- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The webinar, to be broadcast on Zoom and YouTube Live from 1:30 to 4 p.m., will feature physicians, scientists and a survivor of the COVID-19 virus, announced organizer-moderator Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
“COVID-19 is set apart from all other strains of flu for the simple reason that people die from it at higher rates than from other varieties,” Carey says. “It follows that understanding the actuarial details and consequences of this virus is central to understanding, has potential impact on the U.S. population in particular and on the world population in general.”
In his presentation, Carey will ask and answer three questions: “The first is related to case fatality rate of COVID-19. The second concern will be the age-specific mortality of this virus, and the third, to its demographic consequences if no health-related interventions, policies implemented, or a vaccine were available.” Carey is the co-author of the newly published book, Biodemography: An Introduction to Concepts and Methods. (See news story.)
The webinar, free and open to the public, will include experts in immunology, infectious diseases, pathology and emergency medicine. Viewers can register at http://zoompresentation.com and submit advance questions. Also, viewers can access YouTube Live at covidactionplan.com or https://bit.ly/2VurK3Z.
Chancellor Gary May will give the introduction.
The main speakers are UC Davis physician-scientists Emanuel Maverakis, Stuart Cohen and Nathan Kuppermann; UC Davis veterinarian-scientist Nicole Baumgarth; physician Ron Chapman, Yolo County Health Officer; and pediatrician State Sen. Richard Pan, District 6 chair, Senate Committee on Health.
Davis resident Marilyn Stebbins, a pharmacist who works at the UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy--and a survivor of the deadly illness that to date has killed more than 182,000 people worldwide (15,000-plus in the United States)--will tell her story. (See Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus map for up-to-date statistics.)
You-Lo Hsieh, UC Davis distinguished professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and an expert on textiles and clothing, will explain the differences between regular masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks.
Newly added to the list: Michael B. A. Oldstone, M.D., of Scripps Research Institute; professor emeritus Niels Pedersen, DMV, of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and Anne Wyllie, PhD., Yale School of Medicine.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The first Yolo County resident to test positive for COVID-19 will join physicians and scientists at the UC Davis-based COVID-19 public awareness webinar set from 1:30 to 4 p.m., on Thursday, April 23, on YouTube Live at covidactionplan.com.
Marilyn Stebbins, 58, of Davis, a UC San Francisco pharmacist, will participate, announced webinar organizer-moderator Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
The webinar, to include experts in immunology, infectious diseases, pathology and emergency medicine, is free and open to the public. Registration is underway at http://zoompresentation.com, where advance questions can be submitted. The webinar also will include live questions.
Looking back, Stebbins related she began getting coldlike symptoms prior to a family skiing trip to Sandpoint, Idaho. An airline flight took her and her husband from Sacramento to Spokane, Wash. Upon returning home, she sought medical care for what she thought was the flu. She was tested for COVID-19 on March 3, and was informed March 4 she was positive. She was hospitalized for three days with what she calls the “worst illness I've ever had.”
In her story, “My COVID-19 Journey,” which appears on the UCSF School of Pharmacy website, https://bit.ly/2x1pqIe, Stebbins describes herself as “a healthy, fit, 58-year-old woman who enjoys distance trail running, weekly circuit training, and Pilates. I'd completed a 30K trail race just before the departure date for my vacation and looked forward to a 50K race two weeks after my return home.”
Controversy erupted when a Yolo County Health Department press release inaccurately described her as “an older woman with underlying health conditions.”
Stebbins said her symptoms included headache, diarrhea, nausea, coughing, and chills but “I never had a fever.” Family members, including her husband, who were with her on the skiing trip, have not contracted the disease.
The webinar is expected to draw a widespread audience. Chancellor Gary May will give the introduction. The main speakers are UC Davis physician-scientists Emanuel Maverakis, Stuart Cohen and Nathan Kuppermann; UC Davis veterinarian-scientist Nicole Baumgarth; physician Ron Chapman, Yolo County Health Officer; and pediatrician State Sen. Richard Pan, District 6 chair, Senate Committee on Health.
UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey of the Department of Entomology and Nematolgoy will share his modeling expertise. UC Davis You-Lo Hsieh, distinguished professor, UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and an expert on textiles and clothing, will explain the differences between regular masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's one of the questions slated to be asked at the UC Davis-based COVID webinar, set from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 23, via Zoom and YouTube.
Folks are submitting their questions now, and you can, too.
The virtual seminar, featuring physicians and scientists, is expected to provide a wealth of information, says organizer-moderator Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences, and former chair of the Department of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology), College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Leal, an eminent scientist known for his research, teaching and public service, is a chemical ecologist whose expertise includes mosquito-borne viruses. He coordinated a Zika-virus public awareness seminar on the UC Davis campus in May 2016.
So, can infected mosquitoes transmit COVID-19?
"There is no evidence that mosquitoes transmit SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease named COVID-19," said Leal. "If the virus can be transmitted so effectively from human to human, why would they need an intermediate host? That way, the virus would have to replicate in the mosquito body to be transmitted a few days later. The virus evolution led to a 'faster track.' It is conceivable that when it gets warm, and mosquitoes bite COVID-19 patients, the virus could be found in the mosquito body, but this is not to say that mosquitoes are vectors. They are not."
“It is heartbreaking to hear the number of people dying every day,” Leal said. “We have well-qualified people to address questions from the populace, so I thought I would put my organizing skills and experience with modern teaching technologies at the service of the public.” (His peers recently honored him with the 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching, from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America, and the 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, from the UC Davis Academic Senate.)
Chancellor Gary May will deliver the welcoming address. Main speakers are UC Davis physician-scientists Emanuel Maverakis, Stuart Cohen and Nathan Kuppermann; UC Davis veterinarian-scientist Nicole Baumgarth; physician Ron Chapman, Yolo County Health Officer; and pediatrician State Sen. Richard Pan, District 6 chair, Senate Committee on Health.
- Dr. Emanuel Maverakis is a professor in the Departments of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, and Dermatology, UC Davis School of Medicine. A fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, he is known for its work in the field of predictive modeling, as well as for the development of novel analysis tools for immunogenetics. He received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's New Innovator Award, and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama.
- Dr. Stuart Cohen is professor and chief of Division of Infectious Diseases and director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, UC Davis School of Medicine. He specializes in clinical infectious diseases and infection control in the hospital environment.
- Dr. Ron Chapman, the Yolo County Health Officer, is also a health strategist consultant focused on helping health departments build quality improvement and performance management systems. He earlier served as director and State Health Officer, California Department of Public Health.
- Dr. Nathan Kupppermann, an emergency physician for UC Davis Health, is professor and chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine. The recipient of the Academic Senate's 2020 Faculty Research Award, Kuppermann is member of the National Academy of Medicine and principal investigator of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network.
- Dr. Nicole Baumgarth is a professor in the Center for Comparative Medicine, and the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The Baumgarth laboratory investigates the basic immunological mechanisms that regulate and control immunity to pathogens.
- Dr. Richard Pan, a State Senator who represents the Sacramento region and chairs the Senate Health Committee, is in close contact with the California Department of Public Health and with monitoring the response to the coronavirus outbreak. "Public health is about keeping our neighborhoods safe and healthy," he said in a press release on his website. "The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the cost of not having a robust public health system in place. Our leaders need to be listening to public health experts and sharing accurate health information to save lives. Everyone deserves to live a long and healthy life in a safe environment."
In addition to the main speakers, presenters will provide information on such topics as face masks and modeling systems. You-Lo Hsieh, distinguished professor, UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and an expert on textiles and clothing, will explain the differences between regular masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks, plus what the public can do when masks are unavailable. She researches polymer chemistry, fiber engineering and bio-based materials.
James R. Carey, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology and an authority on population biology and modeling, will share his expertise on modeling systems. He served as the principal investigator of a 10-year, $10 million federal grant on “Aging in the Wild,” encompassing 14 scientists at 11 universities. Carey co-authored, with Deborah Roach of the University of Virginia, the newly published book, Biodemography: An Introduction to Concepts and Methods (Princeton University Press), described as “an authoritative overview of the concepts and applications of biological demography.” (See news story.)
Got a question? Register here and ask here: https://bit.ly/2z4ULdw
