The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University will host a panel discussion entitled Monkeypox: Have we learned anything from COVID-19?, featuring moderator Dr. Gerald Parker and panelists Drs. Robert Carpenter, Syra Madad, Jennifer A. Shuford, and Bob Kadlec.
EVENT RECAP: Scowcroft Institute Hosts Expert Panel Exploring the Monkeypox Outbreak
The event will be at Hagler Auditorium in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center (1002 George Bush Dr. W. College Station, TX 77843). Registration is required; sign-in begins at 5:00 PM CT in the lobby and the lecture starts at 5:30 PM CT. There will be time for a Q&A after. Register online to attend.
Panel Information
Dr. Gerald Parker will moderate a panel of experts, including Drs. Robert Carpenter, Syra Madad, Jennifer A. Shuford, and Bob Kadlec, as they explore the Monkeypox outbreak. Recently declared a public health crisis by the federal government, Monkeypox is the thing on everyone’s mind. The panel will answer questions such as: Are we making the same mistakes with Monkeypox as we did with COVID-19? How can we do better with this and future pandemic threats? Is this something we need to be concerned about? And more.
- Date: Monday, September 19, 2022
- Time: 5:30–7:30 PM CT (check-in at 5:00 PM CT)
- Location (in person): Hagler Auditorium in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University (1002 George Bush Dr. W. College Station, TX 77843)
- Online: Register at bush.tamu.edu/scowcroft/events/
This will be a hybrid event. It will take place in person in Hagler Auditorium in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center and virtually via zoom, (link available upon registration) and will start promptly at 5:30 PM CT. Check-in will begin at 5:00 PM CT.
Moderator
Dr. Gerald Parker
Dr. Gerald W. Parker, Jr., is the Associate Dean for Global One Health at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Simultaneously, he holds an appointment at the Bush School of Government & Public Service as Director of the Pandemic and Biosecurity Policy Program at the Scowcroft Institute for International Affairs.
Before taking up his current challenge in 2017, Dr. Parker spent 36 years in federal public service. His responsibilities varied over his 26 years in the United States Army with numerous years as Commander and Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases to the Senior Executive Service coordinating federal medical/public health responses to Hurricanes Katrina through Ike (2005–2008), to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, and to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti in 2010, among other things. He remains active in policy advising and strategic forums such as his seconding to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services as senior advisor from August 2020 to February 2021. In February 2022, he testified before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs regarding all-hazards preparedness and the infrastructure needs of the country. Dr. Parker’s service has earned him several distinctions such as the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award (2009).
Dr. Parker earned a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in veterinary medicine at Texas A&M University, a doctorate from Baylor College of Medicine Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and a master’s at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Panelists
Dr. Syra Madad
Dr. Syra Madad is an internationally recognized public health leader and epidemiologist in infectious disease and special pathogens preparedness and response. She serves as the Senior Director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program at NYC Health + Hospitals and Co-Principal Investigator at The Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management. Her work focuses on the prevention and preparedness for, response to and recovery from infectious disease outbreaks with an emphasis on healthcare and public health biopreparedness. In addition, Dr. Madad is a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs where she regularly publishes on the latest public health guidance, epidemiological concepts and scientific literature to help the public understand complex topics using infographics and simplified science communication.
She’s Core Faculty in the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC), affiliate faculty at the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research at Boston University and member of the federal National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). Dr. Madad is prominently featured in the Emmy-nominated Netflix docuseries, Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak, and the Discovery Channel documentary, The Vaccine: Conquering COVID.
Twitter: @syramadad
Dr. Jennifer A. Shuford
Dr. Shuford graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. She completed an internal medicine residency at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where she served as chief resident. Dr. Shuford completed an infectious disease fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She earned her Master of Public Health degree from Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Shuford practiced medicine in Austin, Texas as an infectious disease physician prior to joining the Texas Department of State Health Services in 2017. She is currently the Chief State Epidemiologist for DSHS, where she uses epidemiologic and medical data to inform public health activities and policies, including those surrounding the state’s COVID-19 response.
Dr. Shuford serves on the faculty of the DSHS Preventive Medicine and Public Health Residency Program. She is a member of Travis County Medical Society and Infectious Disease Society of America. She is also a member of Texas Medical Association, where she serves as a consultant to their Committee on Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Robert Carpenter
Robert Owens Carpenter, MD, MPH, FACS, FASMBS hails from Bastrop County in Central Texas. After completing undergraduate work in biochemistry at Texas A&M University, he attended Baylor College of Medicine where he was awarded an MD in 1999. Thereafter, he accepted a two-year non-clinical faculty appointment within the Departments of Cell Biology and Allied Health Education at Baylor. During this period, he completed post-graduate coursework within the Clinical Scientist Training Program, taught on the gross anatomy faculty, and developed curriculum to better integrate application of basic science information into the clinical education environment.
Dr. Carpenter completed an MPH with special focus on quality improvement and graduate medical education policy during a seven year general surgery residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Thereafter, he completed a one year clinical fellowship in advanced laparoscopy, endoscopy, and bariatric surgery in Nashville, TN.
Dr. Carpenter remained on staff at Vanderbilt before returning to Central Texas in October 2009 where he serves on the clinical faculty at the Baylor Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic. He serves as Director of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery Education, Associate Director of the General Surgery Residency in Temple and was recently promoted to Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery for the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. He briefly assumed the role of Interim Medical Director of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery within the Central Division of Baylor Scott and White Health. Dr. Carpenter has been recognized for his passionate dedication as a medical educator with the 2017 outstanding surgical faculty teaching award, induction as a Fellow of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators at Texas A&M University Health Science Center where he continues to teach on the Medical Gross Anatomy Faculty, and more recently receiving the award as most inspiring professor by the COM Class of 2022. In June 2020 Dr. Carpenter was recognized by the General Surgery Residents at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple with the Brindley Outstanding Faculty of the Year award.
Dr. Bob Kadlec
Dr. Robert Kadlec is a Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He previously served as the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he oversaw critical response operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic, including Operation Warp Speed. Dr. Kadlec spent more than 25 years as a career officer and physician in the United States Air Force before retiring as a Colonel. Over the course of his career, he has held numerous senior positions in the White House, the Senate, HHS, and the Department of Defense. Dr. Kadlec holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy, a Doctorate of Medicine and a Master’s Degree in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.
