Did you know that the initial awareness of COVID-19 and immediate action for prevention in Taiwan is in part attributed to a post on an online forum?
Back in 2019, a physician in Taiwan noticed a trending post on an internet forum discussing an outbreak of unknown pneumonia in Wuhan. The physician informed the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Taiwan CDC swiftly implemented the prevention strategies from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the rapid technological advancements such as antigen testing, vaccines, and medications, the focus of SARS-CoV-2 research around the globe has shifted to pathogen surveillance over the past four years. As we are enter the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, countries around the world are actively developing pathogen surveillance programs to ensure early control and prevention of disease transmission through systematic monitoring and screening of pathogens.
Join us as we delve into this transformative journey with Robert Morfino, Senior Director at Ginkgo Bioworks, and Dr. Shu-Yu Hsu. Discover how Morfino and Dr. Hsu monitored pathogens like COVID-19 in major US airports and community wastewater. The insights from their programs have enabled government agencies to take immediate action. In this seminar, they will unravel the mysteries of biosecurity and pathogen surveillance, exploring the intersection of technology, economy, policy, and public health.
Don't miss this opportunity to gain invaluable academic insights and industrial perspectives. Secure your spot today and be part of shaping the future of global biosecurity!
你知道臺灣對新冠肺炎的防疫超前部署有部分歸功於PTT的「護國神文」嗎？
時間倒轉回2019年，一位疾管署防疫醫師在網路論壇PTT上發現了一篇文章正在沸沸揚揚的討論武漢市因發生不明原因肺炎而引發群聚感染，並於第一時間通報衛福部，也為疫情防疫揭開了序幕。四年後的今天世界逐漸進入後疫情時代，除了相關快篩、疫苗和藥物的迅速開發外，病原篩檢偵測技術的研發也在短時間內突飛猛進，從四年前PTT上的無心插柳到今日各國積極投入研發病原防禦網盼能有效地提早控制和預防疫情傳播。
BTBA很榮幸可以邀請到Ginkgo Bioworks的Senior Director Robert Morfino及許書瑀博士來揭開Biosecurity‒疫情當前情報網的神秘面紗。過去幾年，他們藉由偵測和追蹤機場或社區廢水中的病原來判斷疫情蔓延的程度和區域，並與政府單位合作推動進一步的防疫規劃。這次的講座兩位專家將從技術、經濟、法規和公衛等各面向切入來探討生物安全對我們生活的影響以及其他將病原偵測引入現實生活的案例。這將會是一場跨足學術、業界與政府單位合作的知識饗宴，不可錯過的難得機會，趕快報名！
🗣️This event will be conducted in English
本實體活動全程以英文進行
▶️ Topic / 主題: Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic: Challenges and Opportunities of Biosecurity and Pathogen Surveillance
🕘 Time:
2024-05-03 (Fri)
08:00 pm - 09:30 pm (ET) Biosecurity Panel
📍 Venue/場地：Online Event. The meeting link will be provided in an email after registration
會議連結在報名後另行通知
▶️ BTBA Contact: btba@btbatw.org
▶️ Speakers:
Robert Morfino, MS, MBA
Senior Director Business Development, Ginkgo Bioworks
Robert holds an MS in Nanotechnology and Electronics from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and Polytechnic School of Turin, Italy, as well as a MBA from Harvard Business School. He also has over 10 years of experience in program management and business development in both pharmaceutical and technological sectors.
Currently, Robert leads the Biosecurity Solution team of Concentric, the biosecurity division of Ginkgo Bioworks, where he is in charge of developing new business models for biosecurity. He has co-designed and managed a number of high-profile flagship biosecurity program in collaboration with national governments, such as the US CDC Traveller Genomic Surveillance program, the National Biosurveillance Network for the UK Health Security Agency, along with other major international expansions.
LinkedIn page:
http://linkedin.com/in/robertocristophermorfino
Featured publication:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7208a3.htm#suggestedcitation
Shu-Yu Hsu, PhD
Scientist, Verve Therapeutics
Shu-Yu has completed her PhD at University of Missouri under the supervision of Prof. Chung-Ho Lin. Her research focused on bacterial bioremediation of atrazine.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hsu has leveraged her expertise in environmental science and volunteered in the wastewater surveillance program, a collaborative project by the Missouri State Government, School of Natural Resources, and School of Medicine, University of Missouri, to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 virus. She has pioneered the use of caffeine as a marker to estimate COVID-19 infection rate. The program has been expanded to detect a wide portfolio of pathogens and chemical markers.
LinkedIn page:
http://linkedin.com/in/shuyu-hsu
Featured publication and news segment:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135422009320
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O4Qk1nrz7Y
▶️ Moderators:
Alex Tsai, PhD
Senior Organism Engineer, Ginkgo Bioworks
Alex is a senior organism engineer at Ginkgo Bioworks specializing in engineering microbes for industrial applications such as production of biopharmaceuticals.
Alex has completed his PhD in University of Toronto with research focused on engineering of plant cell wall for biofuel application. Subsequently, Alex has worked in Joint BioEnergy Institute (Emeryville, CA), Intrexon (San Francisco, CA), and Industrial Technology Research Institute (Hsinchu) applying synthetic biology techniques in various organisms for diverse applications such as productions of fuels, industrial chemicals, and textile dyes.
LinkedIn page:
http://linkedin.com/in/alexyilintsai
Chi-Hsien Wang, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate, MIT
Chi-Hsien is a Postdoctoral Associate under the supervision of Prof. Timothy M. Swager at the Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As part of the MIT Superfund Research Program, her current research focuses on the development of detection method that can readily measure carcinogenic chemicals from environmental samples.
Chi-Hsien holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from National Tsing Hua University. During her PhD, she also joined Prof. Toyo Kazu Yamada’s group at Chiba University and Prof. J. Fraser Stoddart’s group at Northwestern University as a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow. Her primary research focused on stimuli-responsive supramolecules manipulated in various solid environment, such as polymer thin films, crystalline states, and metal surfaces.
LinkedIn:
http://linkedin.com/in/chi-hsien-wang
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