Division of Surveillance & Disease Control

Dr. Cathy Slemp, state health officer will kick off the day and a half annual conference with a 90 minute update on the status of H1N1 in West Virginia and the challenges ahead.  Dr. Slemp is leading the state's public health effort against H1N1. The state has activated the H1N1 Incident Command System where Slemp serves as the H1N1 content expert.   Her presentation will be followed by a Late Breakers panel discussion  that will include Dr. Slemp, Dr. Loretta Haddy the state epidemiologist and director of the Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services; Dr. Dee Bixler the Director of the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology; Jeffrey J. Neccuzi, the director of the Division of Immunization Services as well as one of the state's local health officers and a nursing director. 

The keynote speaker for the conference is Dr. Nathan Wolfe an Epidemiologist who will speak about Global Pandemics and will discuss H1N1. Wolfe is the Lorry I. Lokey  Visiting Professor in Human Biology at Stanford University and Director of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative (GVFI).  He received his Bachelor's degree from Stanford in 1993 and his doctorate in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from Harvard in 1998.  The recipient of a Fulbright fellowship in 1997, Dr. Wolfe was awarded the National Institutes of Health International Research Scientist Development Award in 1999 and the prestigious NIH Director's Pioneer Award in 2005.  He recently won the National Geographic Emerging Explorer’s Award in 2009.  With not only 50 presentations to his credit, he has published over 50 articles and chapters and his work has been featured in Nature, Science, The Lancet, PNAS, JAMA, NY Times, Discover, Scientific American, NPR, Popular Science and Forbes among others. Dr. Wolfe has over eight years of full-time experience living and conducting biomedical research in Southeast Asia (Malaysia) and sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroon, Uganda) He founded and directs the Global Forecasting Initiative (GVFI), a pandemic early warning system which monitors the spillover of novel infectious agents from animals into humans.  His work has been featured on National Geographic and CNN's Planet in Peril.

Another featured speaker during the two day conference, will be Dr. Michael Iseman (pictured below), Professor of Medicine at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado with a presentation entitled TB: What's Up Doc?  Iseman is renown as a TB expert with professional experience dating back to 1971.  He has contributed or written in 19 selected publications including a book called "Tuberculosis: A Textbook for Clinicians."

Other presentations during the conference will include presentations on varicella (chickenpox) surveillance, hospital infections, hepatitis, and gastroenteritis outbreaks.

The event will close featuring best selling author and motivational speaker Dr. Jewell Diamond Taylor (pictured right)who will share her insights called "Shift Happens."  With the stress of H1N1 these days, Taylor will inspire and empower attendees to keep up the good fight when it comes to H1N1 and other public health issues.  Jewell's dynamic no-nonsense style empowers people and strengthens organizations.  Taylor's message will help her audience cope, survive, and thrive in this ever changing world.  Two of her best sellers are "You are too blessed to be stressed" and "The main thing is to keep the main thing, the Main Thing."  She has been a featured speaker across the worked and in the U.S. has motivated professionals at the U.S. Secret Service, NASA, The Pentagon, Disney, NY Human Resource Conference, NAACP,  U.S. Department of Treasurery, LA Police Department, Colleges and Universities, state and local government and countless others.  Don't miss the 2009 WV Public Health Symposium: Implications of H1N1 and Other Communicable Diseases: Are We Prepared?  Register now to reserve your seat!  This is one event you can't afford to miss.