March 31, 2020

Media Advisory: UArizona to Host COVID-19 Webinars

TUCSON, Ariz. — Members of the media and the public are invited to join a series of virtual discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic, led by University of Arizona experts from a variety of disciplines.

The first webinar in the three-part series will cover current best practices to control the spread of the virus. It will include five experts from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health:

  • Kacey Ernst, associate professor and program director of epidemiology
  • Katherine Ellingson, epidemiology and biostatistics assistant professor
  • Kelly Reynolds, professor and chair of the Community, Environment and Policy Department and director of the Environment, Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center
  • Kristen Pogreba-Brown, epidemiology and biostatistics assistant professor and director of the Student Aid for Field Epidemiology Response team
  • Zhao Chen, epidemiology and biostatistics distinguished professor and department chair

The second webinar will be hosted by the College of Medicine and will discuss the biology, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Participants include:

  • Dr. Monica Kraft, Robert and Irene Flinn Professor of Medicine and Department of Medicine chair
  • Dr. Joshua Lee, executive physician for Banner – University Medical Center Tucson

The third webinar, hosted by the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, will feature six experts, including center founder and director Dr. Andrew Weil, and will focus on integrative strategies to supplement public health methods to prevent the spread of the virus. In addition to Weil, presenters include:

  • Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson, director of the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine and an associate professor of clinical medicine in the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine
  • Dr. Randy Horowitz, medical director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine
  • Dr. Esther Sternberg, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine research director, Andrew Weil Endowed Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine, and founding director of the UArizona Institute on Place, Wellbeing and Performance
  • Dr. Victoria Maizes, executive director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, clinical professor of medicine and public health, and the Andrew Weil Endowed Chair in Integrative Medicine
  • Lise Alschuler, professor of clinical medicine and assistant director of the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine

"We hope these sessions will serve as a platform for sharing information, as well as developing global strategies and collaborations regarding the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19," said Brent White, vice provost for global affairs and dean of global campuses.

The webinar series, organized by University of Arizona Global, was originally designed to share information with UArizona faculty, staff and students at microcampuses across the globe who are looking for guidance during this unprecedented time, said White, but the webinars are also open to the public.

Participants are encouraged to ask questions before each webinar, as well as during each session.

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Media contacts:
Frank Camp
University of Arizona Global
Office: 520-626-3734 | Cell: 520-247-1904
frank.camp@arizona.edu

Mikayla Mace
University Communications
520-621-1878
mikaylamace@arizona.edu

The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2018 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $687 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 65 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually. For the latest on the University of Arizona response to the novel coronavirus, visit the university's COVID-19 webpage.