Technology & Emerging Disease Threats: Can Technology Help Win the Battle Against New Disease Outbreaks Like SARS, West Nile and Monkey Pox?
September 25, 2003
Senator Ron Wyden, and Senator John Ensign, invite you to join them for a discussion on the role technology can play in combating emerging infectious diseases.
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Joseph Henderson, is currently the Associate Director of Terrorism Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this capacity Mr. Henderson is responsible for all of CDC's public health emergency preparedness and response activities - currently supported by a budget of $2.3 Billion. In the aftermath of September 11 ,2001 and the subsequent anthrax attacks, Mr. Henderson served as the Deputy Director of CDC's Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program helping to coordinate CDC's response efforts. Mr. Henderson has been with the CDC since 1992 and during that time served as the New York State Immunization Program Director, the Southeast Regional Consultant for the National Immunization Program, and the Team Leader for the National Immunization Registry Initiative for the National Immunization Program. Mr. Henderson spent 10 years in the United States Air Force developing medical capacities to respond to the consequences of nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare.
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John R. Barr, joined Vitex as President and CEO in 1997 and is a member of Vitex's Board of Directors. Vitex is a biotechnology company based in Massachusetts that is pioneering a new technology designed to improve the safety of red blood cell transfusions. Barr brings 20 years of management experience in the healthcare field to his position. Prior to joining Vitex, Barr held several senior management positions in manufacturing and operations, including President of North American Operations and Worldwide Manufacturing for Haemonetics Corporation. Prior to Haemonetics, Barr held a variety of management-level positions at Baxter Healthcare. Barr holds an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. degree in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
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James Pearson, Deputy Director for Laboratories, Division of
Consolidated Laboratory Services, Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a
member of the Scientific Working Group on Forensic Analysis for Chemical
Terrorism and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
(ASTHO) Emergency Preparedness and Response Policy Committee. He serves
as the Chair of the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)
Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee and as co-Chair of the
National Laboratory Response Network (LRN) Steering Committee.
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As summer fades to fall, we not only say good bye to beaches, vacations and easier rush hours, we also look forward to the end of the West Nile Virus threat born by mosquitoes that thrive during the warm summer months. Around the corner, though, lurks flu season and the possible return of SARS. How about ongoing concerns with the safety of the blood supply or seemingly random outbreaks of monkey pox? Perhaps, even more concerning is the constant mutation of viruses such as AIDS, that threaten to limit the effectiveness of current treatments. Finally, as if these threats aren't enough to keep us all indoors, we must now live with the constant threat of a terrorist action utilizing some form of naturally occurring or manmade disease.
Led by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and John Ensign, the Forum advocates no particular position or policy prescription. Our sole purpose is to inform. Our briefings are nonpartisan, balanced, and open to the public and the media.
