Description

Each year in the United States influenza complications are responsible for 200,000 hospitalizations and approximately 36,000 deaths. In addition, this frequently mutating virus can have pandemic potential by readily jumping the species barrier from wild birds to domesticated ducks or chickens, then potentially to pigs or in some rare cases, directly to humans.

To prevent another influenza pandemic and reduce the number of influenza epidemics, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) supports research to find out how influenza viruses work, and develop better vaccines and therapeutics to prevent and treat influenza virus infections.

This interactive session will explain what researchers are doing to overcome the challenges that a pandemic strain brings, and the implications of this research for busy practitioners during a pandemic.

Registration Information

Registration for live events is coordinated by individuals representing our partner organizations in the Northwest. See our registration information to find your nearest contact.

Presenter

David Cho, PhD, MPH, is an influenza program officer within the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) in NIAID at the National Institutes of Health. His duties include the management of an international extramural research portfolio of grants and contracts, initiative planning and writing, some budgetary responsibilities, and developing priorities within related scientific program areas. Prior to joining DMID, he was a review microbiologist with CBER where his duties included reviewing biologics license applications and conducting pre-approval inspections for biologics. Previously, Dr. Cho was a post-doctorate fellow in the influenza branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, and he received his PhD at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Learner Objectives

By the end of this session participants will be able to:

• Describe the basic scientific differences between seasonal and pandemic influenza
• Explain what researchers are doing to overcome the challenges that a pandemic strain brings, including shortening the time interval with innovative approaches to vaccine development
• Explain strategies that busy practitioners should consider if a pandemic occurs and the vaccine is delayed

Target Audience

This session would be appropriate for the following audiences:

• State and local public health practitioners
• Emergency response coordinators
• Public Health Nurses

Slides and Related Resources

• Presentation slides

Session Archive

Play the recorded presentation [ 14 MB ]

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