Making A Difference – Page 2 – TIPS: Deep Dive Interviews

Airborne Transmission and the Semmelweis Reflex with Dr. David Fisman

June 21, 2021 donlee 0 Comments

Today’s guest is part of a growing body of experts calling on the Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) community to accept that SARS-CoV-2 is not only transmitted by aerosols but that the airborne route may be the dominant mode of transmission. Dr. David Fisman, an epidemiologist and professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, along with several colleagues, published Ten scientific reasons in support of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Fisman tells us that the evidence is clear, but the IPAC community has been slow to accept it.

How to Ensure We Are Ready for the Next Pandemic with Patty Olinger

May 25, 2021 donlee 0 Comments

Today we’re talking with Patty Olinger, Executive Director of the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC). GBAC is a division of the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) that helps organizations and businesses prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats, biohazard situations and real-time crises. Their accreditation program, GBAC Star, is the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response, and recovery accreditation and is being used by organizations around the world to ensure a safe re-opening. This accreditation demonstrates these organizations’ commitment to their customer’s safety and to doing their part to end the COVID-19 pandemic. It also signals their desire to cement these best practices in their policies, procedures, and culture going forward. It is a commitment to doing everything they can to ensure they are ready next time.

Using the COVID-19 Shared Experience to Make Public Health Communication More Effective with Vanessa Lamers

February 8, 2021 donlee 0 Comments

For effective communication, the very first thing we need to do is create a connection with our audience. For that, metaphors and shared experience are two of our most effective tools. These, however, are hard to come by and typically must be created anew for every audience. It’s rare that we have a shared experience that touches everyone in a direct and visceral way. A shared experience that due to its sheer scope and severity, forces politicians, business leaders, and other key decision-makers through a crash course on public health concepts like contract tracing, mass testing, vaccine development and deployment, health access and disparities, public health data infrastructure, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and many more. For public health and emergency preparedness communicators, prior to 2020 at least, this would have been a pipe dream. Yet here we are.

Supporting the Front-lines and Improving Communication During a Pandemic with Dr. Saskia Popescu

December 4, 2020 donlee 0 Comments

When she was just 8 years old, Dr. Saskia Popescu’s step-mother handed her a copy of The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus . That simple act kicked off a string of events that would positively impact thousands of lives. At TIPS, we believe that one person can make a difference and everyone should try. Sometimes that person becomes a renowned infectious diseases epidemiologist and infection preventionist who specializes in biopreparedness, biosecurity, and pandemic response, and guides hospitals and businesses safely through a pandemic, like Dr. Popescu. Other times they make a difference simply by opening the mind of a child to the great possibilities of the world. Both matter.

Prof. Florian Krammer: Life in a Virus Lab During the COVID-19 Pandemic

July 20, 2020 donlee 0 Comments

Take a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to run a virus lab during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the science itself to keeping the team safe, avoiding burnout, communicating the facts, and dealing with misinformation. Plus, status updates on the virus candidates that are being tested around the world.

Richard Heinzl: If You Have the Will, There’s Always a Way

March 4, 2020 michaeldiamond 0 Comments

At the age of 22, first-year medical student, Richard Heinzl, was looking for an adventure while selecting his elective at McMaster University. While hitchhiking in Uganda, a country in the throes of civil war, a jeep pulled up in front of the canteen where he was grabbing a bite to eat. The jeep had a flag emblazoned with the letters M-S-F, and out of it jumped a bunch of doctors, but not like any doctors Richard had ever seen before. They were young, rough-looking, wearing shorts and t-shirts. They were in Uganda on a mission with Médecins Sans Frontières.