Conference organized by:

Center for Biosecurity of UPMC

World Health Organization Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response Office

Conference sponsored by:

The Nuclear Threat Initiative

Agenda

Day 1 | Day 2

Wednesday, March 2, 2005

Welcome and Conference Introduction
Tara O'Toole, M.D., M.P.H., CEO and Director, Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Guénaël R. Rodier, M.D., Director, Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response, CDS/CSR, World Health Organization

Keynote: International Cooperation to Confront New and Old Diseases
D. A. Henderson, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Public Health and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh; Resident Fellow, Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Dean Emeritus of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Lessons Learned from the Response to SARS and Other Epidemics

The Global Response to Emerging Epidemics: Detection, surveillance, and reporting of the SARS crisis, and the WHO role in coordinating/performing research. What should laboratories, public health professionals, and politicians around the world understand about WHO capabilities in an epidemic?
David Heymann, M.D., Special Representative of the WHO Director General, World Health Organization; Former Executive Director of Communicable Diseases, WHO

Scientific Collaboration in a Time of SARS: The challenges of scientific collaboration across countries and cultures, sample sharing, and competition toward the development of therapeutics.
Prof. Dr. Rolf Hilgenfeld, Director of the Institut für Biochemie (Institute of Biochemistry), University of Lübeck

Emerging Infections—How Can Laboratories Prepare?: Maintaining laboratory biosafety practices and the challenges of reaching surge capacity during the SARS outbreak.
Dr. Wilina Lim, Consultant Medical Microbiologist with the Virology Division, Public Health Laboratory Services, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Hong Kong

Preparing for Epidemics

Influenza—A Developing Crisis: An overview of current preparedness levels, the necessity for careful attention to biosafety, and the challenges in creating an effective vaccine.
Robert G. Webster, Ph.D., Rose Marie Thomas Chair of the Virology Division, Department of Infectious Disease, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN; Director, WHO Collaborating Center on the Ecology of Influenza Viruses in Lower Animals and Birds

Avian Influenza—The Indonesian Experience: A front-line perspective on Indonesia's response to avian influenza, highlighting successes and lessons learned in infection control, and vaccine production and use for avian influenza.
Amin Soebandrio, M.D., Assistant Deputy Minister for Research and Technology for Health and Medical Sciences, Indonesia

WHO Activities for Management of Biorisks: WHO activities that enhance global biosecurity, such as international health regulations, laboratory and epidemiology strengthening, and biological risk management.
Brad Kay, M.S., M.P.H., Dr.PH., Coordinator, Laboratory Capacity Development and Biosafety, WHO Office in Lyon, Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response (CSR)

Building Robust Response Systems for Epidemics: An Organizational Approach: What is "systems thinking"? And how can it help create organizational strategies for scientific and public health collaboration and handling surges?
Jean-Marc Choukroun, Ph.D., Affiliate Faculty, Center for Organizational Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania; Principal, Park/Mathieson Group, Inc.

Panel on Biosafety
Moderated by Gigi Kwik Grönvall, Ph.D., Fellow, Center for Biosecurity of UPMC

Biosafety—What are the different levels and what is the continuum?: An overview of the design and implementation of a biosafety program.
Jonathan Richmond, Ph.D., Former Director, Office of Health and Safety, CDC; Jonathan Richmond and Associates, Inc.

BioSafety Challenges for BioRisk Management WHO Guidelines for Laboratory Biosecurity: An overview of the WHO biosafety program with, emphasis on the recent development of guidelines for laboratory biosecurity.
Dr. Nicoletta Previsani, Project Leader, Biosafety, WHO Office in Lyon, Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response (CSR)

Experiences with High Containment: What are the security/safety challenges in running a biosafety level-4 laboratory?
Dr. Alain Jean Georges, Director of INSERM Laboratoire P4

Virtual Tour of a P4 facility
Dr. Alain Jean Georges, Director of INSERM Laboratoire P4

Evening Reception
 

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