Seminar - January 13, 2011

Abstract:  The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) is a NIH-funded facility at Boston University designed to house researchers studying pathogens designated up to the highest bio-safety level (BSL-4).  The opening of the facility has been put on hold for several years because of pending lawsuits aimed at blocking the NEIDL from become operational.  The lawsuits derive from community concerns about the risk associated with the urban location of the facility.  Our team at the University of Utah is contributing to the development of a new risk assessment addressing concerns associated with the NEIDL.  This presentation will outline the risk assessment approach, including quantitative methods for assessing the secondary transmission that could occur if pathogens were released from bio-containment.

 Bio:  Damon Toth is a PhD applied mathematician specializing in mathematical modeling of population dynamics and epidemiology.  He was a post-doctoral researcher in the Mathematical Biology group at the University of Utah Mathematics department before joining the faculty in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine.