Conference to explore global biological threats

Leading government and academic experts from Washington, D.C. and Madison will address key issues surrounding global biological threats in an all-day symposium April 7 at UW–Madison.

The conference, to be held in Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave., is designed to build bridges between the university and the public and increase the capacity to confront bioterrorism and emerging diseases. Discussions will examine how the U.S. and Wisconsin are preparing to meet the threats to human security of bioterrorism and diseases such as avian influenza.

The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is requested at the symposium Web site.

“Global biological threats follow not only from malevolent human acts, they also emerge as inadvertent consequences of changes in climate, landscape, and agricultural practices,” says Alison Alter, associate director of the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE), the conference’s lead sponsor. “Understanding the origins, risks, and possible solutions to these problems demands a multi-faceted response.”

Conference sessions include:

• The keynote address, “Disease as a National Security Threat,” by Eric Noji, senior policy advisor for health and national security for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Washington, D.C.;
• Jonathan Patz, WAGE senior fellow, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, department of population health sciences, on “Emerging Disease Threats from Ecological Change;”
• Hon Ip, virologist with the National Wildlife Health Center on “Avian Influenza: How Close Are We to a Pandemic?”
• Josh Dein, with the National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, on “Wildlife Health Monitoring Network;”
• Donald Moynihan, La Follette School of Public Affairs, UW–Madison, on “Public Management Perspectives on Foreign Animal Diseases;”
• Vicki Bier, department of industrial and systems engineering, UW–Madison, on “Pandemic Planning: The Needs of the Private Sector;”
• Mary Proctor, program director of the Southcentral Wisconsin Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Consortium, on “Ready or Not: Preparedness at the Local Level.”

For more information on the symposium and its sponsors, visit the WAGE events page.