Bush School Scowcroft Institute To Host 2nd Pandemic & Biosecurity Conference At National Press Club
The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government & Public Service will hold its 2nd Annual Pandemic & Biosecurity Policy Conference at the National Press Club (529 14th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20045) on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 from 8:45-11 a.m. The event will feature globally renowned health security experts testifying to the gaps in our nation’s response plans and identifying specific policy changes and reforms necessary to improve pandemic and international health security strategies.
“It’s not a matter of if another pandemic similar to the 1918 Great Influenza will occur, it’s a matter of when,” said former USAID Director Andrew Natsios, current Director of the Scowcroft Institute. “It’s imperative that we do more nationally and internationally to prepare for such an event. Threats affecting international health security including bio-threats and other biosecurity hazards are also gaining momentum, evolving into a high-threat probability. This timely meeting will help determine where there are gaps in our nation’s response plans and what we can do to mitigate a coming catastrophe.”
The event will feature testimonies from Dr. Mukesh Chawla, Advisor on Health, Nutrition, and Population to The World Bank Group; Dr. Rebecca Katz, Co-Director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University; Mr. Patrick Fine, CEO of FHI 360; Dr. Guy Vernat, CEO of the Merieux Foundation, as well as on-the-ground first responders during the Ebola outbreak: Dr. Joseph Fair, Research Professor and Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs; Dr. Lindsey Shields of the Smithsonian Institute; and Dr. David Brett-Major, Assistant Professor of Preventative Medicine and Biostatistics at Uniformed Services University, among others.
Media should RSVP to attend the event by contacting jeffreygrieco@aol.com and by registering here.
About the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs
The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs is a research institute housed in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. The Institute is named in honor of Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.), whose long and distinguished career in public service included serving as National Security Advisor for Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. The Institute’s core mission is to foster and disseminate policy-oriented research on international affairs by supporting faculty and student research, hosting international speakers and major scholarly conferences, and providing grants to outside researchers to use the holdings of the Bush Library.
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Media contact: Jeffrey Grieco, Scowcroft Institute Event Consultant, (703) 966-7154, jeffreygrieco@aol.com.
