EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022

EVENT: Respiratory Vaccines in Pandemic Times.
Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, who served as the former chief medical officer in England during the COVID-19 pandemic until earlier this year, will be the keynote speaker at the 41st Thomas Francis Jr. Memorial Lecture.

Van-Tam, a specialist in influenza, vaccinology and pandemic preparedness, is a professor at the University of Nottingham. He was knighted earlier this year for his service to public health.

In addition to the lecture, the symposium will include a panel of infectious disease experts, a student speaker and a reception honoring professor Arnold Monto, co-director of the Michigan Center for Respiratory Virus Research and Response at U-M. Monto serves as chair of the committee that advises the Food and Drug Administration on the authorization and licensure of vaccines to prevent COVID-19.

Panelists include:

Arnold Monto, professor emeritus of epidemiology and global health at the School of Public Health, is an internationally known expert on the transmission, prevention, mitigation and social response to outbreaks and pandemic planning including transmission modes.

He currently serves as chair of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which provides advice to the FDA on the authorization and licensure of vaccines to prevent COVID-19.

Throughout his career, Monto has been involved in pandemic planning and emergency response to influenza and other respiratory virus outbreaks including the 1968 Hong Kong influenza pandemic, avian influenza, SARS, MERS and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scott Hensley, professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania whose research focuses on antigenic drift of influenza viruses. During the pandemic, his lab completed serological assays to characterize antibody responses elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. They’re also conducting research measuring the durability, specificity and functionality of antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination.

Kathleen Neuzil is the Myron M. Levine Professor in Vaccinology and Director Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland. She is part of the team evaluating COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics in the US and was part of the team that designed the first COVID-19 clinical vaccine trial in the US.

PLACE: U-M School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor

SPONSORS: The School of Public Health and the Michigan Center for Respiratory Virus Research and Response

REGISTRATION: https://myumi.ch/29PDz