Navigating the Pandemic

This episode features two voices from the clinical trial industry: Kenneth Getz, the Executive Director at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development and Taqiyya Alford, a Clinical Research Coordinator at Emory University. Both guests discussed the ongoing and future impacts of COVID-19 on clinical trials. Ken Getz is the Director and a professor at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Tufts University School of Medicine, where he conducts grant-funded research on pharmaceutical R&D management and execution; protocol design optimization, contract service provider and investigative site management, e-clinical technology and data usage and patient engagement. He is the chairman of CISCRP – a nonprofit organization that he founded to educate and raise public and patient awareness of the clinical research enterprise. A well-known speaker at conferences, symposia, universities, investor meetings and corporations, Ken has published extensively in peer-review journals, books and in the trade press and writes a bi-monthly column nominated for a Neal Award in Applied Clinical Trials. Ken received an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from Brandeis University. He is the founder of CenterWatch, a leading publisher in the clinical trials industry, and one of several businesses that he has created and sold. Taqiyya Alford is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Emory University School of Nursing and Operations Manager with the Emory Urban Health Initiative. She currently manages two studies at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and has a diverse background in rehabilitation, clinical research, and pharmaceutical work. She is a recent Masters in Public Health graduate of South University in Savannah, GA. For more information about the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, the future of clinical triels, and the “Last Mile” for COVID vaccination, access the links below: https://www.appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com/ https://www.appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com/view/covid-19-and-its-impact-on-the-future-of-clinical-trial-execution https://www.appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com/view/public-trust-and-the-last-mile-for-covid-19-vaccines Information on the Emory University Nell Hodgson School of Nursing research: https://nursing.emory.edu/faculty-and-research/onr/index.html

Today’s show features Jennifer Shin. She is the Founder of 8 Path Solutions, a data science, analytics, and technology company. An experienced data scientist and management consultant, she has led high profile projects in various roles, including Director of Data Science at Comcast, Senior Principal Data Scientist at The Nielsen Company and has served as a Management Consultant at GE Capital, the Carlyle Group, Fortress Investment Group, the City of New York, and Columbia University. She currently holds faculty positions at NYU and Brandeis University. Explore stages of the COVID-19 data value chain: https://opendatawatch.com/what-is-being-said/data-in-the-time-of-covid-19/ Jennifer Shin’s Work: https://www.8pathsolutions.com/ Using Public Health Data Sources LinkedIn Learning course: https://www.linkedin.com/learning-login/share?forceAccount=false&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Flearning%2Fusing-public-health-data-sources%3Ftrk%3Dshare_ent_url%26shareId%3Dde7be704-2648-4af5-b03b-3bef94627b74&account=2149178

Today’s show features Catharine Hamm, a leading voice in travel and media. She is the former Travel editor for the Los Angeles Times and became a special contributor in June 2020. Hamm has twice received individual Lowell Thomas Awards, and the Travel section was recognized seven times during her tenure as editor. She currently mostly writes about travel consumer news. We discuss what the travel industry will look like in the U.S. and abroad in 2021, from destination entry requirements to airline safety regulations, the recovery of the travel industry, and tips for safely satisfying your travel itch over the coming months. Hamm’s articles referenced in the episode: 1. https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2021-01-08/will-you-need-covid-19-vaccine-fly-2021 2. https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-12-22/should-the-covid-19-vaccine-figure-into-the-future-of-flying A Guide to the New Covid-19 Testing Rules for Travel to the U.S.:  https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-covid-19-testing-rules-for-travel-to-the-u-s-what-they-mean-for-you-11610566341 CDC’s Travel Recommendations and Safety Tips: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html

In this episode, we transition back to discussing the pandemic from domestic view in the U.S. Today’s show focuses on Media, Conspiracy theories, and the public health impact of exposure to framed messages about the origins of Covid-19. I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Toby Bolsen, an associate professor of American Politics and Political Science at Georgia State University. Professor Bolsen’s research focuses on the study of political communication, public opinion, political behavior, experimental methods, and U.S. energy and climate policy. He’ll discuss the role that COVID-19 conspiracy theories play in influencing public health messaging and pandemic mitigation, particularly how these theories contribute to the spread of misinformation and steps that can be taken to address damaging conspiracy rhetoric. Access the research here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1075547020953603 WHO Information on reporting scientific misinformation online: https://www.who.int/campaigns/connecting-the-world-to-combat-coronavirus/how-to-report-misinformation-online

Today’s show focuses on COVID-19’s impact on food insecurity in the developing world from the scope of global economics and trade. I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Vasily Erokhin, an Associate Professor in the School of Economics and Management at Harbin Engineering University in China and also an Adjunct Professor at Key West University, Florida. We’ll focus on the interactions between the dynamics of COVID-19 cases, food trade, food inflation, and currency volatilities in regard to people’s food security status from the position of his most recent publication, Impacts of COVID-19 on Trade and Economic Aspects of Food Security: Evidence from 45 Developing Countries. Access the research here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7459461/ Learn more about global food insecurity here: https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/covid-19-pandemic How does the World Bank classify countries? Due to the challenges and limitations of categorization, the World Bank is changing the use of the terms 'developing and developed countries' to the 'low and middle-income countries' and 'upper middle-income economies'. Read more below: https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/378834-how-does-the-world-bank-classify-countries

Listen as voices from public health including psychiatry, law, and epidemiology help us understand COVID-19's present and future impacts. Guest #1  Polly J. Price, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, is also Professor of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. A public health law scholar as well as a legal historian and citizenship and immigration law expert, she has published, lectured, and taught widely about immigration and citizenship, public health law and regulatory policy, federalism, property rights, and the judiciary. https://law.emory.edu/faculty/faculty-profiles/price-profile.html Guest #2 Dr. Nadine Kaslow, is a professor and vice-chair for faculty development in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Professional Psychology, at the Emory University School of Medicine; Additionally, she is the Chief Psychologist of the Grady Health System. http://psychiatry.emory.edu/faculty/kaslow_nadine.html Guest #3 Max Lau is an assistant professor at Rollins School of Public Health in the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics department whose research interests include Disease Ecology and Infectious Disease Dynamics. https://sph.emory.edu/faculty/profile/index.php?FID=max-lau-10935 Mental Health Resources 1. Coping With Pandemic Stress, CDC.gov https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html 2. Mental Health and Coping, HHS.gov https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/mental-health-and-coping/index.html