EXPERTS ADVISORY

ANN ARBOR—As the first case of Ebola in the United States is confirmed in Dallas, and with several health care workers and some school children there now under observation, University of Michigan School of Public Health expert Dr. Eden Wells says “public health experts are doing what public health does best—protecting people.”

Wells and a number of U-M experts are available to talk about Ebola:

Eden Wells, clinical associate professor of epidemiology and director of the Preventive Medicine Residency at the School of Public Health, has research interests in emerging infectious disease threats, applied epidemiology and public health practice, including preparedness planning for public health emergency events. She formerly was with the Bureau of Epidemiology at the Michigan Department of Community Health, serving as a medical consultant and medical epidemiologist.

Wells organized the Michigan Pandemic Influenza Coordinating Committee and assisted the development of Michigan’s State Pandemic Influenza Operational Plan utilized during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. She is co-author of “Major Strategies for Prevention and Control of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers” in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers. Contact: (734) 647-5306, [email protected] Profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=ewells

In a Risk Science Center blog post, she urges awareness but agrees with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose leaders say the situation will be contained because the country is well equipped to handle the disease: http://bit.ly/1rIFdzD.

Dr. Arnold Monto, the Thomas Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor of Epidemiology, is an internationally known expert who can discuss transmission, prevention, mitigation and social response to outbreaks and pandemic planning. This includes transmission modes. Contact: (734) 764-5453, [email protected] Profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=asmonto

Mark Wilson, professor of epidemiology, is an ecologist and epidemiologist, with broad research interests in infectious diseases, including the analysis of transmission dynamics, the evolution of vector-host-parasite systems and the determinants of human risk. He can discuss disease transmission, global patterns of disease and relationship to human activity. Recent research studies have focused on specific infectious diseases found in the Middle East, South America and Africa. He has used GPS and satellite imagery to analyze disease ecology. Contact: (734) 936-0152, [email protected] Profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=wilsonml

Joseph Eisenberg, associate professor of epidemiology, studies infectious disease epidemiology, has broad research interests that integrate theoretical work in developing disease transmission models and empirical work in designing and conducting epidemiology studies. Eisenberg is part of a group of scientists from around the country who are involved with the Modeling Infectious Disease Agents Study, an NIH-funded program that focuses on infectious disease transmission modeling. Their work has informed recent Ebola projections about infection rates and deaths. Contact: (734) 615-1625, [email protected] Profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=jnse

Marisa Eisenberg, assistant professor of epidemiology, has a background in mathematical biology and in developing parameter estimation techniques to connect math models and disease data. She is part of a group of scientists from around the country who are involved with the Modeling Infectious Disease Agents Study, an NIH-funded program that focuses on infectious disease transmission modeling. Their work has informed recent Ebola projections about infection rates and deaths.

Her recent research has been primarily in modeling infectious diseases, particularly examining cholera and waterborne disease in Haiti, Thailand and Africa. Some current areas of interest include: mathematical modeling, infectious diseases, cholera and waterborne diseases, cancer modeling, networks and complexity. Contact: (734) 763-2991, [email protected] Profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=marisae

Peter Jacobson, professor of health management and policy, can discuss the legal issues involving the spread of infectious diseases, including quarantine. He can also discuss the differences between isolation and quarantine. His research focuses on the relationship between law and public health, health care delivery and policy. Contact: (734) 936-0928, [email protected] Profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=pdj

Dr. Howard Markel, the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the Medical School and director of its Center for the History of Medicine, has studied epidemics over history and the effectiveness of efforts to contain their spread. This includes an exhaustive study of quarantine efforts and other measures taken during the 1918 influenza outbreak that killed millions worldwide.

He is author of “When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America Since 1900 and the Fears They Have Unleashed.” He currently is in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the Ebola outbreak in Africa on issues related to quarantine and travel. Contact: Kara Gavin, (734) 764-2220, [email protected] Profile: http://chm.med.umich.edu/faculty-staff/howard-markel

Dr. Matthew Boulton, professor of epidemiology and senior associate dean for Global Public Health at the School of Public Health, can discuss surveillance and field investigation of infectious diseases, uses of isolation and quarantine, preparedness planning and assessment of the public health workforce. He is the former chief medical executive, state epidemiologist and director of the Bureau of Epidemiology for the Michigan Department of Community Health, where he served as the state’s lead scientist/epidemiologist overseeing all communicable disease control, immunization programs, environmental health, and vital records and health statistics for the state of Michigan.

Boulton served on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Board of Scientific Counselors for Infectious Diseases, 2008-13. He is primary author of “Major Strategies for Prevention and Control of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers,” in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers. Contact: (734) 936-1623, [email protected] Profile: www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/faculty/profile.cfm?uniqname=mboulton

Oveta Fuller, associate professor in microbiology and immunology, can discuss how networks of religious leaders in Africa can be used to deal with the Ebola outbreak. Fuller has published extensively from the laboratory research of her team on virus-cell interactions and she teaches courses about human virus pathogens. She is the associate director of U-M’s African Studies Center. Contact: [email protected] Profile: www.med.umich.edu/microbio/bio/fuller.htm

Christopher R. Friese, assistant professor, School of Nursing, can provide commentary on the challenges nurses and other providers face when caring for high-risk patient populations. He has 17 years of clinical experience as an oncology nurse and with a federally funded research program focused on the quality and safety of high-risk patient care. Friese has conducted three studies on nurses’ adoption of protective equipment in risk situations (such as chemotherapy infusion centers) and has developed measures to examine the workloads and working conditions of nurses. His research studies have informed five clinical practice guidelines in cancer care. Contact: (734) 647-4308, [email protected]
Profile: http://nursing.umich.edu/faculty-staff/christopher-r-friese