award in 2016 from the Emperor of Japan for his research in the field of influenza virology. In 2013, he was elected as a Foreign Associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences. In 2015, he received UNESCO’sslenni Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology. He also was recognized with a Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for his efforts to understand and prevent pandemics.

Selected publications:

1. M2sr, a novel live single replication influenza virus vaccine, provides effective heterosubtypic protection in mice. Sarawar S, Hatta Y, Watanabe S, Dias P, Neumann G, Kawaoka Y, Bilsel P. Vaccine. 2016 Sep 30;34(42):5090-8. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.08.061. Epub 2016 Sep 3.
2. Complete and incomplete genome packaging of influenza a and b viruses. Nakatsu S, Sagara H, Sakai-Tagawa Y, Sugaya N, Noda T, Kawaoka Y. MBio. 2016 Sep 6;7(5). pii: e01248-16. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01248-16.

1:05-1:25 p.m.
“One-Health: The Interconnection of Human and Animal Health in Causing and Preventing the Next Pandemic”
Barrett Slenning, DVM, MPVM, Associate Professor, Epidemiology and Ruminant Health, North Carolina State University (NCSU)

Dr. Barrett Slenning

Barrett Slenning, DVM, MPVM, is a veterinarian with more than 30 years’ clinical farm animal experience; he also is an economist and epidemiologist who looks at health through the eyes of all three professions. He was a co-creator of the NCSU Population Medicine graduate concentration area and is a former department head. He currently serves as the NCSU Veterinary College Director for Agrosecurity and Biopreparedness, and he manages the three-year Teaching Animal Unit curriculum for all DVM students. Dr. Slenning teaches in clinics, lectures and laboratories to undergraduate, graduate and professional students across NCSU, and he participates in several animal and public health-related committees for the State of North Carolina, federal agencies and animal agriculture organizations. Since 1996, he increasingly has focused on evaluating the systems comprising food security, with a main theme of agricultural disaster preparation, response and recovery. He also is a founding member of the North Carolina One Health Collaborative, a group that recognizes that human health, animal health and environmental health are inextricably linked.

Selected publications:

1. Slenning BD. Global Climate Change and Implications for Disease Emergence. Invited Article. Vet Path 47(1) 28-33. 2010.
2. Dunning D*, Martin MP, Tickel JL, Gentry WB, Cowen P, Slenning BD. Preparedness and Disaster Response Training for Veterinary Students: Literature Review and Description of the North Carolina State University Credentialed Veterinary Responder Program. J Vet Med Educ 36(3) 317-330. 2009.
3. Vicari AS*, Mokhtari A, Morales RA, Jaykus LA, Frey HC, Slenning BD, Cowen P. Second-order modeling of variability and uncertainty in microbial hazard characterization. J Food Protect 70(2): 363-372. 2007.

1:25-1:45 p.m.
“Communicating about Pandemics in the Digital Age”
Keri M. Lubell, PhD, Behavioral Scientist and Team Lead for Research and Evaluation, Emergency Risk Communication Branch (ERCB), Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Dr. Keri M. Lubell

Keri M. Lubell, PhD, has worked with the CDC since 2008. Her current work includes a series of studies focused on ways to assess the impact of health protection messaging during large-scale public health emergencies, including pandemics; investigations of innovative methods for analyzing data from social media platforms to inform emergency messaging efforts; and explorations of how public health organizations at different levels work together to develop and disseminate official health protection information. Before joining ERCB, she spent 10 years in the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention conducting research on violence-related issues and topics.

Selected publications:

1. Wandersman, A., Duffy, J., Flaspohler, P., Noonan, R., Lubell, K., Stillman, L., … & Saul, J. (2008). Bridging the gap between prevention research and practice: The interactive systems framework for dissemination and implementation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41(3-4), 171-181.
2. SteelFisher, G. K., Blendon, R. J., Bekheit, M. M., Mitchell, E. W., Williams, J., Lubell, K., … & DiSogra, C. A. (2011). Novel pandemic A (H1N1) influenza vaccination among pregnant women: motivators and barriers. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 204(6), S116-S123.
3. SteelFisher, G. K., Blendon, R. J., Kang, M., Ward, J. R., Kahn, E. B., Maddox, K. E., … & Ben‐Porath, E. N. (2015). Adoption of preventive behaviors in response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic: a multiethnic perspective. Influenza and other respiratory viruses, 9(3), 131-142.

1:45-2:05 p.m.
“Past, Present and Future Ethical Implications of Pandemics”
Jim Thomas, PhD, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health; Director, MEASURE Evaluation Project, Carolina Population Center, UNC-Chapel Hill

Dr. Jim Thomas

Jim Thomas, PhD, MPH, primarily is interested in the social epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, public health ethics and human rights. As Director of the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation Project, Dr. Thomas leads a global team that is advancing the capacity of countries and communities to collect and use data to guide public health policies and programs. In addition to writing many scholarly articles, he has served as the editor and author of a textbook on epidemiologic methods in the study of infectious diseases and was the principal author of the Public Health Code of Ethics. For three years, he served as an ethics adviser to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Selected publications:

1. Lor, A., Thomas, J., Barrett, D., Ortmann, L., Herrera Guibert, D. (2016). Key Ethical Issues Discussed at CDC-Sponsored International, Regional Meetings to Explore Cultural Perspectives and Contexts on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 5(11), 653-662.
2. Thomas, J., Miller, R. (2015) Ebola: The Ethics of Thinking Ahead. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 21: 507-508.
3. Thomas, J., Young, S. Wake Me Up When There’s a Crisis: Progress on State Pandemic Influenza Ethics Preparedness. American Journal of Public Health, 101(11), 2080-2082.

2:05-2:20 p.m.
Moderated questions/discussion