Flu pandemic teach-in on Monday, May 4
Contact: Sarah Yang, Media Relations
(510) 643-7741
scyang@berkeley.edu
01 May 2009
ATTENTION: Journalists covering the H1N1 flu (swine flu) outbreak
WHAT
"Swine Flu 2009: Are We Facing a Pandemic?" is a teach-in led by faculty members at the University of California, Berkeley, on the H1N1 flu, popularly known as the swine flu. Discussion topics will include the epidemiology and biology of the H1N1 virus, the response of the human immune system to infection, the efficacy of available vaccines, and the development of new diagnostic tools used to detect pathogens in the field.
WHEN
1:30-3 p.m., Monday, May 4. A Q&A session will begin at 2:30 p.m. A webcast of the teach-in will be published Tuesday and linked from the campus flu resource site at: http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/features/flu.
WHERE
Berdahl Auditorium at 105 Stanley Hall, near the East Gate entrance to campus.
WHO
UC Berkeley faculty members scheduled to speak are:
- Dr. Arthur Reingold, professor and head of epidemiology at the School of Public Health and an expert on infectious disease transmission, surveillance and prevention.
- Russell Vance, assistant professor of molecular and cell biology in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and an expert on pathogenesis and immunology.
- Wayne Getz, professor of environmental science, policy and management at the College of Natural Resources and an expert on the ecology and epidemiology of wildlife and human diseases.
- Amy Herr, assistant professor of bioengineering at the College of Engineering and an expert on the potential role in a pandemic of "lab-on-a-chip" diagnostic tools.
DETAILS
The flu pandemic teach-in is sponsored by the UC Berkeley Alliance for Global Health, a campus-wide initiative that brings together global health research from across various departments and disciplines. The alliance is comprised of two tightly linked centers: the Center for Global Public Health and the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases. More information about the alliance is online at http://globalhealth.berkeley.edu.